Many of us are faced with unsightly neoplasms on the skin - warts. In addition to the fact that these formations are unaesthetic, they significantly complicate a person’s life due to possible injury to clothing. Often, plantar warts cause pain when walking. And if an adult can somehow adapt to this, then the child responds to discomfort instantly. For what reasons there are warts in a child, treatment with what methods is considered the most effective, what types of warts exist - we will deal with all issues in our article.
What is a wart?
A wart is a neoplasm on the skin that is often benign. In rare cases, however, there is a potential risk of degeneration of a benign structure into a malignant tissue.
Warts occur due to the action of the
human papillomavirus (HPV) in the body.
Infection with the virus occurs through direct contact of a healthy person with a patient, as well as when using household items. The activity of the virus in the body is manifested only against the background of a number of factors:
- severe stress or mental trauma;
- decreased immunity;
- increased sweating (on the skin, hands, soles of the feet).
A favorable environment for the spread of the virus is high humidity and warmth, so public pools or gyms, public showers are the places with the highest probability of infection. The virus enters the human body through microtrauma of the skin - scratches, cuts. The incubation period is at least a few weeks. Over time, the risk of the formation of formations becomes less, as the immunity to the virus gradually grows stronger. This applies mainly to children. Sometimes you should not consider the appearance of a wart in a child as a tragedy. Medication may not be required.
Types of Warts
All neoplasms are conventionally combined into four groups:
- flat warts;
- common warts;
- genital warts;
- senile warts.
Flat warts, which are also called juvenile warts, usually appear on the skin in children or adolescents. These neoplasms have a rounded shape, resemble flat nodules externally, 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 microtrauma - cuts or scratches. Adults are able to independently monitor their health. With kids, everything is different. Parents should be interested in the wart that appears on the child’s hand. Treatment should begin with a consultation with a dermatologist.
Ordinary warts are often called vulgar. These neoplasms have a dense structure and are dry keratinized tubercles with an uneven surface having 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, ordinary neoplasms in most cases appear on the hands.
Flat, senile, peaked neoplasms
A kind of ordinary 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 sweating heavily.
Plantar warts have a very dense structure, they are growths of dark gray, dirty color, which cause pain when walking. Sometimes an adult can temporarily lose his ability to work due to a pathological condition.
Genital warts are another type of wart arising from uncleanliness of a person, i.e., in the absence of proper body hygiene. This type of neoplasm appears mainly in the genital area. Genital warts resemble small nodules of pink color, which, as a rule, merge and form a structure of soft consistency.
Unlike ordinary 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 a 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 trunk.
At risk - children
Warts are more susceptible to people with high sensitivity to HPV, as well as people whose immunity is reduced due to various diseases - diabetes, HIV, and cancer pathologies. Also at risk are children. 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.
Often, babies are prone to plantar warts. Ordinary neoplasms appear on the arms, along the body, flat warts - on the face of the child. Treatment of pathology gives good results in most cases. However, it is important to understand why in general this pathology manifests itself in children:
- Firstly, children's immunity is imperfect, and can not always cope with the action of the virus, in contrast to the protective functions of an adult.
- Secondly, children are mobile and often during the game can injure and scratch the skin, thereby opening the door for the virus to enter the body.
- Thirdly, the kids 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 occurrence of neoplasms on the skin of the baby should at least interest parents.
Baby Warts
As mentioned earlier, tumors can occur in babies everywhere. On the skin of the hands, the back of the palms, on the fingers there are not only single warts, but also their clusters. As a rule, such warts are painless. They are tubercles of white or pale pink, but sometimes they have a dark red color with a bright spot in the center.
In addition to the usual, a plantar wart may appear in a child. It is important to begin treatment of a neoplasm immediately. The appearance of such warts resembles rounded tubercles of different colors - from pale yellow to brownish brown. Inside there is a recess 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 corns, however, there is one characteristic feature of the neoplasm: when the upper layer of the wart is cut, black dots are visible - these are clogged blood vessels.
As mentioned earlier, there is a risk of degeneration of a benign neoplasm into a malignant tissue. In addition, there are frequent cases when warts grow inside and form bone marrow. In order not to risk health, especially the health of the baby, you should immediately consult a dermatologist who will carefully examine the
warts on the feet of the child. The treatment prescribed by a specialist will be the most effective and safe.
Symptomatology
The most obvious sign of the formation of a plantar wart on the foot of a child is the occurrence of a round and clearly defined seal.
A neoplasm with a smooth surface is growing, gradually reaching a size of several centimeters. The tissues surrounding the wart, as a rule, do not change color. Over time, the neoplasm is modified - it becomes rough, more rough. Single warts can merge into whole areas - this situation occurs with the active action of the virus in the body.
If the warts belong to the group of ordinary neoplasms, they appear on the hands or on the surface of other parts of the body of the child. In contact with clothes, they can cause pain, vary in size, bleed. Plantar warts lead to discomfort when walking due to friction of the skin on the inside of the shoe. At the same time, children are capricious, any movement causes them concern. A surprise can be a wart on the face of a child. In this case, treatment is simply necessary in order to rid the baby of psychological discomfort.
Diagnosis and treatment
The occurrence of warts occurs due to the action of the PM virus in the body. Therefore, the first step that must be performed when examining a neoplasm is to make an analysis for the presence of the above virus in the blood, i.e. perform PCR diagnostics.
In this case, the dermoscopy procedure helps to clarify the diagnosis, during which the doctor removes the upper layer of the epithelium. If black dots are visible on the performed section - clogged capillaries - there is a high probability that a wart has developed on the human body.
Ultrasound is carried out for young children, especially this procedure is justified for advanced stages of the disease. An ultrasound scan helps determine how deep the plantar growths have grown. If there is concern that the wart has degenerated into malignant tissue, a dermatologist-oncologist should be consulted. Not only neoplasms on the body are checked, but also callus-like warts on the feet 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 the virus in the human body that caused the appearance and growth of the wart. Therapy includes the use of medications, the use of various external agents and cosmetic procedures.
Drug treatment
One of the stages in the treatment of warts is the use of antiviral drugs in order to reduce the activity of the pathogen in the body to zero.
Together with this measure, they stimulate the human immune system. This is done in order to make the body 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.
Antigens can be used as a stimulant in medicine. The most commonly used antigen of mumps. This is due to the fact that the vast majority of people were vaccinated against this pathology. The antigen activates when it enters the body its protective reactions. However, there is one caveat in the course of such treatment - sometimes side effects can occur - a few hours after the manipulation, a person develops flu symptoms.
Beauty treatments
To eliminate an external defect in cosmetology, a whole range of procedures is used.
The treatment of warts with cryotherapy (freezing) is as follows. The tumor is affected by liquid nitrogen, due to which tissue withers away 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.
Using a laser is a fairly effective method in the fight against neoplasms, but it is painful and ambiguous, since often after the procedure scars remain on the skin.
Helps in the fight against the disease and surgical intervention. The excision method is based on the use of an electric needle (scalpel). A wart is excised under local anesthesia. This procedure is resorted to in an extreme case, when other methods of treatment do not give the expected effect. This is primarily due to the fact that after excision, the likelihood of scar formation is high.
Warts in a child: treatment
The treatment of warts in children has some features, and this is primarily due to the fact that babies are more susceptible to pain, and children's skin is tender and more prone to injury.
It should be noted that often warts in children do not require treatment and can go away on their own. With gradual growing up, the child’s immune system is strengthened, and at some point the body copes with the virus and its manifestations - neoplasms. However, in case the wart does not disappear, it is recommended to seek help from a specialist so as not to start the disease, prevent the appearance of new formations, and also not to miss the moment of transformation into a malignant structure. I must say that single warts respond better to treatment than clusters of large tumors. 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 baby's skin is superficial, then for the effective treatment only the use of ointments and external agents will be sufficient.
Such therapy is used in the fight against neoplasms on the hands, body, and also in cases where a wart appears on the foot of a child.
Treatment will be more radical if deeply grown tumors occur. Then various cosmetic procedures are applied. For example, a method 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 dressing is applied, and within a week, salicylic patches are independently applied at the site of the wart's localization. This is done in order to reduce the risk of relapse. After some time, the neoplasm collapses and disappears.
It is known that a neoplasm destroys lines on the skin. So, after cure, the skin pattern is restored. This occurs some time after the wart on the foot of the child has collapsed.
Treatment of neoplasms can be associated with consultations with an orthopedic surgeon, because often in children with this pathology, foot deformity occurs.
Prevention and traditional medicine
In order to prevent the formation of warts, it is necessary to adhere to some rules, namely:
- refuse to use tight shoes, buy shoes made from natural materials;
- when deforming the feet, it is mandatory to use special orthopedic insoles;
- constantly take care of the soles of the feet - apply cream, foot baths;
- avoid skin injuries;
- monitor immunity, avoid stressful situations.
If warts do appear, it is necessary to seek the help of specialists, use antiviral drugs and immunomodulators in the treatment.
In addition to medications, there are recipes of traditional medicine 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. The following are just some recipe options:
- Therapy with garlic. From several heads of the plant it is necessary to cook gruel, add a small amount of flour, as well as vinegar. Apply the resulting product to the wart, seal with a plaster and leave for several days. The procedure is repeated after a few days until the wart disappears.
- Raw potato treatment. Gruel is made of 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; juice of celandine, mountain ash. These funds are used in the preparation of compresses, which are applied to the skin affected by warts.