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 these formations varies from 1 mm to 1 or more centimeters.

The cause of warts is viral. They can be transmitted 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. Therefore, when warts form on your body, it can be very difficult to remember who may have "given" them to you.

It must be said that there are different types of warts, so the attitude towards them must 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 of the feet. If they are painless in the arms, in the legs they can cause a lot of inconvenience. Its formation can be promoted by perspiration from the feet and pressure from shoes.

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

Thus, genital warts are sometimes confused with 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 resort to folk remedies!

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

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

Types of warts

Warts are most often diagnosed in childhood and adolescence, but they 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 a larger "mother" wart - if it is removed, the smaller tumors disappear.
2. Flat/young.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 more active pressure from uncomfortable shoes. The diagnosis of this type of wart is often difficult, as the specialist must differentiate the neoplasm in question from corns and calluses.
4. Filiform.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 the type of tumor that will be diagnosed in the patient.

It is worth knowing one more feature of warts - they do not have an 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 of the thread type - an "icicle" appears on the skin, without causing pain or irritation. It is worth noting that frequently rubbing a wart causes inflammation and irritation - it turns 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 dozens of 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 located in the upper layer of the epidermis and can take a long time to manifest itself. 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 directly depends 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 their 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 the appearance

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

Just have close contact with a person who has lumps on their 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 go back to the search results. Only 28% of respondents with warts consulted a doctor. It seems that the prospect of surgical removal procedures is scarier 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 importance to it.

Why do 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, all that is needed is direct contact with the wart or the carrier's personal hygiene items.
• Secondly, warts tend to "conquer territory", that is, spread to healthy areas of the skin. This process is called autoinoculation (autoinfection).

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

When to see a doctor

• if the wart quickly changes shape, color or everything together;
• if the wart is uneven in 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 treating skin diseases - a dermatologist.

• He is the one who carries out the examination and decides whether further diagnostics are necessary (blood test, PCR, biopsy).
• In some doubtful cases, when a wart shows signs of a malignant tumor, the 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

Wart removal is a radical method and is carried out in several ways. Warts can be removed with a laser. Along with this, cryotherapy and electrocoagulation methods are used. You can remove warts effectively 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. Therefore, laser removal can leave scars. The formation of scars is sometimes observed after using the Surgitron device, therefore it is the doctor who must choose the method of removing warts: depending on the location of the warts.

Cryotherapy and electrocoagulation are gentle methods for removing warts. Electrocoagulation is carried out using a special device that uses high-frequency current. With 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 leaves no 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 the warts, you need to think about how to avoid getting infected again.Under no circumstances should warts be pulled out or tied with a thread at the base so that they fall off on their own! This irrational behavior can lead to serious health problems - for example, the resulting wound can become infected, and due to the tightness of the base of the tumor, blood flow can be interrupted.

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 to get rid of warts:

1. Laser therapy.Typically, this method is used to remove warts in the most sensitive and painful locations, or if the patient wants to avoid scars. Removing warts on the face with a laser is the ideal solution, as this procedure is painless, does not require a long recovery period and afterwards there are no scars on the skin.
2. Cryodestruction.This involves the use of liquid nitrogen, which literally burns the tumor without leaving marks on the skin, although in some cases a small scar is possible. After removing the warts with liquid nitrogen, the patient should avoid direct exposure to the sun, as a small whitish spot may remain at the site of the procedure in the future.
3. Drug therapy.It is used in conjunction with the above methods. There are many medications 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 to treat warts - if its juice gets on healthy skin, it will cause severe burns.

Elimination of this type of skin tumor must be comprehensive. It is not enough to consult a doctor and find out what causes warts on the fingers or face, you need to follow all the prescriptions and recommendations of a specialist. Even with adequate 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 the term "general therapy for human papillomavirus" means can be found on the pages of our website.

Is it possible to remove warts by yourself?

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

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

These medications are toxic and can cause burns to the tissue around the wart, so they should be used with caution. It is not advisable to remove warts at home in places with particularly delicate and sensitive skin (face, neck, mammary glands and genitals). You also need to ensure that the wart is completely gone and that no roots or any other part of it remain. 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 medicines, you must strictly follow the instructions for use and be aware of contraindications. Most of them are prohibited for use in children, pregnant and lactating women.

Warts are external manifestations of an unsatisfactory internal state of the body. It is important not only to eliminate the symptoms of the disease, but also to continuously fight the virus. The human immune system is capable of independently dealing with the causative agent of the disease if it receives all possible help. To do this, you just need to lead a healthy and active lifestyle, strengthen your body with sports and a healthy diet.

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 their quality of life.

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

Recommendations for patients with warts

• Since two-thirds of cases resolve spontaneously within two years, warts can be seen without treatment. As old lesions disappear, new warts may appear. This is not a consequence of treatment failure, but is part of the natural history of HPV infection.
• Treatment usually takes weeks or months, so patience and persistence are required for therapy to be successful.
• Tools 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 the warts are located in areas of the skin that have hair, you should use depilatories or electric shavers to remove the hair in these areas, or not remove any hair at all, thus limiting the spread of the warts.
• To monitor and evaluate treatment results, repeated visits to the doctor are necessary. • If the patient carries out the treatment on their own, they can schedule follow-up appointments with the doctor at their discretion.

Prevention

Preventive measures include:

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

Common questions

Which doctor treats warts?

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

Is it possible to consult a general practitioner with a wart problem?

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

What wart treatment methods do doctors use?

Doctors may use several methods to treat warts, including cryotherapy (freezing the wart with liquid nitrogen), chemical removal, electrocautery (using electrical 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

Consult a dermatologist. A dermatologist specializes in skin conditions and can help you with warts. He will perform 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 perform additional tests and recommend appropriate treatment if necessary.