Wart on the finger: causes, symptoms and treatment

A wart on the finger is a benign neoplasm that has a viral nature. The causative agent that provokes the appearance of such growths is the human papillomavirus. Warts are considered safe formations becauserarely causes cancer. However, this fact does not mean that treatment is not required 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 uncommon becausethe human papillomavirus that causes their growth is highly contagious and spares neither adults nor children. The causative agent that gets on the skin is introduced into the tissues through the slightest injury and remains in the body forever. At the same time, different levels of viral load are observed at different times, ie. the population of the microorganism either increases or decreases. For a long time, the disease can be asymptomatic. The incubation period can vary considerably in each individual 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 appearance of the same warts on the fingers, feet, knees and other areas of the skin.

The safest way to become infected is direct contact with an already infected person. HPV is often transmitted sexually, so unprotected or promiscuous sex is the most likely reason for the increase in incidence. But most often the growth of warts on the fingers is caused by the contact of the upper limbs with infected surfaces, whether it is the hands of a carrier of the virus or objects that he has just used - a pen, cutlery, a towel, a book, etc. Allpublic premises are considered places of increased danger, but especially those where there is increased humidity.

Even a baby from a mother can become infected. This happens during birth.

When warts are located on the fingers, there is an increased risk of self-infection, i. e. rapid spread of infection to the face and other parts of the body. The reason for this is the susceptibility of the growths to frequent injuries, which lead to the release of a large amount of the pathogen to the surface, and the fact that the fingers are in contact with all other skin integuments and can transfer the virus to them.

The reality is that the answer to the question of why warts appear on the fingers is quite ambiguous and involves 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 becomes unable to resist the activity of the virus, keep its population at the same level and prevent the uncontrolled growth of epithelial cells in the form of a wart on the finger orother parts of the body. Here, too, everything is ambiguous, because the decrease in immunity also has a number of causes. This is an unbalanced diet, and drug abuse, and bad habits, and emotional and physical overload.

What else causes warts on fingers? Various acute and chronic diseases, such as severe colds, diabetes mellitus, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, skin pathologies, etc. , lead to the activation of the pathogen. An individual feature such as hyperhidrosis or increased sweating also stimulates the development of pathogenic microflora.

Lack of daily care and lack of personal hygiene also makes it possible for HPV to infect more and more areas of the skin. Unwashed hands, untreated injuries, dehydrated and weathered skin, nail biting and burrs can all be the cause of warts on the fingers.

What do finger warts look like?

Most people confuse warts with other skin growths such as calluses, lichen planus, keratosis, molluscum contagiosum and often choose the wrong treatment options alone or completely ignore the external manifestations of the disease, exposing themselves to the risk of spreading the infection and others to the riskfor infection.

In order not to make such mistakes, it is better to study in detail how the warts on the finger look, what types they are, and go to the hospital in a timely manner to make an accurate diagnosis and determine an effective treatment regimen.

Benign epithelial changes caused by HPV have a capillary network that nourishes their cells. Because of this, when the integrity of the growth is damaged, minor bleeding very often occurs, which increases the risk of spreading infection and infection of the wound. This is partly why it is not advised to attempt to cut away these hardened tissues.

Warts first appear in a single amount - just one or two. But due to problems in the functioning of the immune system, more and more formations can occur. Sometimes they even fuse together to form an extensive skin lesion.

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 neoplasm begins to darken or redden, if there is a visible change in its structure, and swelling, suppuration occurs, orthere is an indiscriminate removal of pathological fluid from the growth body.

Warts in color can be yellowish, in tone with the skin, grey-brown. In some cases, black dots are visible on the surface - these are simply places where thrombosis of small blood vessels has occurred.

The most common types of warts on the finger are as follows:

• Vulgar warts. The second name is common. They quite often 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 burrs. Flesh-colored formations are more common, but brownish-yellow or grayish ones also exist. The shape is nodular or domed. In diameter 2-7 mm. The structure of the build is quite dense and a bit rough. It is drier than healthy skin. May tear and cause pain.
• Superficial flat warts. Their surface protrudes only slightly above the skin. The shape is rounded, but as they spread and merge, there are also outgrowths with an uneven outline. The color can be both brown and light yellow. The diameter of a flat wart on the finger is from 3 to 4 mm. Their presence on the skin is most often not accompanied by 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 indentation in the middle, but their root grows deeper into the dermis layers. This, of course, causes considerable daily discomfort, which more often than other reasons causes a person to go to the doctor. The shape of deep formations is irregular, the color and size are usually the same as superficial warts.
• Subungual warts. The name was not chosen by chance. Such growths occur precisely in the area below 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 a low activity of the virus, they practically do not cause symptoms, but with a significant weakening of health and the absence of proper hygienic treatment, they grow, penetrate the tissues under the nail and provoke the rejection of the plate from the nail bed. In this case, it is no longer possible to talk only about an aesthetic defect. Soreness and suppuration appear, gradually the formation reaches the matrix and destroys it irrevocably.

Many believe that the treatment of such a disorder is not mandatory if you are trying to strengthen the immune system so that the body can fend for itself. However, this view is largely wrong. After all, there are many reasons for the need to treat warts on the fingers and other parts of the body. Firstly, such neoplasms are quite contagious, and a person with even one wart can infect several healthy people, in whom the disease can continue in a more serious form. Secondly, many children, adolescents and adults are simply very embarrassed by the presence of such skin formations, which, of course, causes a desire to find an effective way to remove a wart on a finger. What can we say about pain, susceptibility to injury 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 as prescribed by a doctor and in combination with drug therapy, because the mere removal of growths by any method does not suppress viral activity and does not guarantee the absence of a recurrence of the disease in the near future.

Removal of warts on the fingers in the clinic

At the appointment with a dermatologist, a detailed diagnosis is carried out, 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. Often there may be a need for tests for concurrent diseases, such as HIV, which can also cause warts on the finger and worsen the course of the disease.

Consequently, multilateral treatment is prescribed. It includes excision of growths by one of the modern instrumental methods, including:

• Laser removal. The most popular method. It is offered by almost all clinics. Special equipment allows you to almost painlessly burn out an epithelial tumor, which prevents bleeding. The healing time for the crusts is minimal. The tissues after such exposure are quickly restored, so there are practically no traces in the form of scars on the skin.
• removal of radio waves. The method is based on the power of radio waves, which simply cut out growths without bleeding. Using a radio knife, you can remove warts on the fingers, practically without touching healthy tissue. The procedure is quite expensive, but it is recognized as highly effective and safe.
• Electrocoagulation. The active force is a current of different frequencies. It cauterizes the wart cells on the finger in a matter of seconds. At the same time, the vessels are sealed, which prevents bleeding.
• Surgical way.It is not performed without local anesthesia, because removal is done with a scalpel. Appointed less often than other options. The main indication is a large lesion, if it is necessary to take material for histological examination, as well as the presence of deep ingrowths in the skin and under the nail plate. During the procedure, healthy tissue is often damaged. After healing, scars often remain. The price for surgical intervention is calculated individually in each individual case.
• Cryotherapy. Widespread method. The body of the wart on the finger is eliminated by exposure to liquid nitrogen at ultra-low temperatures. This option is characterized by good performance, painlessness, no need for local anesthesia. But during the recovery period - around 7-10 days - all the doctor's recommendations should be followed so that the treated areas heal quickly and without problems.
• Chemical method. Removal of a wart on a finger is carried out using aggressive chemicals, such as trichloroacetic acid. It is better to leave the implementation to a qualified specialist to prevent burns of healthy tissues. The impact must be very precise and only on the body of the structure. After healing, scars may remain. The cost of the procedure depends on the selected drug and is calculated by the doctor individually.

No method provides a 100% guarantee of effectiveness and absence of recurrence. The result depends not only on the type of wart, its localization, but also on the qualifications of medical personnel 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: daily treatment of sites for the removal of warts on the fingers, prevent injury, hypothermia in the palms, take prescribed medication, eliminate bad habits and normalize diet. Only then will you not have to decide again how to get rid of a wart on your finger.

Treatment of warts on the fingers with medicine

Competent medical treatment of warts on the fingers involves taking medicines whose action is aimed at suppressing a viral infection, raising the immune status and restoring the balance between minerals, vitamins and other beneficial compounds.

Types of medical products intended for the treatment of warts on the fingers:

• Oral preparations. This category includes agents for complex effects - antiviral and immunomodulatory. Currently, there are no drugs that can completely kill the human papillomavirus, so one of the tasks of modern medicine is to simulate natural immunity to increase the body's resistance and significantly reduce the viral load and stop the growth of warts on fingers and other places.
• 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 and normalize all metabolic processes.
• Cauterizing external agents. They can contain both cauterizing acids and other components that contribute to the destruction of growths. Home use is associated with the risk of burns, so the procedure should be carried out with great care. Some drugs work according to the principle of cryodestruction, others according to the principle of chemical destruction.
• Vitamin and mineral complexes. They are prescribed to prevent a lack of nutrients in the body, restore metabolism and the performance of individual organs and systems, including the immune system.

Folk remedies for warts on the finger

The effectiveness of traditional medicine does not abate disputes. Some argue that it is ineffective and people simply waste precious time by refusing to go to the doctor, others consider it the only real way to cure most diseases.

In search of the right answer to the question of how to reduce a wart on a finger, it is better to use the golden mean. Contact a doctor and discuss with him the options for complex therapy, including instrumental removal of growths, taking HPV-specific drugs and suitable folk remedies.

Popular folk remedies for the treatment of warts on the fingers:

• Plum compresses. Dissolve salt (20 g) in water (150 ml), add vinegar (20 ml) here, stir and immerse one half of the stoned yolk in this solution. Infusion time - 2 hours. Remove the yolk, mash the pulp. Apply the resulting slurry to the warts and fix with a bandage or patch for 2-8 hours.
• Thuja oil for warts. It is applied externally 4-5 times a day. Daily use of this remedy ensures rapid recovery of epithelial cells.
• Tui tincture.Thuja leaves (20 g) are poured with vodka (100 ml). Insist 14 days. Lubricate the areas affected by warts on the fingers several times for 3 minutes. The procedure is repeated twice a day for 14-20 days.
• Needle tincture. Take young conifers and juniper berries in equal amounts. Mix and grind all raw materials. Place 50 g of the resulting mixture in a glass dish and pour 200 g of alcohol. Leave for approximately 3 weeks. Strain and use to coat the growths. It is enough to apply once a day.
• Lemon peel infusion. Remove the peel from 1-2 lemons and chop it, you can use a knife, you can use a meat grinder. Place the mass in a glass jar and fill with table vinegar in a volume of 100-150 ml. Close the lid tightly. Let it insist for a week, do not forget to shake every day. Then remove the cake and treat the warts on the fingers 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) to it and boil for 15 minutes on low heat, strain and pour the broth into a basin. When it cools down to 36-40 degrees, lower your palms into it. The duration of taking such a bath is 20 minutes. It is necessary to perform 8 procedures within 2. 5 weeks, i. e. repeat every 3 days at bedtime.
• Herbal infusion. Such a tool affects the whole body in a complex. But its most important property is the stimulation of immunity to fight the virus. Systematic reception stops the growth of warts on the finger. For preparation, 20 g of juniper needles, plantain leaves, chicory root and dandelion, birch leaves and 30 g of horsetail and nettle are then mixed and ground. Store in a glass container with a lid. For decoction, take 20 g of the mixture, place in an enamel pan, pour boiling water (500 ml) and leave for 60 minutes. Filter and take 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 have appeared on fingers and toes, on elbows, knees, feet and other places require special attention and proper treatment. Timely hospitalization, as well as the choice of appropriate methods of removal of growths and treatment of HPV, will allow you to recover faster and forget about the unpleasant manifestations of a viral disease for a long time.