Warts in children, how to spot and treat them

In this article

• what are warts
• how to recognize them
• how to avoid them
• how to cure them

 

HOW TO RECOGNIZE WARTS

9 PHOTOS

Warts in children, photos to recognize them

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Also known slang as “leeks”, warts are viral infections that can appear on the skin of babies. These are "viral infections due ...

First of all we need to distinguish the type of wart:

1. The vulgar wart
2. Flat warts
3. Plantar warts

1. The vulgar wart

«It is a raised and wrinkled neoformation - continues the expert - it looks like an outgrowth and can appear all over the skin. Sometimes someone mistakes them for pendulous fibroids, which however are skin protuberances that are present in adults, not children ».

2. Flat warts

"It's about very thin warts which, almost always, appear on the face of child".

3. Plantar warts

«They are skin thickenings, undetected but flat, which appear in the soles of the feet. Often they are confused with corns, which however are very rare in children. If you notice thickening in their feet, in almost all cases they are plantar warts ».

WHAT ARE WARTS

“With the slang term "leeks" we mean the warts that can appear on children's skin »explains Daniela Pisacane, dermatologist at the Santagostino Medical Center in our city.

It is about «viral infections due toHPV, or papilloma viruses, which are very common and cause the appearance of lesions in the young vulgar warts, flat o plantar».

Read also: Molluscum contagiosum in children: everything you NEED to know

HOW TO AVOID WARTS

Avoiding warts is not easy: the contagion It takes place through contact interim or indirectly through contaminated items: «It often happens when there is direct contact between children or when walking barefoot in common areas, perhaps hot and humid (such as swimming pools): in these situations the chances of getting infected become very high. Not all children, however, are subject to it in the same way: in fact, a lot depends on their immune defenses. Something more practical can be done to avoid the plantar warts, that is, always use slippers and do not walk barefoot, especially if you go to the swimming pool or shared showers ».

Read also: Moles in children: when to control them

HOW TO CURE WARTS

In many cases warts can pass by themselves, although it can take some time (up to two years). This is why there are situations in which you can also do nothing, as confirmed by the Guidelines on the management of warts of the British Association of Dermatologists.

At the same time, however, it must be said that warts can too to annoy, or be the source of a psychological distress more or less accentuated, especially if they are on the face. In these cases - and also because of their contagiousness - it can therefore be decided to intervene to eliminate them.

The best thing to do is consult your pediatrician or dermatologist, because they exist different treatment possibilities. For example, you can use them specific creams, or treatments based on mixtures of acid. "Or cryotherapy, a very effective treatment based on freezing the wart, obviously to be carried out in the office," says Pisacane. However, do-it-yourself and the use of "home" methods are not recommended.

Another source for this article: KT Clebak e MA Malone, Skin Infections, in "Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice" (sett. 2022).

TAG:

• leeks
• skin
• 1-2 children years