Warts are a skin disease. It can be seen anywhere on the skin covering the body, as well as in the genital area, mouth and nasal mucosa. The disease is caused by a group of viruses called Human Papilloma Virus, which has hundreds of varieties. Depending on the type of virus, it causes tissue growth in different shapes and sizes on the skin.
How to Identify a Wart?
Classic wart lesions seen on the skin are 5-15 millimeters raised from the skin. It is a small, rough skin growth that is about the size of a lump and can usually be recognized by the public. However, since warts vary in shape and size depending on their location and the type of virus that causes them, diagnosis can sometimes be very difficult. For this reason, it is necessary to see an expert on the subject for a correct diagnosis.
How is Wart Diagnosed?
Warts are diagnosed almost 100 percent of the time by a specialist. A blood test etc. to help with diagnosis. There is no. In cases of doubt and when the diagnosis needs to be proven, a definitive diagnosis is made by taking a piece and examining it.
Can warts be transmitted?
The HPV virus that causes the disease is transmitted from person to person by direct contact. The disease can also be transmitted through contaminated clothing, towels and contaminated damp surfaces. Humidity and slight damage to the skin facilitate infection.
What Causes Warts?
As stated above, the HPV virus that causes the disease settles on the skin by contact in different ways. However, even if the virus comes into contact, the disease may not occur. This depends on the type of virus, the strength of the person's defense system and the contact conditions. Some HPV types are more aggressive and easily transmitted; if the body's defense system (immune system) is strong, it makes transmission difficult. Moisture and minor damage to the skin facilitate transmission.
What Diseases Does HPV Cause?
There are approximately 100 types of Human Papilloma Virus. Nearly 70 types of these settle in the skin. The classic wart lesion (verruca vulgaris), which is raised on the skin, causes non-swelling (warts) lesions on the soles of the feet and palms. The remaining 30 types settle in the genital area and cause genital warts (condiloma aquminata). becomes p. It is known that HPV causes cervical, vulva, vagina, anal area, mouth and throat cancers.
Wart (Verruca vulgaris-Warts):
Verruca vulgaris
Warts
Approximately 70 types of Verruca HPV virus It causes skin growth. The upper surface of the skin, which is often smaller than 1 cm, appears rough. When it is on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet, it is at the same level as the skin (warts). Its surface is rough and sometimes contains dark spots. Warts can be one or many, except for the soles of the feet, they are painless. There may be many cases, especially in children, and sometimes they heal on their own. For this reason, aggressive surgical interventions should be avoided in children.
HPV virus types that settle on the skin and cause classical warts (verruca vulgaris-warts) do not cause cancer.
Genital warts (Condyloma Aquminata):
It is known that approximately 30 types of HPV virus settle in the genital area. Viruses in this group can settle in the genital area, vagina, anal region, anal canal, mouth, nose and throat mucosa. Genital wart (condyloma aquminata) disease is often caused by HPV Types 6 and 11. Condyloma lesions are tissue growths ranging from the size of a pinhead to 5-10 cm, with a raised surface that resembles a cauliflower. It belongs to the group of sexually transmitted diseases and is frequently transmitted through sexual intercourse and shared sexual equipment. There are also types of HPV virus that cause cancer. Especially HPV Types 16 and 18 cause cancer in the areas where they settle. It has been found to be associated with cancers of the vagina, vulva, anal canal, mouth and throat, especially cervical cancer.
How can we be protected from HPV?
HPV Preventing contact with people carrying the virus is beneficial for protection. However, it may not be possible to notice lesions in genital warts. It is therefore important to avoid polygamous relationships and shared use of sexual apparatus. Vaccine developed for HPV Types 16-18, the most cancer-causing types of HPV (approximately 70%), and HPV Types 6-11, the types that most commonly cause condyloma (approximately 90%). (Gerdasil). Although the vaccine protects against these four types, it does not protect against the other types. However, it is an important fact that it provides protection against viruses, which constitute 70% of the causes of cancer and 90% of the causes of condyloma. It is routinely applied to girls entering puberty in England.
How to Treat Warts?
HPV virus settles into the cell and causes tissue growth. A drug that directly affects the virus and provides treatment has not yet been developed. Therefore, treatment is done by destroying the cells in which the virus settles. It uses 3 treatment methods that destroy the enlarged tissue.
-Treatment with medication; Treatment by burning with various chemicals containing acid.
-Cryotherapy; Destruction of the enlarged tissue by freezing.
-Cauterization; Destruction of tissue with electricity and radiofrequency.
It is difficult to control the depth of the wound created in the treatment by burning and freezing with acid-containing drugs, also the anal region is covered with mucosa such as the vagina and mouth. It is dangerous to use it in places. In the treatment performed by freezing, serum leakage occurs from the frozen lesion for days. The serum leaking from the wound contains active viruses, and if you are not careful, it may cause many new warts in the places where the serum comes into contact. Better results are obtained in the treatment with cauterization. Especially with radiofrequency treatment, the wound depth can be better controlled and the wound surface is dried and serum leakage is prevented. Thus, re-infection will not occur and recurrence will be less.
In patients with condyloma seen around the anal canal, examination should be performed by entering the anal canal with an anoscope and if there is a lesion in the anal canal, it should be treated early. . Otherwise, if the external condylomas are treated and the lesions in the inner anal canal are delayed, anal stenosis (narrowing of the anus and inability to go to the toilet) will develop after the treatment. Anal stenosis is very difficult to treat with surgery.
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