Warts are small, rough, lumps that often appear on the hands and feet, they vary in appearance depending on where they are on the body and how thick the skin is in that area. They can develop in isolation or in clusters and are non-cancerous.
Warts on Hand
Some warts are more likely to affect particular areas of the body. For example, warts may appear on hands and fingers.
A Verrucae is a plantar wart which usually develops on the soles of the feet, with a cauliflower like surface. They sometimes show tiny dark spots which are actually spots of blood. Verrucae have a good blood supply and quite often bleed when being treated.
What causes warts/verrucae?
Warts are caused by an infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV).
The virus causes an excess amount of keratin, a hard protein, to develop in the top skin layer (epidermis). The extra keratin produces the rough, hard texture of a wart.
Are warts/verrucae contagious?
They are very contagious, and close skin-to-skin contact can pass on the infection.
The infection can also be transmitted indirectly from contaminated objects or surfaces, such as the area surrounding swimming pool and changing rooms.
Warts are thought to be contagious for as long as they are present on your body. The virus is more likely to spread if the skin is wet, soft or has been in contact with a rough surface.
Warts can also be spread to other parts of your own body. You can spread the virus if you:
- Scratch, knock or bite a wart
- Bite your nails or suck your fingers (if they have warts on them)
- Shave your face or legs
- Share towels, flannels or other personal items with someone who has a wart or verruca
- Share socks and shoes with a person infected with the HPV virus
After becoming infected, it can take weeks or even months for a wart or Verrucae to appear.
Treatment:
The length of time it takes for a wart to disappear will vary from person to person. They tend to last longer in older children and adults.
In adults and people with a weakened immune system, warts are less likely to clear up on their own or respond well to treatment.
Leaving the wart to get better by itself is one option. However, you may want to consider treatment if your wart is painful, in an awkward position, or is causing you distress or embarrassment.
There are a number of treatments available for warts. However, no single treatment is 100% effective, and sometimes the wart or verrucae may return.
Treatment for Children:
Treatment involves paring the verruca or wart and applying an application of TT50 verruca cream. This is a less aggressive treatment that contains a blend of essential oils shown to be effective against verrucae. Treatment can be successful but relies on commitment from all parties involved, necessitating daily self- administration of the preparation and commitment to professional treatment once every two weeks.
Treatment for Adults:
Treatment for adults is similar to the treatment for children with the exception of the medication which is applied to the wart or verruca following paring. This depends entirely upon the patients’ medical history and will be discussed during the initial consultation.
I do not freeze the verrucae or warts.
Please note that the initial verrucae treatment will involve a full length consultation including a full medical history before treatment can commence.
Special appointments are available for verruca follow up treatments which are shorter and deal specifically with the verruca site.