Many of us have experienced unsightly skin growths called warts. In addition to the fact that these formations are unaesthetic, they significantly complicate a person's life due to possible injury from clothing. Often, plantar warts cause pain when walking. And if an adult can somehow adapt to this, then the child reacts to discomfort instantly. For what reasons do warts appear in a child, what treatment methods are considered the most effective, what types of warts exist - we will deal with all questions in our article.
What is a wart?
A wart is a neoplasm on the skin, which is often benign. In rare cases, however, there is the potential for a benign structure to degenerate into malignant tissue.
Warts are caused by the action of the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the body.
The virus is transmitted through direct contacta he althy person with a sick person, as well as when using his household items. The activity of the virus in the body is manifested only against the background of a number of factors:
- strong stress or mental trauma;
- immunity reduction;
- excessive sweating (skin, hands, soles of the feet).
High humidity and heat are favorable environments for the spread of the virus, so public swimming pools or gyms, public showers are the places where the probability of infection is highest. The virus enters the human body through microtraumas of the skin - scratches, cuts. The incubation period is at least a few weeks. Over time, the risk of formations becomes less, as immunity to the virus gradually grows stronger. This applies mostly to children. Sometimes the appearance of a wart in a child should not be considered a tragedy. Medication may not be required.
Types of warts
All neoplasms are conditionally combined into four groups:
- flat warts;
- common warts;
- genital warts;
- senile warts.
Flat warts, also called juvenile warts, usually appear on the skin of children or teenagers. These neoplasms have a rounded shape, outwardly resemble flat nodules, mainly occur on the face and on the outer surface of the hands. The appearance of warts is preceded by skin irritation, therefore, neoplasms often occur in the area of microtraumas - cuts or scratches. adults inable to take care of their own he alth. With kids it's different. Parents should be interested in the appearance of a wart on the child's hand. Treatment should begin with a consultation with a dermatologist.
Common warts are often referred to as vulgar warts. These neoplasms have a dense structure and are dry, keratinized tubercles with an uneven surface that has villi. Warts are characterized by outlined edges and reach the size of a pea. Such formations often combine, merging into large plaques. Like flat warts, common warts most often appear on the hands.
Flat, senile, spiky neoplasms
A type of common wart is a plantar wart in a child. The treatment of this type of pathology is similar to the treatment of other types of neoplasms. But the reason for the occurrence of this wart lies in the use of tight shoes not only in children, but also in adults, mainly in those who sweat a lot.
Plantar warts are very hard, dark grey, dirty-colored growths that cause pain when walking. Sometimes an adult may be temporarily unable to work due to a pathological condition.
Genital warts - another kind of warts that occur as a result of uncleanliness of a person, that is, in the absence of proper body hygiene. This type of neoplasm appears mainly in the genital area.organs. Genital warts look like small pink nodules that tend to coalesce and form a soft texture.
Unlike common warts, flat warts and genital warts, which have a viral nature of origin, senile warts occur due to age-related features of human skin. Keratomas externally look like neoplasms of dark color (black, gray, brown) with a loose structure saturated with sebum. Senile warts are mainly formed on the face or neck, as well as along the torso.
Children at risk
The occurrence of warts is more susceptible to people with high sensitivity to HPV, as well as people whose immunity is reduced due to various diseases - diabetes, HIV, oncological pathologies. Children are also at risk. Treatment of flat warts in children, along with other types of neoplasms, is similar to the treatment of warts in an adult. It's just that sometimes a child may not need therapy.
Toddlers are often prone to plantar warts. Ordinary neoplasms appear on the arms, along the body, flat warts - on the face of a child. Treatment of pathology gives good results in most cases. However, it is important to understand why this pathology appears in children in general:
- Firstly, children's immunity is imperfect, and can not always cope with the action of the virus, unlike the protective functions of an adult.
- Secondly, children are mobile and often during the game they can injure andscratching the skin, thereby opening the door for the virus to enter the body.
- Thirdly, babies are constantly in close contact with each other, play with common toys, so there is always a risk of contracting the virus from a sick child.
It is important to remember that the appearance of a neoplasm on the baby's skin should at least interest parents.
Baby Warts
As mentioned earlier, neoplasms can occur anywhere in babies. On the skin of the hands, the back of the palms, on the fingers, there are not only single warts, but also their clusters. Typically, these warts are painless. They are bumps of white or pale pink, but sometimes they are dark red in color with a bright spot in the center.
In addition to the common wart, a child's plantar wart may also appear. Treatment of neoplasms is important to begin immediately. The appearance of such warts resembles rounded tubercles of different colors - from pale yellow to brown-brown. Inside there is a depression similar to a crater. As the wart grows, it changes - at first it looks like a shiny ball, over time it becomes porous, uneven.
Outwardly, it is very similar to a corn, but there is one characteristic feature of the neoplasm: when the top layer of the wart is cut off, black dots are visible - these are clogged blood vessels.
As mentioned earlier, there is a risk of degeneration of a benign neoplasm into malignant tissue. In addition, it is not uncommoncases where warts grow inward and form a callus. In order not to risk he alth, especially the he alth of the baby, you should immediately seek advice from a dermatologist who will carefully examine the warts on the child's feet. Treatment prescribed by a specialist will be the most effective and safe.
Symptomatics
The most obvious sign of a plantar wart on a child's foot is the appearance of a round and well-defined lump.
A neoplasm with a smooth surface grows, gradually reaching a size of several centimeters. The tissues surrounding the wart usually do not change color. Over time, a modification of the neoplasm occurs - it becomes rough, coarser. Single warts can merge into entire areas - this situation occurs when the virus is active in the body.
If warts belong to the group of common neoplasms, they appear on the hands or on the surface of other parts of the child's body. In contact with clothing, they can cause pain, change in size, bleed. Plantar warts cause discomfort when walking due to friction of the skin against the inside of the shoe. At the same time, children are capricious, any movement causes them anxiety. A surprise may be a wart on the face of a child. Treatment in this case is simply necessary in order to save the baby from psychological discomfort.
Diagnosis and treatment
The occurrence of warts is due to the action inthe body of the PV virus. Therefore, the first step that must be taken when examining a neoplasm is to make an analysis for the presence of the above virus in the blood, i.e. perform PCR diagnostics.
The dermoscopy procedure helps to clarify the diagnosis, during which the doctor removes the top layer of the epithelium. If black dots are visible on the cut - clogged capillaries - it is likely that a wart has developed on the human body.
Little children undergo ultrasound, especially this procedure is justified in advanced stages of the disease. Ultrasound helps determine how deep inside the plantar growths have grown. If there is concern that the wart has degenerated into malignant tissue, a consultation with a dermatologist-oncologist is prescribed. They check not only neoplasms on the body, but also warts that look like corns on the legs of children.
The treatment of neoplasms is complex and is aimed not only at eliminating a cosmetic defect, but also at stopping the action of a virus in the human body that caused the appearance and growth of a wart. Therapy includes taking medications, using various external agents and performing cosmetic procedures.
Medicated treatment
One of the stages in the treatment of warts is taking antiviral drugs in order to reduce the activity of the pathogen in the body to zero.
Together with this measure, stimulation of the immunehuman systems. This is done in order to force the body to fight the disease on its own. Immunotherapy can be performed in different ways, however, the most common of them is the introduction of a special drug "Interferon" into the neoplasm, which increases the protective functions of the body.
Angens can be used as a stimulant in medicine. The most commonly used mumps antigen. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of people were vaccinated against this pathology. The antigen activates its protective reactions when it enters the body. However, there is one caveat in the course of such treatment - sometimes side effects may occur - a few hours after the manipulation, a person has flu-like symptoms.
Cosmetology treatments
To eliminate an external defect in cosmetology, a whole range of procedures is used.
Treatment of warts with cryotherapy (freezing) is as follows. The neoplasm is exposed to liquid nitrogen, due to which tissue dies around the wart and a blister forms, which later disappears. The consequences of this procedure can cause pain, which, however, quickly pass.
Laser therapy is also used, during which the doctor performs cauterization of blood vessels in the wart itself. After the procedure, the tissue dies, the wart collapses and disappears.
The use of a laser is a fairly effective method in the fight against neoplasms, but painful and ambiguous, as often after the procedure on the skinscars remain.
Helps in the fight against disease and surgery. The excision method is based on the use of an electric needle (scalpel). The wart is cut out under local anesthesia. This procedure is resorted to as a last resort, when other methods of treatment do not give the expected effect. This is primarily due to the fact that after excision, there is a high probability of scarring.
Warts in a child: treatment
The treatment of warts in children has some peculiarities, and this is primarily due to the fact that babies are more susceptible to pain, and children's skin is delicate and more susceptible to injury.
It should be noted that often warts in children do not require treatment and can go away on their own. With gradual maturation, the child's immune system is strengthened, and at some point the body copes with the virus and its manifestations - neoplasms. However, if the wart does not disappear, it is recommended to seek the help of a specialist in order not to start the disease, to prevent the appearance of new formations, and also not to miss the moment of degeneration into a malignant structure. I must say that single warts respond better to treatment than clusters of large neoplasms. In addition, the appearance of a wart leads to the disappearance of the skin pattern on the surface of the sole.
If the location of the wart on the skin of the baby is superficial, then only the use of ointments and external agents will be sufficient for effective treatment.
Similar therapyit is used in the fight against neoplasms on the hands, body, as well as in cases where a wart has appeared on the foot of a child.
Treatment will be more radical if there are deeply ingrown neoplasms. Then various cosmetic procedures are applied. For example, a technique using cantharidin is effective, painless and applicable in the treatment of children. This substance, together with salicylic acid, covers the surface of the wart. After the procedure, a special bandage is applied, and within a week, salicylic patches are independently applied at the site of the localization of the wart. This is done in order to reduce the risk of recurrence of the disease. After some time, the neoplasm collapses and disappears.
It is known that the neoplasm destroys the lines on the skin. So, after treatment, the skin pattern is restored. This happens some time after the wart on the child's foot has collapsed.
Treatment of neoplasms may be associated with consultations with an orthopedist, because often babies with this pathology develop foot deformity.
Prevention and traditional medicine
In order to prevent the formation of warts, you must follow some rules, namely:
- refuse to use tight shoes, buy shoes made from natural materials;
- in case of foot deformity, be sure to use special orthopedic insoles;
- constantly care for the soles of the feet - apply creams, foot baths;
- don't allowskin injury;
- monitor immunity, avoid stressful situations.
If warts still appear, you need to seek help from specialists, use antiviral drugs and immunomodulators in treatment.
In addition to medications, there are traditional medicine recipes that help in the fight against neoplasms.
Herbal remedies can be used if it is necessary to get rid of a wart in a child. Treatment involves the use of plant materials. Below are just some of the recipe options:
- Therapy with garlic. From several heads of the plant, it is necessary to prepare a gruel, add a small amount of flour, as well as vinegar. The resulting product is applied to the wart, sealed with a plaster and left for several days. Repeat the procedure after a few days until the wart disappears.
- Treatment with raw potatoes. A slurry is made from a raw vegetable, applied to the wart for several hours, tied with a bandage. The procedure is repeated until the neoplasm disappears.
- In the fight against warts in folk medicine, decoctions of wormwood, calendula are used; celandine juice, mountain ash. These funds are used in the preparation of compresses, which are applied to the skin affected by warts.
