Treat warts properly, avoid spreading

The article was professionally consulted with Specialist Doctor I Tran Van Sang - Dermatologist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Danang International General Hospital.

Most warts are benign, and sometimes go away on their own after a while. However, if the warts are painful, grow quickly and spread to other areas of the skin, or if the warts are genital, then the warts need to be treated with appropriate methods.

Warts are a skin disease caused by certain strains of the virus that causes human papillomaviruses called HPV. During the course of the disease, sometimes warts disappear spontaneously after about 6 months without treatment. However, this is not common, mainly occurs in children. Although most are benign, there are still many warts that tend to spread more and more often the longer they leave them, or the more likely they are to recur. Therefore, it is necessary to initiate early treatment measures.
Signs that a wart needs to be treated are:
Painful; Rapid growth and spread to other skin areas; Warts growing on the genitals; Accompanying symptoms; Has existed for more than 2 years. The goal of wart treatment is to kill the virus and remove the wart without leaving scar tissue. The choice of treatment for warts depends on the type, location and symptoms of each case. If you find out, the patient will find that there are many methods of treating warts according to folk tips. However, until now, there is no medically recognized method that is completely reliable. Moreover, many people have tried this unorthodox form of wart treatment and did not get the desired effect. Therefore, when suffering from warts, patients should go to a hospital with a dermatologist to be examined by a doctor and advise on the appropriate treatment for warts.

2.1. Self-healing of warts at home If you have warts on your feet, there are a few tips you can follow to reduce pain and discomfort:
Choose shoes made of soft materials, the right size, and not too tight. or wide; Keep feet dry; Change socks often; Use insoles/insoles on the inside of the shoe. For warts less than 0.5 cm in size, the patient can apply a solution of salicylic acid and lactic acid (duofilm, collomack) to destroy the HPV virus that causes the wart, as well as slough off the keratinocytes. Once applied to the skin, the drug dries quickly and leaves a white layer. These medications can be used at home, but it takes weeks for the acne to go away completely.
To improve the effect, it is necessary to wash the area to be treated with soap, apply 1 time a day after bathing. In addition, it is recommended to use a nail file or emery pumice stone to gently rub the acne surface when bathing to reduce the size and roughness, as well as remove the layer of dead cells left by previous applications.
Note when dotted with acid to treat warts:
Only apply the medicine to the surface or right at the stalk (wire wart) of the wart, minimizing the spread of the drug to the surrounding skin; Close the bottle of medicine immediately after application and store it in a cool place because the medicine is volatile; Do not use the drug for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, peripheral circulatory disorders, or infected warts, ...

2.2. Treatment of warts in the hospital Liquid nitrogen treatment of warts with liquid nitrogen is usually divided into several sessions, each period is about 1-2 weeks apart. Nitrogen gas in liquefied form has a very low temperature (-196 degrees Celsius), so it will give good results, even some people recover completely. The drug also rarely leaves scars or changes skin pigmentation, but can cause discomfort during treatment, blistering and pain for days after application.
Electrosurgery High-frequency electric ablation is indicated for the treatment of warts under 1 cm or in difficult-to-operate locations, such as between the toes and hands. The advantage of the electrocautery method is that it is quick, simple, low-cost, and can go deep into the root of the wart. However, the healing time will be longer, the care of open wounds must also be more careful to avoid infection, sometimes large warts will cause bleeding and difficult to stop.
Minor surgery (removal of wart lesions) Conducted with nodules less than 2 cm in size and in a flat position, such as the heel, side of the foot, sole of the foot, .... Duration. Wound healing during minor surgery will be faster than electrocautery, postoperative care is also easy, there is less risk of infection because the wound is sewn closed. The disadvantage of this method is that it is high cost, easy to relapse because it does not remove all the acne and can leave scars.
Injection of bleomycin or interferon Local injection is indicated in cases of difficult to treat warts.
Note during treatment, do not break, poke fluid on the wound surface (usually due to liquid nitrogen dot). If there are signs such as swelling, heat, redness and pain, pus discharge, bad smell, high fever or chills... then there is a risk that the wound has become infected, the patient needs to return to the hospital for treatment. handled in a timely manner.

Sometimes the wart will come back quickly because the "mother acne" has spread the virus and created "baby pimples" around. Baby warts are too small to be detected during treatment. Therefore, it is advisable to treat warts as soon as they are detected to avoid the phenomenon of self-infection as above. In some special cases, after treating the mother's warts for a few weeks, the baby warts also disappear on their own without intervention.
Patients need to remember some of the following notes to avoid spreading as well as recurrence after wart treatment:
Do not scratch, use a razor to cut, scrape or prick the acne area to avoid infection and spread spread the virus; Do not share nail clippers, it is best to use your own personal items to avoid spreading warts Keep the affected area (such as hands, feet, ...) dry because warts are difficult to control on the lips. wet field; Wash your hands thoroughly after touching the wart; Follow the doctor's advice after treatment; Self-monitor acne spots daily for 2-4 weeks to detect early signs of recurrence. If yes, it is necessary to re-treat as quickly as possible to prevent recurrence before the HPV virus infects the surrounding skin; Ask your doctor for advice about getting the HPV vaccine to help prevent warts and reduce your risk of some other cancers also caused by the virus. Vinmec International General Hospital is currently providing HPV vaccination services with two types: Gardasil manufactured by MSD (USA) and Cervarix - a product of GSK pharmaceutical company of Belgium. Vaccination service at Vinmec Hospital also gives customers the following benefits:
Customers who come to use the vaccination service will be fully examined and screened by specialists - vaccines enough health and condition problems, advice on preventive vaccines and injection regimens, how to monitor and care for customers after vaccination before giving the indication for vaccination according to the latest recommendations of the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Health & World Health Organization aim to ensure the best effectiveness and safety for people getting vaccinated. The team of doctors is experienced and professional, applying effective pain relief to customers during the vaccination process. 100% of vaccinated customers are monitored 30 minutes after injection and reassessed before leaving. Underwent general supervision before, during and after vaccination at Vinmec Health System and always have an emergency team ready to coordinate with the vaccination department to handle cases of anaphylaxis, respiratory failure - circulatory arrest, ensuring Ensure timely and correct handling when incidents occur. Vaccines are imported and stored in a modern cold storage system, with a cold chain that meets GSP standards, keeping vaccines in the best conditions to ensure quality.