Wart removers have been coming and going for centuries. The quest for healthier looking, blemish free skin is an age old pursuit for both men and women. Most people, though, don’t know what warts really are (besides ugly!) and so don’t know the best way of finding the wart removal method that’s best for them. Here is a brief look at what warts are, and the most effective ways to treat them.
To begin with, no one ever died from warts! Warts are merely an infection of the HPV or human papillomavirus. HPV is everywhere in the environment, and is unavoidable.
When we contract an HPV infection, we will get small blemishes on the skin ranging from reddish pimple-like protrusions on the face, hands, arms or torso, to flat, white disc-like marks on the soles of the feet.
We can also get warts on our genitals. More on these later.
Warts are highly contagious, but do not pose a threat to your health. We pick them up from other infected people, and in many cases they pass away again without any intervention, particularly in children. You should treat them out of respect for yourself and others, but other than that there is no reason to panic.
However, genital warts DO merit quick and effective attention. Why?
Number one, they are harder to self-diagnose, given where they are located, and number two, other, more serious sexually transmitted diseases look like warts, but aren’t. If you see any wart-like growth on your genital or anal region, get to a doctor without delay. Whatever it is you’ve got, you do not want to pass it on, so use your head and get treated.
The leading medical treatments for common warts are laser therapy and cryotherapy. Both are highly effective, and both have the effect of burning or freezing the wart, and killing off the virus.
Laser therapy involves the use of a small hand held laser, and can be done on an out patient basis by your doctor in his or her own office. It has a good record of leaving a clean, scar free result. There can be some pain, though, akin to the sensation of having a rubber band snapped against your skin. Some people prefer to have a local anesthetic during this procedure.
Cryotherapy uses extremely cold liquid nitrogen, or some other cryogen. A brief application is sufficient to freeze the wart solid, which can then be removed by lancing it. Again, good results often come about, and it too can be done on an out patient basis.
Other remedies can be tried at home. These usually require a bit of patience as they are not as fast as laser therapy or cryotherapy.
One old favorite is salicylic acid. This comes in dilute form at your local druggist, though stronger prescription solutions are also available. Read the directions on the bottle very thoroughly. In brief, you wash and dry the affected area, and apply drops of the acid directly to the warts.
You may see the wart go whitish on contact, but this does not mean the wart is cured. Repeated daily applications are necessary, often for up to 21 days. Each day use a pumice to remove any dead accumulated skin, and keep the treated areas very clean and bandaged between applications.
Finally, surgery is the solution of last resort for persistent warts that are causing significant cosmetic issues. Word of warning: because wart removal generally is merely a cosmetic problem, your health insurance company may not cover you for costs. Few things in life are free, so know all the costs involved before you embark on surgery as your last-resort wart remover.
