Warts — most of us don’t like the looks of them but probably don’t understand much about them. Warts are thought to be caused by the human papillomavirus. They can basically appear anywhere on the body. Not contagious, but can spread. There are 100s of HPV strains; 40 types can infect the genitals; 12 are high risk types of HPV; two of the 12 are related to cancers. Type 6 and 11 are the most common case of genital warts.
There are different types of warts:
- Common warts: most common in children and typically grow on fingers, near nails, and backs of the hands.
- Plantar warts on the other hand tend to grow on the feet, often in clusters and have a seed middle.
- Flat wars are the smallest and smoothest. Children usually get them on their faces while adults tend to get them under beards or back of their legs.
- Filiform warts often grow quickly and on the face around the eyes, mouth and nose with threads sticking out of a base.
- Genital warts can be flat or bumpy and appear near the vaginal areas/tip of the penis or scrotum area or the anus
Causes of warts include:
- Sexual contact
- Skin to skin contact
Contagion occurs through an opening in the skin from dryness, cuts, or other types of injury.
People who have compromised immune systems are more at risk.
There are several natural methods to eliminate warts and include:
- Salicylic acid
- Vinegar
- Garlic juice
- Lemon juice
- Pineapple juice
- Garlic
- Tea tree oil
Anti viral methods tend to suppress the virus while acids tend to eliminate them.