Warts are common in children. Forget the folklore, which suggests that warts are caused if you have touched toads or frogs. Read on for some information about these common eruptions which will make it easy for you to handle them if you notice them on your child’s skin.
Warts are small bumps that you notice on your child’s hands or feet. They are infections that are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). They usually occur in kids more than adults. These viruses can be picked by kids from anywhere. If they come in contact with an object a wart infected person has touched or used, they will pick up the virus. Small skin cuts, scratches or skin lesions can expose the child to an infection. Although this is harmless, one might not like the sight of warts. Warts do not have serious medical significance but are visually unpleasant. They are more of a cosmetic problem than a medical one.
Warts can be same as the skin colour or in some cases might be lighter or darker than the skin colour. They are nothing but rapid growth of cells on the outer surface of skin. They are contagious but not dangerous.
All warts are not the same. There are various types of warts and they vary by their place of occurrence and appearance. Viral warts on a child can appear anywhere on the body. Here are some of the warts you may see on your child and how to recognize them
Common warts, as the name suggests, are found in common places such as hands, legs, knees, elbow and fingers. They look like a small bump almost skin color but with small black dots inside. Since they look like grainy bumps with black dots, they are sometimes called ‘seed warts’.
These warts are much smaller and smoother than other warts. They have a flat top so they are called flat warts. They are as small as a pin head. They may appear to be pink, yellow or light brown. In children, they are most often found on the face, but they may appear on their hands, knees or arms too. They may also appear in clusters.
These appear on the soles of the feet and can be very uncomfortable. Walking of feet infected with these warts might feel like walking on small stones. Sometimes they can be painful.
These appear around the mouth, eyes or nose. They are skin coloured and have a finger like shape.
Some warts may even appear around the genital area but they are mostly sexually transmitted, hence, do not occur in children.
Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This is contracted from an infected person directly or indirectly. If a child happens to come in contact with a person who has this infection or even the objects this person has touched, then the child gets the infection too. Having said that, it is important to remember that it is not necessary that all kids who come in contact with an infected person will get warts. The immunity levels of the child matter a lot, too. If the child has lower levels of immunity, he has more chances of getting infected. Also, this virus enters the body through skin lesions, cuts or scratches, so it is important to pay attention to hygiene and keep the child’s wounds clean at all times.
The virus can remain dormant for a period of time until it finds suitable conditions to become a wart. Like all viruses, it likes moist places and has an incubation period of six months. Once it becomes active, it forms extra layers of skin and appears like a bump. It looks like a cauliflower head with black dots in it. The black dots are blood vessels which supply nutrients to the wart.
Following are the main reasons that can cause the formation of warts:
If your child has been infected and warts have started appearing, start the treatment and remember to not allow the child scratch or pick on the wart as this increases the warts on the body.
HPV is a dormant virus and takes time to appear. You might not even realize that the child has been infected until you see the warts appearing. This could be in months or sometimes years. By the time you notice it, the virus may have spread. Listed below are a few ways you can spot a wart.
Diagnosing warts can be easy. You need to look and feel them for detection. If you have already done so and still wish to confirm the diagnosis, then do visit a doctor. He may do one of the following:
Warts are contagious but not dangerous. Kids might get the virus from anywhere, including from other kids’ toys, towels or clothes. Children with a medical problem and a compromised immune system are more prone to get the infection. But this does not mean that healthy children will not get warts. Being susceptible to warts is like catching a common cold or flu. There are equal chances of anyone getting them.
Are you worried about how to get rid of warts on kids? Well, here are some treatment options. If they are harmless or painless, you can simply leave them alone and there is a good chance that they will disappear on their own. However, it may take a couple of months or sometimes even 2 to 3 years for them to completely disappear. Here are some treatment options you may consider:
There are many easy and effective home remedies as well as some procedures to remove warts.
There are topical application skin ointments containing salicylic acid and oral drugs, which are available to treat these eruptions. These do not require a prescription. However, it is advisable to consult your physician before using them.
There are simple medical procedures that the doctor will recommend depending on the specific condition. These may include cryotherapy (freezing the wart) and electrocautery (burning the wart).
Home remedies are the first option one should try. Duct-tape method seems to be very effective but you need have patience as it takes a while to show results.
Simply use a duct tape and cover the wart and leave it for a week. Then remove the duct tape and soak the wart in water. Gently scrub the wart with a rough paper (emery paper). This process has to be repeated until the wart comes off. Don’t lose your patience in the process as it may take a few months to clear off the warts.
If you think the old folklore on warts was absurd enough, there are some home remedies that were even weirder in those days, such as apply potato on the wart and hide the potato in some secret place.
Listed here are some home remedies:
Here is how to use it:
Crush the vitamin C tablet available in the stores, mix it with some water to make a paste and apply it on warts. Cover the applied surface with a bandage to hold the paste for a few hours. You might feel slight burning sensation but that is common and will subside after a while.
These remedies might work for some kids, and for some they may not. Eliminating warts is a tedious process but they are sure to fall off, eventually. Do not meddle with it a lot as it might worsen. If none of these remedies work, visit the doctor for further treatment.
Warts are viral infections that can be picked up from anywhere. Instead of precautions we can avoid it by focusing on some precautions. Follow these simple precautions:
Although warts are harmless and can be treated at home, they need medical intervention, if the following happens;
Warts are harmless infections but they do need treatment as they are unsightly. In very rare cases do they become a medical issue. The best thing that you can do to keep your child from getting this infection is to teach them cleanliness in public places and school. There are umpteen home remedies for warts but they need perseverance. Simple and painless warts can be left untreated and they go away on their own. As parents, we might not like the look of warts on our child’s body but remember not to meddle with them as they might worsen. Try some immune boosting methods or medicines as kids with good immunity have less chances of getting infections.