Warts, Latin verrucae, are benign, small growths on the upper layer of the skin. They are usually caused by an infection with human papilloma viruses (HPV). Warts are flat or slightly raised. The viruses penetrate the skin through tiny injuries and develop the typical growths after a few weeks. People who are infected with a viral wart should avoid skin contact with other people if possible, as warts are contagious.
You can find further information and selected wart doctors here.
Pathogens from the group of human papilloma viruses (HPV) are usually responsible for warts. These penetrate the skin via tiny injuries and develop small, benign growths after a few weeks.
Warts are often found in exposed areas such as
can be found. Warts occur particularly frequently, but not exclusively, in children and adolescents. As a rule, they heal on their own once the immune system has learned how to deal with the pathogen.
In adults, a massive infestation with warts mainly occurs when the immune system is weakened.
Wart viruses are highly contagious. It is therefore advisable to treat viral warts from an epidemiological point of view. Infection occurs via smear infections or direct skin contact.
Cross-section of a wart © rob3000 | AdobeStock
Different types of warts develop depending on the strain of the virus:
Flat warts (also known as plane warts) appear as flat, yellowish-grey or brownish round spots that may have a reddish border.
Prickly warts (also known as vulgar warts) are the most common type of wart and appear as pronounced, horny nodules. Scratching the warts spreads the pathogen in the surrounding area and daughter warts often form.
Plantar warts appear on the soles of the feet and grow inwards due to mechanical stress. They are recognizable by a swelling of the cornea and small red or black dots. Plantar warts can be very painful when walking as they protrude into the inside of the foot. They are particularly common in
are particularly common.
Mosaic warts also occur exclusively on the soles of the feet. However, they do not grow inwards and are therefore less painful. However, they occur in groups and join together to form a mosaic on the sole of the foot
Genital warts (or genital warts) are caused by viruses that prefer to infect warm and moist areas of skin. They therefore often occur in the genital area or on the mucous membranes there, i.e. on the
They first develop as small papules, often in groups, but then grow into larger growths.
Genital warts can be transmitted through sexual contact. They mainly settle on small skin lesions or in the course of other local or systemic infections. Those affected often suffer from a weakened immune system.
A distinction is made between low-risk and high-risk types of genital warts. The high-risk types can lead to malignant degeneration and corresponding types of cancer:
However, high-risk types are very rare.
Molluscum contagiosum is not caused by human papilloma viruses. A member of the pox viruses(molluscum contagiosum virus, MCV) is responsible for them.
They appear spherical and pink in color and usually occur in groups. Molluscum contagiosum warts occur mainly on exposed areas of skin or in the genital area. They differ from the other types of warts in that they are less keratinized but are filled with fluid.
Warts are "knobbly" growths on the skin © epovdima | AdobeStock
If a wart has already developed on the skin, the first thing you should do is consult a dermatologist. This will clarify what type of wart it is. Determining the exact type of wart will determine how it can be treated specifically and successfully.
Flat warts often affect children and adolescents who
Sometimes these warts disappear on their own after a while. If the infestation with flat warts persists for a longer period of time and even after discontinuation of antibiotics and the end of the disease, you should consult a dermatologist. He or she will often prescribe a red light treatment to initiate the healing process.
Removingplantar warts permanently is somewhat more difficult. Icing or laser treatment is usually used here. You should consider this with your doctor at an early stage to prevent the wart from spreading quickly.
Prickly warts can also be treated and removed with icing and laser treatment. Some surgeons use so-called wart spoons to scrape out the wart. However, due to the lack of stimulation of the immune system, rapid healing is not to be expected.
Genital warts in the genital area can also be treated and permanently removed with laser radiation. The healing process is accelerated by stimulating the immune system.
Below you will find further information on the various treatment methods for warts.
Icing(cryotherapy) is a good treatment method for plantar and flat warts. This treatment is carried out in a doctor's surgery. The doctor exposes the relevant area of skin and the wart itself to extreme cold. The effect of the cold ensures that the upper layer of skin containing the wart is destroyed.
The wart then falls off after about a fortnight.
It is also possible to ice the wart yourself at home. You can obtain over-the-counter products from the pharmacy for this purpose, which you simply apply to the wart in question.
Another method is cauterization, which you can also do at home. In medical terms, this procedure is called cauterization. It is very effective for flat warts.
The over-the-counter medications contain salicylic acid or lactic acid. They are applied to the wart.
After around five to six days, the tissue detaches and the healing process can begin.
Laser treatment for warts is usually carried out in hospital as it can be very painful. It is usually used for plantar warts, which are located deep in the sole of the foot.
Because the plantar wart reaches deep into the skin, icing cannot help here.
Laser treatment takes place under anesthesia. The wart is cut out with the laser beams depending on the depth of the wart. A scar is formed.
Afterwards, the patient may feel further, sometimes very severe pain.
Wart plasters are available from pharmacies and gently remove the wart. However, one hundred percent removal of the wart cannot be guaranteed. Wart plasters do not help very well, especially with deep-seated warts on the sole of the foot.
The wart plaster also contains an acid that penetrates the wart when it is applied to the affected area.
A wart ointment works in a similar way to a wart plaster, as it is also applied to the affected wart.
The wart ointment contains salicylic acid and has a corrosive effect on the wart tissue. You should apply it to the wart several times a day to achieve a successful result.
A good result can also be achieved by stimulating the immune system.
A very effective treatment method is the scraping out of warts. This procedure is mainly used for deep-seated plantar warts. Scraping removes deep plantar warts where other methods are ineffective.
This treatment is carried out in a hospital.
The surgeon literally scrapes the wart out with a wart spoon. The patient may experience severe pain for some time afterwards. The healing process can sometimes take up to four weeks.
Virustatics are drugs that fight viral pathogens in the human body. Virustatics are also used to treat warts.
Combination preparations (e.g. Verrumal) soften the wart tissue and also have a cytostatic effect on the host cells. Virustatics therefore also prevent the wart viruses from multiplying and spreading.
Another form of virustatics is mainly used to treat genital warts. So-called immunomodulators stimulate the skin's immune system to fight the wart viruses itself.
The applied antiviral drugs lead to the release of the body's own interferons and interleukins. The locally triggered inflammatory reaction leads to the destruction of the virally infected cells. Imiquimod cream or interferon gel is used.
The duration of treatment with these antivirals is up to 16 weeks. The body's own defenses fight the viruses themselves. The chances of a complete cure without relapse are therefore very good.
Surgical treatment is often carried out in parallel in cases of severe infestation with genital warts.
However, immunomodulators have potentially stronger side effects than other wart medications. In addition to local, sometimes very pronounced inflammatory reactions, there are also systemic symptoms that can be flu-like.
Most of these methods must not be used on pregnant women and immunosuppressed people.
Warts are transmitted particularly frequently in swimming pools © yanlev | AdobeStock
Treatment and removal can lead to complications and risks that you should consider in advance. You should read the instructions for use on the package leaflet very carefully and only act according to the instructions.
When applying active ingredients locally, it can happen that they get onto healthy skin that is not diseased. As these products contain acid, there is a risk that healthy tissue will also be treated.
This should be avoided at all costs. Healthy skin can be damaged during application. This is noticeable by a strong burning sensation on the skin. As a precautionary measure, cover the healthy skin around the wart with a greasy cream.
After a wart has been scraped off, the dressing should be replaced regularly and the wound cleaned. If this is not done, new germs can enter the wound, making the healing process much more difficult.
A removed wart leaves a wound, regardless of whether it is a flat wart or a deep-seated plantar wart. Good hygiene and cleanliness are essential for better wound healing.
If the wound has already healed, it is advisable to apply an ointment to promote healing. This promotes the rapid growth of new skin cells. The active ingredient dexpanthenol achieves good results here.
Strengthen your immune system to prevent a wart infection. A wart can only develop if the immune system is impaired or weakened. The immune system needs
Frequent stress leads to the body being under constant strain, which can also weaken the immune system.
Personal hygiene and hygiene are also particularly important.
There are various home remedies that can help to remove warts. One good remedy is citric acid, which acts like a chemical burn.
Nature also helps with the targeted removal of warts. Celandine and tea tree oil are recommended for use . Both oils have the same effect and are applied to the affected wart.
You should also be patient in this case. Even if you apply the oils several times a day, the warts usually only disappear after ten to fourteen days.
Warts can cause pain if they grow in under the nail plate. Home remedies are then no longer appropriate because this would take too long. These warts are usually removed surgically.
The so-called brush warts (lips, eyelids) should also not be treated with herbal remedies. If you use herbal tinctures around the eyes, for example, the tincture can cause burning eyes.
Plantar warts(verrucae plantares) can be treated with home remedies if they do not cause pain. These warts form wart beds and can grow into the sole of the foot. In this case, you should not use a home remedy.
Verrucae planae juveniles(flat warts) are particularly easy to treat with home remedies. They often occur on the fingers and hands, but also on the face and forearms. However, experts advise against treating warts on the face with home remedies.
Genital warts, also known as condylomata acuminata (genital and anal warts), also occur on the cervix and urethra. According to the experts, these warts should not be treated with herbal remedies. As a rule, only surgical removal will help here.
As home remedies also have an antimicrobial effect, warts can also be treated internally.
Alternative medicine now has a lot to offer. Many conventional doctors are acquiring the relevant knowledge. Although herbal remedies also have side effects, they are nevertheless part of gentle wart therapy.
However, some herbal remedies are still controversial. These include the household remedy "tea tree oil", for example. This oil has an anti-inflammatory but also analgesic effect. Essential oils can soften the skin so that the wart disappears by itself.
However, you cannot fight viruses with this herbal remedy. You must have an intact immune system for the tea tree oil to take effect and the wart to no longer appear.
The herbal remedy "celandine"
A very good herbal remedy for removing warts is celandine. In technical jargon, the plant is called Chelidonium majus, Papaveraceae. This herbal remedy has a choleretic effect, which is why it is often used in alternative medicine for gastrointestinal complaints.
It has been shown that celandine can have an effect on the liver. Its use is not recommended for liver diseases, such as fatty liver.
This herbal remedy is a very good home remedy for removing warts. Celandine has a yellow-orange milky sap that is applied to the wart.
The dried or cut upper parts of the herb are used as a home remedy. The sap obtained contains alkaloids (cortisone, chelidonine and berberine). Alkaloids are chemical, nitrogenous and organic compounds. These compounds can have a direct effect on the human organism.
Colloquially, these compounds are referred to and used as "predators". They have an
Celandine should not be used if you have liver problems.
The herbal remedy "Thuja"
Thuja, colloquially known as the "tree of life"(Thuja occidentalis), is a herbal remedy with a healing effect. It can be used both internally and externally. Botanists classify the arborvitae in the cypress family.
Thuja herb is poisonous. It is therefore important to use this herb as an appropriate finished medicinal product. If you eat the fresh twigs, this can lead to
and kidney damage.
Thuja is available as
Various pharmacies also produce the thuja wart remedy as a home remedy. The thuja remedy contains minerals, coumarins and flavonoids, among other things. These are plant substances with health-promoting effects.
It is also used for
used.
In Switzerland, thuja is used together with other herbal remedies to treat colds. It is not indicated as a wart remedy here and is only available on prescription. In Germany, this remedy is approved as a wart tincture.
If you apply this home remedy as an ointment to the wart, it should be applied externally once or twice a day. The healthy skin should always be protected with a plaster, for example. This ointment is contraindicated during pregnancy or breastfeeding. The product is also not suitable for small children.
Never apply it to open wounds. This can lead to inflammation.
The herbal remedy "oak bark"
Oak bark is a good herbal remedy for warts and has an astringent effect. This herbal remedy can also be used for
can be used. The dried, young, fresh bark is used medicinally. These bark twigs contain tannins. Tannins can bind with proteins, causing them to change. Oak bark also contains flavonoids.
Theoretically, oak bark can also be used in the genital and anal area, although some conventional doctors do not recommend this. Oak bark should also not be used around the eyes.
Poultices, which should not last longer than two to three weeks, help against warts. Partial or full baths with five grams of oak bark in one liter of water are also helpful.
If you have extensive skin disease, you should refrain from treating it yourself and see a doctor.
The herbal remedy "kitchen onion"
The onion contains a natural antibiotic: Allii cepae extractum. Alliins are sulphur-containing compounds that have a health-promoting effect. Onions also contain flavonoids and peptides. A peptide is a molecule made up of amino acids.
Accordingly, the onion has an antibacterial effect as a herbal remedy and is good for warts. Onions also help with other illnesses
The herbal remedy "garlic"
Garlic lowers blood lipid levels and blood pressure. The ingredients of garlic consist of alliin, allicin, amino acids and flavonoids.
This herbal remedy is often used to treat warts because it has an antimicrobial effect. You can drizzle the garlic juice onto the wart (simply squeeze out the garlic pieces). It is best to make a compress. However, the smell can be very unpleasant.
Garlic is now considered a traditional herbal remedy, although the effect is highly controversial among experts.
There are studies in which cell cultures were created with garlic. These cell cultures were found to have a so-called cytotoxic (cell-killing) effect.
Other home remedies for removing warts
Adhesive tape is often recommended as another home remedy for warts. The adhesive tape is stuck to the wart so that air can no longer penetrate. Allegedly, the wart can soften after about five days and be removed with a pumice stone.
This method is more than controversial. It is said to take four to six weeks for the wart to disappear completely. There have been no long-term studies on wart removal with adhesive tape.
If you want to remove warts with herbal remedies, you need a lot of patience. It sometimes takes weeks to months before success is achieved. Experience has also shown a treatment period of two years for home remedies.
However, as long as your immune system is not functioning optimally, even herbal remedies cannot develop their full effect. The viruses still have an easy time of it.
You should also take precautions and avoid walking barefoot in the swimming pool and always use your own towel. Eat healthily, reduce stress and get enough exercise. All this strengthens your immune system.
