How to treat warts in children and is it worth sounding the alarm?

July 1, 2021

Warts bother many people and are associated with dirt and uncleanliness. Some people still believe that warts appear because a person touched a toad. And for what reasons do these tumors actually appear? In this article, we will look at why warts appear and also look at their types.

Reasons for the formation of warts in children

The following infection mechanisms can provoke the appearance of warts in a child on the hands, face or body:

• Personal contact with a person who is a carrier of the HPV virus;
• Infection through household items (for children this can be shared toys);
• Plantar warts in children may appear as a result of visiting a public swimming pool or gym.

However, even with direct penetration of the papilloma virus into the child’s body, the formation of unpleasant neoplasms does not necessarily occur. A wart on a child’s finger or face can only appear if several accompanying factors are combined:

• Severe decrease in immunity, including due to hypovitaminosis;
• The presence of injured areas of the skin: scratches, abrasions, wounds, microcracks;
• Excessive sweating of the feet can lead to the appearance of a wart on a child's foot;
• Wearing uncomfortable, too narrow shoes.

Causes of painful warts

There are three main reasons why warts may hurt:

• Permanent injury as a result of friction upon contact with clothing, shoes, and other parts of the body;
• Mechanical or chemical damage;
• Transition from benign to malignant.

Often, flat, simple, senile warts do not cause discomfort or pain. However, if they are located in a place where clothing is constantly in contact with them, injury and friction occur, causing the person to experience pain.

Genital warts most often cause pain. These neoplasms have the appearance of an acute growth; they often merge with each other. In most cases, they are located in the armpit, groin, and genitals. Due to contact with clothing and movements during walking and hand movements, genital warts cause pain and significant discomfort.

Plantar warts also cause pain when walking and putting pressure on the foot.

In addition, warts can hurt due to mechanical damage, for example, when trying to pick off a tumor or due to accidental injury. If the warts are located on the head, they can be easily damaged by scratching, which will also cause pain.

Regular contact with chemicals, such as cleaning products and building materials, can cause a chemical burn, which will cause pain at the location of the wart. Therefore, when working with such substances it is necessary to use protective equipment.

The most dangerous reason for the pain of a wart is its transformation into a malignant formation. In this case, pain can only occur when pressed.

In addition to pain, this process may have other signs, such as bleeding, blackening of the wart, uneven color, the formation of uneven edges, and growth of the tumor. As a rule, all changes occur within a short time, because... Skin cancer develops very quickly.

Types of warts in children and teenagers

Before choosing a treatment method for childhood tumors, you should determine the type of wart, which can often be done based on the appearance of the skin growth and its location:

1. Common warts. The most common type, which most often appears as warts on the fingers of children, and can also be localized in the knee and elbow areas. These formations have a rough surface and usually differ slightly in color from healthy epidermis, having a dark, grayish tint.
2. Flat warts. They have a smooth, even surface, although the color can be either yellowish or pinkish. Such neoplasms are characteristic not only of children, but are also often diagnosed in adolescents during puberty. Since such defects are most often localized in the area of ​​the nasolabial triangle, chin and mouth, treatment of flat warts on a child’s face is a common practice that requires an exclusively professional approach to avoid the formation of scars, scars and burns.
3. Plantar warts in children. A wart on a child's foot is usually accompanied by hyperkeratosis - thickening of the skin. The color of such a neoplasm can range from light beige to dark gray. The child complains of discomfort when walking, which is manifested by the feeling of a pebble in the shoe.
4. Filiform warts. The rarest type of neoplasm caused by the papilloma virus, which most often appears in the mouth, eyes, nose, and can also form directly on the mucous membrane of the organ.

How to remove warts on the face with pharmaceutical products

Almost all drugs for warts are designed to completely remove them from the skin. It should be understood that medications of this type act exclusively on condylomas, and not on the cause of their occurrence. Even a successful fight against tumors does not guarantee that they will not appear over time in other parts of the body. Effective remedies for facial warts for use at home include:

1. Verrucacid. A gentle solution that does not damage healthy tissue. A single application of the product is often sufficient to remove tumors. If the condyloma is very old or large, repeated uses of the drug will be required.
2. Collomak. The basis of the medicine is salicylic acid. The drug does not cauterize the condyloma, but softens its tissue. The product is applied to the growth, 1 drop once or twice a day for 3-4 days. The maximum allowed course is a week.
3. Feresol. It is an oily liquid for the topical treatment of warts. The active substances of Feresol cauterize the growth and have an antiseptic effect. Apply the drug pointwise 1 time. If the condyloma is larger than 2 mm in diameter, several treatments may be needed.
4. Viferon. The active substance of the drug is interferon, which has an antiviral effect. Ointment for warts on the face is used once a day for 5-30 days.
5. Oxolinic ointment. The antiviral agent is applied to the condyloma 1-3 times a day, during the course of treatment - 1 month. Old papillomas may require longer therapy.
6. Aldara cream (Imiquimod). Not only removes formations from the skin, but also stimulates an increase in local immunity to fight papillomavirus. The product is applied to condylomas at night, every other day. During treatment, direct sunlight should be avoided.
7. Panavir. The antiviral drug in gel form penetrates deeply into the skin and destroys the virus. Thanks to Panavir, the body's production of the antiviral protein interferon is activated. The gel is applied to the growth 5 times a day for 5-10 days.
8. Isoprinosine. Take 2 tablets three times a day. The course of treatment is 2 weeks. Isoprinosine stimulates the immune system, making it easier for the body to cope with HPV. Thanks to taking the drug, the size of the formations decreases.
9. Salipod. The patch is stuck on the tumor for a day or two. It has a keratolytic and antiseptic effect. The main components of the product are sulfur and salicylic acid. After using the patch, the wart is soaked in water and removed with pumice, after which Salipod is glued on again. The procedure is repeated until the growth completely disappears.
10. Cryopharma. One of the safest drugs for condylomas, which can instantly freeze a wart. After 10-14 days of using Cryopharma, nothing remains of the growth. Therapy of large and old formations requires double exposure to the drug. The interval between procedures should be at least 14 days.
11. Super clean. Effectively eliminates papillomas, but often leaves spots and scars on the skin. The product should be applied very carefully, using a spot method. Before using Super Clean, you should lubricate the skin around the growths with fatty cream, butter or castor oil. To get rid of warts on the face, you will need 1-2 applications of an alkaline product.
12. Balm Mountain celandine. It is made from natural juice of celandine with the addition of extracts of gentian, poop and golden rhododendron. The product perfectly removes formations on the skin, while simultaneously providing a local antiviral effect. The balm is applied to the steamed condyloma once a day, with a course of treatment of 3 days.
13. Retinoic cream. This remedy is used if you want to reduce the risk of a scar or age spot. The drug has a mild effect and therefore requires longer use. It must be used once a day (at night) for 1-3 months. The cream is applied pointwise.
14. Podophyllin. The toxic substance is obtained from Podophyllum thyroid, a herb that grows in the mountainous part of India. The drug promotes the rapid death of papilloma cells.
15. Condilin. The product is used to eliminate papillomas on the face, genitals, and other parts of the body. The drug contains lactic acid, podophyllotoxin and sodium salt. The solution is applied pointwise to the growths until they completely disappear twice a day using the applicator that comes with Condilin.
16. Bleomycin. Antitumor antibiotic used to combat condylomas. It is applied pointwise once a week by injection. Since the injection is painful, an anesthetic is used before the procedure.
17. Malavit. Available in the form of a solution and gel, it contains malachite, cedar resin, mumiyo, a complex of essential oils, lactic acid, etc. Before use, the wart is steamed and its surface is treated with pumice. Afterwards, a small piece of cotton wool is moistened with the product and applied to the affected skin overnight. In the morning the compress is removed. The procedure is repeated daily until the problem disappears.

Where to go if a child has warts?

If parents notice any skin growths or neoplasms in their child, it is recommended to consult an experienced doctor as soon as possible, who will determine an accurate diagnosis and recommend effective treatment methods . Warts can sometimes be confused with nevi or manifestations of lichen planus. In this regard, independent treatment, especially in relation to a child, is unacceptable. The specialist will not only tell you how to treat warts in children, but will also give advice on the need for therapy. The fact is that some types of neoplasms can spontaneously disappear as the child grows. If the formation is located on the face and causes significant aesthetic discomfort to the patient, there is no need to delay solving this problem.

Hanging warts: treatment

The treatment of warts under the arms must be entrusted to a professional doctor, since self-removal or taking medications may not only not give the expected result, but also significantly harm the patient. The treatment procedure for hanging warts usually involves three stages:

1. Removal of the body and root of the tumor: laser destruction, radio wave excision, electrocoagulation, cryodestruction or surgical removal;
2. Antiviral therapy;
3. Restoration of immune function – immunomodulation or stimulation;
4. The most important step in the treatment of warts under the arms is the procedure for removing the skin growth. Today, the optimal way to get rid of a tumor in the armpit is laser correction of the defect .

You can find out more about the service and its cost here >>

Warts love nervous people...

In a person with a normal, healthy psyche, simple warts in most cases spontaneously disappear after a year or two. Anyone who is easily suggestible, whose nervous system leaves much to be desired, will be helped by whatever he does, but only by firmly believing that this will make the warts disappear. For example, sometimes for adults, well, very excitable individuals, the dermatologist has a completely win-win method: take a bottle of tap water from the cabinet and announce that this is a wonderful, rare remedy that “only I have”... After the second application, warts appear like The cow licks it with her tongue!

Remove, burn, freeze or treat?

Removal of moles and warts

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More details

In our Center, all possible methods are used to remove warts - cryodestruction, electro- or laser coagulation. The removal procedure is performed under local anesthesia, so it is completely painless. But the most effective and least traumatic method, according to our observations, is radio wave coagulation, which has been successfully used in our clinic for about five years. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that getting rid of the external signs of HPV - warts - does not indicate complete expulsion of the virus from the body. To date, no medications have yet been invented that can “kill” the virus, so warts may periodically reappear, and, of course, they need to be removed. In addition, it is advisable for people suffering from warts to do an immunological blood test and consult an immunologist who can select drug therapy to increase the stability of the body's immune system. This will help achieve stable remission - a period during which the disease manifests itself minimally or not at all.

Anyone can have the virus...

The virus enters the body through the skin or mucous membrane, then “follows” the subepithelial layer and penetrates the nervous tissue. Done: now the virus is your property for life and its location explains the connection between skin rashes and the state of the nervous system: for a wart to materialize, any nervous shock, fear, frustration, excitement or self-hypnosis is enough: “What if they appear!?” Then they will definitely appear. It’s just that many people are affected by viruses, but for the time being they don’t know about it. The virus can “sleep” without causing harm. It can “travel” along nerve pathways inside the body and even settle harmlessly, for example, in the spinal cord. But as soon as you get more excited, he always turns out to be ready to make his way back to the skin and reward the owner with “decoration”.

Toads have nothing to do with it...

Anyone who wants to get rid of warts with the help of witchcraft, a rotten stump, a potato or something like that can, with a clear conscience, be dissuaded from these procedures. Such methods of “treatment” were relevant in the old days, when people had no idea about the nature of warts. Nowadays, it is known that warts are a viral disease and are caused by the human papillomavirus, abbreviated as HPV. Depending on the type of virus, warts are different... Remember how your mother scolded you as a child for picking up frogs? At the same time, she always said that frogs give warts. In fact, this is not so. Warts are a viral infectious skin disease. These are common contagious epithelial tumors caused by more than 60 types of human papillomaviruses; some of them can become cancerous. Warts can appear at any age, but are more common in older children; they rarely occur in older people. The appearance and size of warts depend on their location and the degree of irritation and trauma to which they are exposed. The defeat occurs in different ways. The infection may manifest itself as single or numerous warts. Often they disappear completely over time, either as a result of treatment or spontaneously; however, it happens that warts persist for years or disappear, but reappear in the same or different places.

Forget about potatoes and threads, consult a doctor

This trick will not work for a person with a strong nervous system. Therefore, leaving aside funny stories with dead cats and medicine from the tap, I must say: if you find some excess on your skin, do not rush to your dear folk medicine. Self-medication can be fraught with complications. For example, when you remove warts on your own, severe inflammation often occurs, which provokes the spread of this virus around, and after a week you may see 21 warts instead of one. In another case, bluish-red dense keloid scars may form. So it’s still not worth taking risks with this - it’s better to consult a dermatologist (appointment schedule). In addition, in appearance, warts can resemble completely different, much more serious neoplasms. The doctor, having determined that you have a harmless wart, will choose the appropriate way to remove it.

Beware of abrasions and cuts

You can “catch” the virus from a sick person through direct contact, for example, by shaking hands. Or through infected objects: toys, handrails in public transport. Two to three hours of virus life in the external environment is enough for someone to become infected: the infection is quite common. Factors predisposing to infection are sweating (which, by the way, also depends on the state of the nervous system) and microtraumas on the skin. Microtraumas always exist; they are inevitable during household work: washing, cooking, cleaning, and in children they occur even during such innocent activities as modeling from plasticine.