Which doctor should I see for warts?

First you need to understand what warts are. In essence, it is a skin disease that is characterized by the appearance of small formations. The size of such formations ranges from 1 mm to 1 or more centimeters.

The cause of warts is viral. They can be passed from person to person through a simple handshake or through the use of objects that have been used by a sick person. The incubation period can last several months. So when warts form on your body, it may be very difficult for you to remember who might have "given" them to you.

It must be said that there are different types of warts, so the attitude towards them should be extremely delicate. They can be located on the back of the hands, on the face, and even on the scalp. On the feet, warts are usually found on the soles. If they are painless on the arms, then on the legs they can cause a lot of inconvenience. Their formation can be promoted by sweating feet and shoe pressure.

A special place is occupied by juvenile warts that occur during adolescence. Typically these warts are small in size and are located on the hands and face. For any type of wart, you should consult a doctor to rule out the possibility of any other skin diseases.

Thus, genital warts are sometimes mistaken for warts, requiring consultation with a venereologist and urologist. Any new growth on the skin should require maximum attention. It happens that a tumor on the skin is mistaken for a wart, and this is extremely dangerous, especially if you are going to remove it. In this case, you should not turn to folk remedies!

Such procedures should only be carried out by a professional doctor, first making sure that he is dealing with a wart. Not all warts are recommended to be removed; this method is used as a last resort: if the wart causes discomfort or bleeds, if the wart causes aesthetic discomfort, if the wart has reached a large size, if it is growing.

Otherwise, it is better to treat warts. Treatment should be carried out by a doctor, and you should be monitored by him throughout the entire treatment period. It must be said that improper treatment can contribute to the degeneration of a wart into a malignant tumor. Therefore, contact only specialists.

Types of warts

Warts are diagnosed more often in childhood and adolescence, but can also occur in adults. In medicine, the following types of warts are distinguished:

1. Simple/vulgar.The most common type of skin tumor, in 70% of cases it is diagnosed in school-age children. Most often, warts of this type appear on the hands, but they can also be present on the edges of the lips and on the neck. Simple warts are distinguished by the presence of one largest, "mother" wart - if it is removed, then the smaller tumors disappear.
2. Flat/youthful.They are rare - only up to 4% of diagnosed cases. They are located on the back of the hands, along the edges of the lips, on the head of the penis, and on the oral mucosa.
3. Palmoplantar.They appear in places where there is the most active pressure from uncomfortable shoes. Diagnosis of this type of wart is often difficult, because a specialist must differentiate the neoplasm in question from corns and calluses.
4. Thread-like.It has a specific appearance - a small "tail" made of thin leather, there can be many of them and they are always arranged in a "cluster". Most often found in the armpits, neck, and under the breasts/breasts.

Methods for removing warts on the body and hands directly depend on what type of tumor will be diagnosed in the patient.

It is worth knowing one more feature of warts - they do not have any one exact description of "appearance". For example, a plantar wart may be a small rounded lump with a dark center, but a simple wart is a growth on the skin that has a heterogeneous structure. The easiest way to answer the question "what does a wart look like" is if it is a thread-like type - an "icicle" appears on the skin, not causing pain or irritation. It is noteworthy that frequent rubbing of a wart leads to its inflammation and irritation - it becomes red and can cause pain.

Where do warts come from?

It's all due to the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is most often transmitted through direct contact with a wart or personal belongings of an infected person. Four of the several dozen types of HPV are responsible for the appearance of warts on the skin.

HPV can easily be called "cunning". A person may not suspect for a long time that he has become the owner of HPV.

After infection, the virus is localized in the upper layer of the epidermis and may not make itself known for a long time. But as soon as the protective mechanisms weaken, the virus becomes active and manifests itself in the form of one or more warts.

From the moment of infection to the appearance of skin formations, it can take from a week to several months.

Locations

Which doctor to contact for warts depends directly on the location of the growths.

Depending on the variety, warts can grow all over the body, and in particular:

• on the leg and arm, on the foot;
• in the armpit area, under the breasts and on its surface;
• on the face, neck and head;
• on male and female genital organs;
• on the mucous membrane of the vagina, esophagus, larynx;
• in the mouth. on the tongue and inner surface of the cheeks and lips;
• on the body under clothes.

Reasons for appearance

It is very easy to contract the human papillomavirus (HPV).

It is enough to have close contact with a person who has growths on the skin.

However, the disease does not appear immediately, and warts may not begin to grow until several months or years after infection.

Factors influencing HPV activity:

• weakened immunity;
• exacerbation of chronic diseases;
• stress;
• malnutrition;
• bad habits;
• passive lifestyle.

What to do if a wart has already appeared

Let's return to the survey results. Only 28% of respondents with warts consulted a doctor. It seems that the prospect of surgical removal procedures is more frightening than the wart itself. 34% of study participants tried to remove warts on their own, and 16% decided not to take any action, as they did not attach any importance to it.

Why you need to get rid of warts

For those who are still unsure whether to remove warts, it is important to know the following.

• First, warts are contagious. To do this, direct contact with the wart or personal hygiene items of its carrier is sufficient.
• Secondly, warts tend to "conquer territory, " that is, spread to healthy areas of the skin. This process is called autoinoculation (self-infection).

Obviously, it is easier to treat warts in the early stages of the disease, which will save time, effort and money in the future. Moreover, in pharmacies you can purchase products for self-removal of warts.

When to see a doctor

• if the wart quickly changes shape, color, or all together;
• if the wart has an uneven color;
• if the boundaries of the wart are blurred (in this case, most likely, it is not a wart);
• if the wart hurts or is constantly injured (this increases the risk of it degenerating into something more serious);
• if the number of warts gradually increases;
• if the wart bleeds or itches;
• if a wart has formed in the genital area.

Which doctor treats warts in children and adults

If growths appear on any part of the body, you should contact a doctor who specializes in the treatment of skin diseases - a dermatologist.

• It is he who conducts the examination and decides whether further diagnostics are necessary (blood test, PCR test, biopsy).
• In some doubtful cases, when a wart has signs of a malignant tumor, a dermatologist may recommend consulting an oncologist or dermato-oncologist.
• In most cases, the doctor decides to remove the wart, after which its tissue is sent for histological examination to ensure that there are no malignant signs.
• Warts on the mammary glands in women can cause breast cancer and require examination by a mammologist.

Wart removal

Removing warts is a radical method and is carried out in several ways. Warts can be removed using a laser. Along with this, cryotherapy and electrocoagulation methods are used. You can effectively remove warts using homeopathic medicines. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses.

When choosing a method for removing a wart, the doctor is usually guided by the location of the wart on the body. Thus, laser removal can leave behind scars. Scar formation is sometimes observed after using the Surgitron device. Therefore, it is the doctor who must choose the method for removing warts: depending on where the warts are located.

Cryotherapy and electrocoagulation are gentle methods for removing warts. Electrocoagulation is carried out using a special device that uses high-frequency current. As a result of the use of this device, the temperature of the tissue increases and the wart is destroyed, resulting in the death of the virus.

Cryotherapy is also cauterization, but only with liquid nitrogen. The procedure is quite painless and does not leave any scars. Speaking about these two methods, it is worth noting that their use eliminates contact with blood, which is extremely important. You can only trust a doctor with experience in this field to remove warts.

After removing warts, you need to think about how to avoid getting this infection again.Under no circumstances should warts be torn off or tied with a thread at the base so that they fall off on their own! Such unreasonable behavior can lead to serious health problems - for example, the resulting wound can become infected, and due to the tightening of the base of the tumor, blood flow can be disrupted.

A dermatologist or cosmetologist will tell you how to get rid of warts on the hands of children and adults, what procedures will help you forget about tumors on the body and face - you can contact any of these specialists. There are three main methods of getting rid of warts:

1. Laser therapy.Typically, this method is used to remove warts in the most tender and painful places, or if the patient wants to avoid scarring. Removing warts on the face with a laser is the optimal solution, since this procedure is painless, does not require a long recovery period, and after it there are no scars left on the skin.
2. Cryodestruction.This involves the use of liquid nitrogen, which literally burns out the tumor without leaving marks on the skin, although in some cases a small scar is possible. After removing warts with liquid nitrogen, the patient will need to avoid being in direct sunlight; in the future, a small whitish spot may remain at the site of the procedure.
3. Drug therapy.It is used in conjunction with the above methods. There are a lot of drugs that have a local effect and help to destroy the wart more quickly. The most effective remedy for warts is celandine extract, which is applied pointwise to the growth. You should not use the celandine plant yourself to treat warts - if its juice gets on healthy skin, it causes severe burns.

Getting rid of this type of skin tumor should be comprehensive. It’s not enough to visit a doctor and find out what causes warts on your fingers or face; you must follow all the prescriptions and recommendations of a specialist. Even with proper treatment, relapses of the disease are recorded quite often - in 40-50% of cases, warts reappear.

More information about what warts are, which doctor to contact to treat a plantar wart and what is meant by the term "general therapy for human papillomavirus" can be found on the pages of our website.

Is it possible to remove warts yourself?

Warts can be removed at home yourself, but only after diagnosis by a specialist.

There are special burning pharmaceutical products that can remove the growth after the first use. They have a cauterizing and necrotizing effect.

Such drugs are toxic and can cause burns to the tissue around the wart, so they must be used with caution. It is not advisable to remove warts at home in places with particularly delicate and sensitive skin (on the face, neck, mammary glands and genitals). You also need to ensure that the wart is completely gone and that no root or any other part of it remains. The ability of warts to reproduce is so great that even a small piece of tissue can become a source of infection in healthy areas of the dermis.

When using pharmaceutical drugs, you must strictly follow the instructions for their use and pay close attention to contraindications. Most of them are prohibited for use in children, pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Warts are external manifestations of an unsatisfactory internal state of the body. It is important not just to get rid of the symptoms of the disease, but to continuously fight the virus. The human immune system is able to independently cope with the causative agent of the disease if it is given all possible help. To do this, it’s enough just to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, strengthen the body with sports and healthy food.

Complications

Anogenital warts under certain conditions (for example, in case of infection with sexually transmitted infections, decreased general and/or local immunity) can increase in size and grow, thereby worsening a person’s sexual life and significantly reducing his quality of life.

In addition, inflammation and suppuration of anogenital warts, as well as their ulceration, may develop due to prolonged mechanical impact on them. In rare cases, their malignant degeneration is possible.

Recommendations for patients with warts

• Since two thirds of cases resolve spontaneously within two years, warts can be observed without treatment. As old lesions resolve, new warts may appear. This is not a consequence of treatment failure, but is part of the natural history of HPV infection.
• Treatment often takes many weeks or months, so patience and persistence are necessary for therapy to be successful.
• Tools that have been used to remove warts, such as nail files and pumice stones, should not be used on healthy skin or by other people. For the same reason, if warts are located on areas of the skin that have hair, you should use depilatories or electric razors to remove hair in these areas, or not remove hair at all, thereby limiting the spread of warts.
• To monitor and evaluate the results of treatment, a repeated visit to the doctor is necessary. • If the patient carries out treatment on his own, he can schedule follow-up visits with the doctor at his own discretion.

Prevention

Preventive measures include:

• vaccination with a quadrivalent vaccine (against HPV types 6 and 11, 16, 18);
• exclusion of casual sexual contacts;
• use of barrier methods of contraception (condom);
• compliance with personal hygiene rules;
• timely and adequate treatment of infectious and inflammatory diseases of the pelvic organs;

FAQ

Which doctor treats warts?

For warts, it is best to consult a dermatologist. A dermatologist specializes in treating skin conditions and is experienced in removing warts.

Is it possible to see a general doctor with a problem with warts?

Yes, you can see a general doctor, such as a general practitioner. He will be able to conduct an initial consultation and, if necessary, refer you to a specialist - a dermatologist.

What methods of treating warts do doctors use?

Doctors may use a variety of methods to treat warts, including cryotherapy (freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen), chemical removal, electrocautery (using an electric current to remove the wart), and laser removal. The doctor will choose the most appropriate method depending on the characteristics of the wart and the individual characteristics of the patient.

Useful tips

Tip #1

See a dermatologist. A dermatologist specializes in skin conditions and can help you with warts. He will conduct an examination, make a diagnosis and offer the most effective treatment.

Tip #2

Visit an oncodermatologist. Warts may be associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV), which can cause skin cancer. A dermatologist oncologist specializes in diagnosing and treating skin cancer, so they can conduct additional tests and recommend appropriate treatment if necessary.