What does a wart look like in its early stages?

1. What does a wart on the face look like?
2. Type of wart on the body and neck
3. What does a wart on hands and fingers look like?
4. Warts on the feet
5. What do warts on the genitals look like?
6. Warts in older people
7. Wart root
8. Video

A wart (Wart or Verruca) is the name of a new growth on the skin that is formed due to the impact of the human papillomavirus on the human body. This infectious disease is abbreviated as HPV. This pathology is characterized by a benign course. Such a virus can enter the body in childhood and not quietly manifest itself, but is in a state of “hibernation,” so to speak. But as soon as certain conditions change, the infection becomes more active and then an elevation in the form of a nodule appears on the skin.

Stimulating factors for HPV can be:

1. decreased immunity;
2. endocrine system disorder;
3. microtraumas of the arms, legs and body;
4. narrow and uncomfortable shoes that interfere with blood flow;
5. lack of gloves in the cold season, then the skin of the hands becomes supercooled and blood does not flow normally to the vessels;
6. constant state of stress;
7. high sweat production.

The size of the wart can vary between 1-3 mm, but occasionally reaches one and a half centimeters. Sometimes such papillomas grow and merge into one wart formation, which takes on the appearance of a tumor. Papules of different types can be located on different parts of the body and contribute to causing significant discomfort, both physical and psychological. There are several types of warts and each of them has its own characteristic features and also requires a certain type of treatment.

Let's look at warts that affect different parts of the body and their characteristics.

What does a wart on the face look like?

The initial stage of a wart that forms on the face will directly depend on what virus caused it. As a rule, those nodules that appear on the skin of the face have a thread-like shape or are flat (they are called).

In the photo on the left are thread-like warts on the face, and on the right are flat ones

The following features of filamentous papules can be distinguished:

1. During development, an elongated thin stalk is always present (this is why the wart is called filamentous);
2. if the nodule formed on the face is small, then it has the outline of a bump;
3. when such a wart is large, it resembles a cauliflower with a loose surface;
4. The shape of such a papule is cylindrical;
5. the wart grows, hanging down relative to the skin;
6. the color of such a formation merges with the color of the skin if it is healthy: beige, flesh-colored or pinkish, only if the size is larger, then the shade may be brown. Brownish tones indicate that such a papule contains a large amount of coloring pigment;
7. such a wart remains soft to the touch and may be elastic;
8. the skin size varies in the range of 5-7 cm;
9. The place of formation is on the eyelids, nose, and skin around the mouth.

If a wart appears on the face, although it is considered rare, you should avoid injuring it, as this will lead to inflammation of the skin next to the papules, which will contribute to the formation of new formations near the “maternal” one. But since filiform papilloma is very fragile, it is easy to damage and even tear off. Therefore, a wart on the face is not a harmless formation, and if it is difficult to independently diagnose a skin lump on the face, it is recommended to consult a dermatologist. If the diagnosed nodule on the skin is a filiform wart, then you should not try to remove it yourself, this will not help and you will still need to remove it.

It is not without reason that flat warts are called juvenile warts because they occur in adolescents or young adults who have not yet reached adulthood. Such warts are the most treatable and are also characterized by the fact that they can be gotten rid of very easily. Often flat papillomas can disappear on their own.

Symptoms of the appearance of flat warts are:

1. formation of a growth on the skin;
2. itching sensations;
3. when pressure, friction or damage occurs, the patient experiences pain;
4. the surface is smooth and flat;
5. the number can increase from one to several hundred when such papules merge into one formation;
6. the color, at first indistinguishable from the color of the skin, begins to acquire a yellowish or brown tint;
7. the skin gradually becomes coarser in localized areas;
8. the possibility of spontaneous disappearance after a period of 1-36 months or after the use of therapy;
9. There are three stages of formation: the first (1 or several warts), the middle - the number of papules varies between 10-100 pieces; severe when there are more than a hundred skin nodules.

What do warts look like on the body and neck?

Places such as the neck, armpits and skin under the mammary glands in women are the most commonly affected warts. The reason for this localization is that high sweating often occurs in these areas, which favors the proliferation of IF infection.

What does a wart look like in its initial stage on the body and neck:

1. outlines of the hemisphere protruding above the skin;
2. the surface of the wart is uneven and rough;
3. warts resemble cauliflower;
4. the color of such nodules can be pink or yellow;
5. the wart is elastic and soft;
6. the maximum size of the growth is 3 cm.

What does a wart on the hands look like?

The photo shows a common wart on the fingers

The skin of the hands is affected in both children and adults by common or vulgar warts. The initial stage of a wart that appears on the hands can be characterized by the following manifestations:

1. a miniature nodule appears on the skin, which does not even stand out in color and rises slightly above the epidermis (looks invisible at first glance);
2. over time, the color of the wart changes to yellow or dirty gray;
3. gradually the size of the wart begins to increase, reaching 12 cm;
4. when such a papule grows, its central part becomes uneven and papillae form;
5. a crown is formed around the wart nodule, represented by a denser and smoother skin;
6. the papule has clear boundaries and rounded irregular outlines;
7. under the fingers, if palpation is carried out, rough and compacted parts are felt;
8. often such wart formations are composed of a large number of small nodules;
9. the surface is covered with a stratum corneum;
10. do not cause pain;
11. The locations of the fingers are those parts of the fingers that come into contact with each other.

If a person who has discovered ordinary warts has normal immunity, then such papillomas can go away on their own. When new wart nodules begin to appear on the skin of the hands, this indicates a decrease in the body’s defenses and close attention should be paid to this by drinking vitamins or immunomodulators. When diagnosing vulgar growths, a dermatologist may recommend their removal.

If a flat growth has formed on the fingers, then you can see a smooth warty nodule that leads into the deep tissues of the skin. At the very beginning, these papules affect the skin on the face, and then the infection spreads to the fingers of both hands. When a wart is detected on the fingers by palpation and symptoms, it is recommended to consult a specialist, as he will be able to identify its type and the factor that caused its occurrence. After this, therapeutic treatment for the problem will be prescribed.

Warts on the feet - what do they look like on the feet?

The photo shows a plantar wart (forms only on the leg and feet)

The initial stage of a plantar wart is a small nodule with a smooth surface (the appearance is hardly noticeable). It can often be confused with callus or callosity, since at first there are no other symptoms. There are such features of plantar warts:

1. form strictly on the sole of the foot or between the toes;
2. size can be 3-5 mm;
3. when several months pass, the skin thickens;
4. the surface of the wart on the leg becomes rough, the skin pattern disappears;
5. Dots of dark red or black color may appear, which indicates that there is a blockage of blood vessels;
6. the size of the papule begins to grow, and in its central part thin papillae are formed, collected in bunches, they are surrounded by keratinized cells that look like a roller;
7. the color of the wart becomes grayish or brown;
8. Over time, growths on the leg cause pain when walking, as they protrude beyond the skin.

The reasons for the appearance of warts on the feet: very narrow shoes, or they are made of non-breathable materials (for example, rubber), then the feet constantly sweat. All these conditions provoke a lack of blood supply to the vessels of the feet. When a person sweats excessively, plantar warts can begin to grow at a high rate. When the upper part of the wart, which is easily crumbled, is removed, the papillae will become visible, causing pain when walking.

1. Read what plantar papilloma is

If appropriate treatment is not carried out, warts on the feet tend to grow together, forming a large tumor that begins to become inflamed. The great danger is that such a benign formation can degenerate into a malignant one. Dermatologists also emphasize the difficulty of treating such warts on the feet and observe the possibility of relapses even after proper therapy or removal of such papules on the leg.

What do warts on the genitals look like?

These papillomas are called genital warts or condylomas (see photo above). The places where they are localized are the groin area, the folds between the buttocks if a person does not maintain personal hygiene, or the genitals. HPV infection mainly occurs through sexual contact, and at first, warts on the genitals do not attract attention because they do not cause pain. Only by conducting a personal examination, a man can see miniature pink or flesh-colored nodules that have the property of merging into a papillary area that is soft under the fingers. Condylomas usually have a stalk-like base and therefore rise above the skin. It is more difficult for a woman to detect such warts unless she uses a mirror.

It is important to note that the symptoms of genital warts are local in nature. If condylomas are concentrated in the anus, the patient may usually experience discomfort, which is expressed by burning or itching. And also, in addition to this, if the papillomas on the genitals have merged into one large lesion, then in addition to the indicated sensations, a discharge of liquid with an unpleasant odor is added. This substance gives the patient a constant feeling of moisture in the places where the condylomas are localized. If such nodular formations are damaged by clothing, underwear, or during sexual intercourse, irritation occurs and inflammatory processes may begin.

The following distinctive features of condylomas can be distinguished:

1. very rapid growth of formations, in just a few hours they can increase to 2-6 mm;
2. such warts always appear in multiple numbers, and often their number reaches tens;
3. in the initial stage they are red, pink or brown;
4. may have a leg.

Condylomas are especially dangerous if they form in a pregnant woman, since the child may become infected during childbirth. But it is not possible to use all the methods that are recommended for removing genital warts in this case, due to the likelihood of creating a threat of premature birth or allergic reactions.

What do warts look like on older people?

Such papillomas are called senile warts or seborrheic keratomas, and they occur in patients over the age of 40, but they mainly affect the elderly generation. Such skin formations do not have a viral etiology, but doctors today cannot name with certainty the reasons for their occurrence, although there are prerequisites. People of the older generation who have a predisposition to oily seborrheic formations, who spend a lot of time in direct sunlight (for example, summer residents), and who lack vitamins are susceptible to the formation of senile papillomas.

1. Read about senile papillomas

Stages of senile warts in older people:

1. Stage one manifested by the formation of a spot that has a dark yellow-brown tint and does not rise above the skin, there is no roughness, but over time the number of such spots increases. Such formations are observed in people over 50 years of age, but occasionally earlier. At this stage, the papule is not yet developed and this is the initial stage of a senile wart.
2. At the second stage Small nodules form on the skin, rising above the skin, just in the places where brown spots appear. However, at this stage there is no peeling, and there are no horny scales covering the surface of the wart.
3. At this stage in place of the papule, a brown or grayish-black keratoma is formed, having an oval or rounded outline. This formation already rises above the skin by only a couple of millimeters. If the scales are scraped off, a blood-covered surface is revealed underneath. At this stage, the wart in older people looks very noticeable.
4. At the fourth stage Excessive growth of the wart occurs, as well as the formation of the stratum corneum of the keratoma in older people.

Wart root

Each of the described types of warts has its own characteristics. As soon as the conditions for activation of the virus are present, a structure in the form of papillae begins to form. The initial stage always resembles a speck and is rarely paid attention to. The layer of epidermis located on the outer side gradually becomes keratinized. The papillae are the place where the formation of a wart nodule occurs, forming new vessels. However, over time, some papillae die, “helping” the wart acquire its normal external shape. Such a papilloma often takes the form of a callus with a flat surface, in the central part of which there are rods topped with sulfur or red dots. They indicate that the blood supply to this area of ​​​​the skin is impaired. These rods are the roots of the wart.

When enough time has passed, the skin on such papillae begins to peel off and the roots of the papules appear outward. In this case, warts have the characteristic of growing to large sizes or can merge into one tumor. Due to such changes, the patient begins to experience pain and bleeding areas of the skin.

Video about types of warts - photo slides, what they look like: