Warts on the finger are a benign tumor that is viral in nature. The cause that provokes the appearance of such growths is the human papilloma virus. Warts are considered safe formations because. rarely cause cancer. However, this fact does not mean that treatment is not necessary at all. This article provides detailed information about the etiology of the disease, external signs and modern methods of treatment.
Causes of warts on the finger
Warts are not unusual because. the human papillomavirus that causes them to grow is highly contagious and does not spare adults or children. The causative agent, getting on the skin, enters the tissues through the smallest damage and remains in the body forever. At the same time, different viral load levels are observed at different times, i. e. i. the population of microorganisms either increases or decreases. The disease can be asymptomatic for a long time. The incubation period can vary significantly in each case and ranges from 1-6 months to several years. All this undoubtedly affects the nature of external manifestations. So, an increase in the activity of the virus causes the same warts to appear on the fingers, feet, knees and other areas of the skin.
The surest way to get infected is through direct contact with an already infected person. HPV is often transmitted sexually, so unprotected sex or promiscuous intercourse is the most likely reason for the increase in incidence. However, the growth of warts on the fingers is most often caused by the contact of the upper extremities with infected surfaces, whether they are the hands of the virus carrier or objects that he has just used - a pen, cutlery, a towel, a book, etc. All public spaces are considered places of increased danger, but especially those where the level of humidity is increased.
Even the baby can get infected from the mother. This happens during childbirth.
With the localization of warts on the fingers, the risk of self-infection increases, i. e. i. rapid spread of infection on the face and other parts of the body. The reason for this is the sensitivity of the growths to frequent trauma, which causes the release of a large amount of the pathogen on the surface, as well as the fact that the fingers come into contact with all other elements of the skin and can transfer the virus to them.
The reality is that the answer to the question of why warts appear on the fingers is rather vague and includes many provoking factors. First of all, the development of a viral infection is facilitated by a decrease in the immune status of an infected person, when the body is unable to resist the activity of the virus, keep its population at the same level and prevent uncontrolled growth of the virus. epithelial cells in the form of warts on the finger or other parts of the body. Here, too, everything is unclear, because there are also several reasons for lowering immunity. This is an unbalanced diet, drug abuse and bad habits, as well as emotional and physical overload.
What else causes toe warts? Activation of the pathogen leads to various acute and chronic illnesses, such as severe colds, diabetes, HIV, venereal diseases, skin pathologies, etc. c. . Also, such an individual sign as hyperhidrosis or increased sweating stimulates the development of pathogenic microflora.
Also, the lack of daily care and neglect of personal hygiene allows HPV to infect more and more areas of the skin. Finger warts can be caused by unwashed hands, untreated injuries, dehydrated and weathered skin, nail biting and curling.
What do finger warts look like?
Most people confuse warts with other skin formations, such as scurvy, lichen planus, keratosis, molluscum contagiosum, and often choose the wrong treatment options themselves or completely ignore the external manifestations of the disease, exposing themselves to the risk of spreading the infection. and others at risk of infection.
In order to avoid such mistakes, it is better to study in detail what the warts on the finger look like, what type they are, and go to the hospital in time to make an accurate diagnosis and determine effective treatment. mode.
Benign epithelial changes caused by HPV have a network of capillaries that feed their cells. For this reason, when the integrity of the growth is damaged, small bleeding very often occurs, which increases the risk of infection and wound infection. This is partly why it is not recommended to attempt to cut away this hardened tissue.
Warts first appear in one quantity - just one or two. But due to problems with the functioning of the immune system, more and more formations may appear. Sometimes they even merge together, so an extensive skin lesion is formed.
It is worth considering that a rapidly growing focus indicates a strong activity of the pathogen and causes an urgent trip to the doctor. It is also worth going to the hospital to find out how to treat warts on the fingers in cases where the tumor begins to darken or turn red, when there are visible changes in its structure and there is swelling, suppuration or arbitrary removal of pathological fluid from the growing body.
The color of warts can be yellowish, skin tone, gray-brown. In some cases, black dots are visible on the surface - these are only places where thrombosis of small blood vessels has occurred.
The most common types of warts on fingers are:
- Vulgar warts. The second name is common. Quite often they appear not only on the inside of the palm, but also on the entire surface of the fingers, sometimes they affect the periungual space, where the skin is exposed to tension and holes. Flesh-colored formations are more common, but brownish-yellow or grayish formations are also found. The shape is nodular or dome-shaped. Diameter 2-7 mm. The building structure is quite dense and somewhat rough. It is more dry than healthy skin. Can crack and cause pain.
- Superficial flat warts. Their surface only slightly protrudes above the skin. The shape is rounded, although there are growths with an uneven outline as they spread and merge. The color can be both brown and light yellow. The diameter of one flat wart on the finger is 3 to 4 mm. Their presence on the skin is most often not associated with pain.
- Deep flat warts. This type of skin formation often causes pain due to its structure. Outside the skin, the growths look flat with a small depression in the center, but their root grows deeper into the dermis. This, of course, causes significant daily discomfort, which more often than other reasons makes a person go to the doctor. Deep formations are irregular in shape, color and size are usually the same as superficial warts.
- Subungual warts. The name is not chosen by chance. Such growths occur directly in the area under the free edge of the nail plate. At first, the wart on the finger is flat and has a smooth surface, then it becomes rough and keratinized. With low viral activity, they practically do not cause symptoms, but with a significant weakening of health and the absence of proper hygienic treatment, they grow, penetrating the tissues under the nail, provoking the rejection of the plaque from the nail bed. . In this case, we can no longer talk about just an aesthetic defect. Soreness and suppuration appear, gradually the formation reaches the matrix and destroys it irreversibly.
Many believe that the treatment of such an ailment is not mandatory when trying to strengthen the immune system so that the body can cope on its own. However, this view is largely mistaken. After all, there are many reasons why it is necessary to treat warts on fingers and other parts of the body. First of all, such neoplasms are quite contagious, and a person with even one wart can infect several healthy people, for whom the disease can progress in a more serious form. Secondly, many children, teenagers and adults are simply very uncomfortable with the presence of such skin formations, which, of course, leads to the desire to find an effective way to remove a wart on a finger. What can we say about pain, susceptibility to injuries and the danger of the oncological process.
Ways to treat warts on the finger
Modern medicine knows many effective ways to remove a wart on a finger. Each of them has both advantages and disadvantages and should be used only according to the doctor's instructions and in combination with drug therapy, because just removing the growth by any method does not suppress viral activity and does not guarantee that the disease will not recur. illness in the near future.
Removal of warts on fingers in the clinic
A dermatologist performs a detailed diagnosis, the results of which, in addition to the main health indicators, determine the strain of the virus that caused the disease, as well as the risk of developing an oncological process. Tests for co-morbidities, such as HIV, can often be necessary, which can also cause warts on the finger and worsen the course of the disease.
As a result, a multifaceted treatment is prescribed. This involves cutting out the growths with one of the modern instrumental methods, including:
- Laser removal. The most popular method. Almost all clinics offer it. Special equipment makes it possible to burn the epithelial tumor almost painlessly, preventing bleeding. The crust healing time is minimal. After such exposure, the tissues are quickly restored, so there are practically no traces on the skin in the form of scars.
- radio wave removal. The method is based on the strength of radio waves, which simply cut out growths without bleeding. With the help of a radio knife, you can remove warts on your fingers, practically without touching healthy tissue. The procedure is quite expensive, but it is recognized as very effective and safe.
- Electrocoagulation. Active power is current of various frequencies. It cauterizes finger wart cells in seconds. At the same time, the vessels are closed, which prevents bleeding.
- Surgical type.It is not done without local anesthesia because. removal is done with a scalpel. Appointed less often than other options. The main indication is a large lesion, when it is necessary to take material for histological examination, as well as the presence of deep growths in the skin and under the nail plate. Healthy tissue is often injured during the procedure. Scars often remain after healing. The price of surgical intervention is calculated individually in each individual case.
- Cryotherapy. A widely used method. The body of the wart on the finger is removed by exposure to liquid nitrogen at an extremely low temperature. This option is characterized by good performance, painlessness, no need for local anesthesia. However, during the recovery period - about 7-10 days - you should follow all the doctor's recommendations so that the treated areas heal quickly and without problems.
- Chemical method. Removal of warts on the finger is carried out using aggressive chemicals such as trichloroacetic acid. It is better to entrust the implementation to a qualified specialist in order to prevent burns of whole tissues. The impact should be very accurate and only on the body of the stock. Scars may remain after healing. The cost of the procedure depends on the selected drug and is calculated by the doctor individually.
No method guarantees 100% efficiency and the absence of relapses. The result depends not only on the type of wart, its location, but also on the qualifications of the medical staff and the equipment and preparations used. During the recovery period, the patient himself plays an important role, who must follow all the doctor's instructions: treat the wart removal sites on the fingers every day, prevent injuries, hypothermia of the hands, use the prescribed medicine, eliminate bad habits and normalize the body condition. diet. Only then will you no longer have to decide how to get rid of a wart on your finger.
Treatment of warts on fingers with medicine
Competent treatment of warts on the fingers includes the use of drugs whose action is aimed at suppressing viral infection, increasing the state of immunity and restoring the balance of minerals, vitamins and other beneficial compounds.
Types of medical products intended for the treatment of finger warts:
- Preparations for oral use. This category includes drugs with a complex effect - antiviral and immunomodulatory. Currently, there is no drug capable of completely destroying the human papilloma virus, so one of the tasks of modern medicine is the modeling of natural immunity to increase the body's resistance and significantly reduce the viral load, stopping the growth of warts on the body. fingers and other places.
- For external use. Some drugs are intended for antiseptic treatment, others accelerate tissue regeneration, others have a local antiviral and immunostimulating effect, others nourish skin cells, normalizing all metabolic processes.
- Cauterizing external agents. They can contain both cauterizing acids and other components that contribute to the destruction of growths. Use at home is associated with the risk of burns, so the procedure should be carried out very carefully. Some drugs work on the principle of cryodestruction, others on the principle of chemical destruction.
- Vitamin and mineral complexes. They are designed to prevent nutrient deficiency in the body, restore metabolism and the functioning of certain organs and systems, including the immune system.
Folk remedies against warts on the finger
The effectiveness of traditional medicine is not without controversy. Some argue that it is ineffective and people simply waste precious time by refusing to go to the doctor, others believe that it is the only correct way to safely cure most diseases.
When looking for the right answer to the question of how to reduce a wart on a finger, it is better to use the golden mean. Consult a doctor and discuss with him the options of complex therapy, including the removal of instrumental growths, the use of HPV-specific drugs and suitable folk remedies.
Popular folk remedies for the treatment of warts on fingers:
- Plum compresses. Dissolve salt (20 g) in water (150 ml), add vinegar (20 ml) here, mix and immerse half a pitted plum. Infusion time - 2 hours. Remove the plum, mash the pulp. The resulting mixture is applied to the wart and fixed with a bandage or plaster for 2-8 hours.
- Thuja oil against warts. It is used externally 4-5 times a day. Daily use of this product ensures rapid regeneration of epithelial cells.
- Tui tincture.Pour thuja leaves (20 g) with vodka (100 ml). Insist for 14 days. Lubricate the wart-affected areas on the fingers several times for 3 minutes. The procedure is repeated twice a day for 14-20 days.
- Coniferous tincture. Take equal amounts of young conifer branches and juniper fruits. Mix and chop all the ingredients. 50 g of the resulting mixture is placed in a glass container and 200 g of alcohol is poured. Leave for about 3 weeks. Strain and use to lubricate growth. It is enough to apply 1 time a day.
- Lemon peel infusion. Remove the peel from 1-2 lemons and chop them, you can use a knife or a meat grinder. The mass is placed in a glass jar and filled with table vinegar in a volume of 100-150 ml. Close the lid tightly. Leave to insist for a week, do not forget to shake every day. Then remove the cake and treat the finger warts with the resulting infusion, trying not to touch healthy skin.
- Horse chestnut decoction. To prepare, boil 2. 5 liters of water, add horse chestnut leaves (120 g) and boil for 15 minutes on low heat, strain and pour the broth into the basin. When it cools down to 36-40 degrees, lower your hands into it. The duration of such a bath is 20 minutes. 8 procedures need to be performed within 2. 5 weeks, i. e. i. repeat every 3 days before going to bed.
- Drug infusion. Such a tool has a complex effect on the whole body. But its most important property is the stimulation of immunity to fight the virus. Systematic reception stops the growth of warts on the finger. To prepare, mix and then grind 20 g of juniper needles, plantain leaves, chicory roots and dandelions, birch leaves, as well as 30 g of horsetail and nettle. Store in a glass container with a lid. For the decoction, take 20 g of the mixture, put it in an enameled pan, pour boiling water (500 ml) over it and leave it for 60 minutes. Filter and use inside before meals, 100-150 ml 3-4 times a day.
Regardless of what caused the weakening of the immune system and provoked the growth of epithelial tumors, warts that appeared on fingers and toes, elbows, knees, feet and other places require special attention and appropriate treatment. Timely admission to the hospital, as well as the choice of adequate methods for the removal of growths and treatment of HPV, will allow you to recover faster and forget about the unpleasant manifestations of the viral disease for a long time.