Wart on a child’s finger: what to do and how to treat

The most common and at the same time “inconvenient” place for warts to appear is the fingers. These small formations not only give the brush a less than beautiful appearance, but also interfere with everyday life. Moreover, both adults and children suffer from them. Growths in the foot area cause a lot of discomfort when walking, they are constantly injured. Very often, cracks and wounds get infected, which is quite difficult to fight. Because of this for many people. If a wart appears on a child’s finger, you should pay close attention to it.

Causes of warts in children

In children, like in all people, warty formations appear as a result of infection with papillomavirus. Now science knows more than 600 strains of this virus. Warts on a child's hands appear after 5 years. Usually, until this age, the virus does not make itself felt, except in cases where infection occurred during childbirth from the mother. In this case, infants experience damage to the anus and genitals, and sometimes entire scatterings of papillomas in the throat. This causes discomfort for the baby and a lot of trouble for parents, because caring for a child with such a problem is more difficult than caring for a healthy one.

Usually by the age of 5 the papillomavirus becomes active and causes a rash on the fingers. There are several reasons for this:

1. The child becomes active, abrasions and scratches appear on the hands, through which the virus penetrates the basal layer of the epithelium.
2. The baby is taken to open water bodies, where the risk of contracting HPV increases significantly. Parents often take their children to the pool - it is very easy to pick up an infection there.
3. A child can catch the virus by interacting closely with HPV-infected children in kindergarten, on the playground, or in any crowds of people. Contact with a carrier of the virus almost always leads to infection.
4. Sweating hands and feet may prevent the skin from performing its barrier function well, leading to infection.
5. Failure to comply with hygiene standards is also fraught with infection with the warty form of the virus, especially if the child’s immunity is not strong enough.

Do I need to withdraw?

In more than 50% of children, warts go away without any treatment. Usually the self-healing process occurs within 6 months. According to experts, the life cycle of the virus is limited and is about 2 years. In connection with such statistics, doctors often prefer not to remove warts, but to monitor them in case of a long course.

Another reason for doctors' reluctance to resort to radical methods is the fact that children who have experienced warts once have an increased chance of getting them again. Thus, treatment may be pointless.

However, you should resort to removing warts if the wart is located in a place of regular injury, as well as if it bothers the child.

Types and characteristic features

Even people far from medicine can recognize the problem. But not everyone can determine the types of growths, and everyone who has small children needs to know this.

Warts on the hands of children most often bring not physical, but moral discomfort. The child already understands that his fingers are disfigured by growths and is embarrassed by this. He may develop an inferiority complex, especially if the child is teased. Some types of papillomas can become inflamed and even bleed.

Ordinary or vulgar

Of all skin tumors, the most common and harmless warts are common, or vulgar. What are their distinctive features:

• These are neoplasms on a stalk through which blood vessels pass.
• Can be single or group. Groups sometimes merge into one large warty spot, reminiscent of cauliflower.
• Their color is darker than the skin color, from light to dark brown.
• The sizes of vulgar formations range from 2-3 mm to 1-1.5 cm in diameter.
• They are often located along the nail fold on the fingers and toes.
• The duration of the rash is from 2-3 months to 1 year if left untreated.

Common warts are caused by HPV type 2. Children get sick at the age of 7-14 years. The child’s body develops immunity to this type of virus, and in adulthood he will no longer suffer from rashes.

Flat, or youthful

Typical for teenagers. During puberty, rapid hormonal changes occur. This is why the “dormant” HPV becomes active. The immune system of adolescents is weakened, the nervous system is under stress, and any chronic infections can appear, including juvenile papillomas. Adults usually do not get this type of wart.

How do they look:

• Flat formations appear on the skin of the child’s fingers, face, legs, and back of the hands.
• Unlike other types, their appearance is preceded by itching and redness of the skin.
• They look like rounded or uneven elevations on pink or flesh-colored skin.
• Their height does not exceed 1-2 mm, diameter from 1 to 5 mm. They tend to merge - then a lumpy surface forms on the skin, bringing emotional discomfort to the teenager.

Flat growths go away on their own. But if a teenager suffers from unattractive skin, it makes sense to see a doctor for treatment.

Condylomas acuminata

These formations in a child are much less common than the two previous types. However, the appearance of genital warts should not be ignored. They tend to become inflamed, bleed, and degenerate into a malignant tumor. The worst thing is when such a viral wart appears on a child’s finger. One way or another, the child constantly manipulates his hands, and any damage to genital warts is fraught with consequences.

It looks like a hanging growth. When in contact with clothing, it can become inflamed, so you should not wait for undesirable consequences. It is better to get rid of such papilloma by contacting a dermatologist.

Other types

There are other types of papillomatosis in children:

1. Plantar warts in children that appear on sweaty feet, most often in adolescence. May occur in younger children if they wear shoes that are not breathable, causing their feet to sweat. Plantar bunions are flat growths on the bottom of the foot that itch and hurt when walking. Sometimes such a growth can be a single one, and sometimes it affects the entire foot. Living with such a papilloma is unpleasant, so it is better to treat the child with available means recommended by a dermatologist.
2. Filiform warts, or acrochords, are caused by HPV types 3, 5, 8. This type almost never occurs in a child. Even in adults, acrochords do not appear until 35-40 years of age.

Types of calluses

There are two main types of calluses:

1. Watery callus. It is a bubble filled with liquid. It occurs as a result of friction or prolonged compression of the skin. Liquid (exudate) performs a protective function, protecting injured tissue from infection. There is no need to open a watery callus. If it remains intact, the exudate is transparent, but if the wound becomes infected, the liquid transforms into pus, in which case antibacterial treatment will be required. If the vessels are damaged, the fluid in the callus turns red.
2. The dry growth looks like a bump. The growth is hard to the touch, dense and rough. Dry tumors are less common compared to watery ones. The color of the corns can vary from light yellow to pale gray. Structurally, corns are layers of keratinized skin. Such calluses form only on the soles.

Infrequently, core calluses, which are classified as a type of dry neoplasm, are also found in children. The peculiarity of such a callus is that its root grows deep under the skin, which causes pain to the child.

Diagnostic methods

If you nevertheless decide to treat warts on your child’s finger, then remember that immunity against the HPV that caused the warts on your child’s body will not be developed. The risk of relapse of the disease is very high. However, when warts cause serious discomfort to a child, it is necessary to consult a dermatologist.

Parents should definitely inform the specialist about all concomitant diseases that the child has (especially diabetes, bronchial asthma).

The doctor will order examinations:

1. PCR. Diagnostics designed to determine the causative agent of the disease. Since there are more than 600 strains of HPV, such a study is more than appropriate. Involves determining the DNA of the pathogen. The analysis is highly accurate, but expensive. Done within a few hours.
2. Dermatoscopy. The essence of the method is to determine the benign quality of the neoplasm. Immersion oil is applied to the formation, then a dermatoscope is applied. The doctor examines the tumor at high magnification. Based on its results, a decision on removal is made.
3. Diagnostics includes additional measures: cytological analysis, Digene test, microscopic examination of a biopsy specimen (piece of tissue).

Of course, such a thorough examination is not carried out in all cases. It is prescribed only when the appearance and atypical development of warts force the doctor to decide on a detailed examination of the tumor.

Busting myths about growths

A wart on a toe, or anywhere else, causes a feeling of disgust and fear in children. It is worth explaining to the child that it is absolutely safe. The causative agent is the human papillomavirus. And it, in turn, comes in several types. And under no circumstances do growths appear from frogs. But a wart and a papilloma are not the same thing. One virus, different diseases.

• The wart is round or flat in shape. It has a shade from light flesh to brown. If you remove the top layer of the growth, you can see black dots. These are not roots, as many people believe. This is capillary blood that has dried. Sometimes the growths disappear on their own.
• Papilloma grows on a stalk. It can range in color from flesh to dark brown. The habitats of papilloma are the neck, face, armpits, and skin folds. The papilloma will not go away on its own; it must be removed.

Warts are not spread by shaking hands or touching an infected person.

The situation of contact of a healthy child with damaged skin, directly with the virus carrier, is dangerous. Many people are carriers of this disease.

As long as the immune system is good, the virus sleeps. If immunity decreases to a critical level, the virus becomes more active and enters the reproduction phase.

Warts can be contracted through shared bedding and hygiene products.

How to remove warts from children

Growths on a child’s body are contagious, but the doctor must decide how to treat warts. But more often doctors advise waiting for them to disappear on their own. In this case, immunity is guaranteed. But there are cases of painful tumors. Then, as prescribed by the doctor, the following methods of removing warts from a child are used:

• pharmaceutical drugs;
• cryodestruction;
• electrocoagulation;
• folk remedies.

Before using folk remedies, it is important to consult a doctor.

Radical ways

Radical treatment methods allow you to quickly get rid of warts. Only a few of those developed by medicine are used for children:

1. Electrocoagulation is the removal of warts from fingers using high frequency current. The impact of these currents cauterizes tissues and seals blood vessels. The method is painful, but bloodless. After the operation, a crust forms, which subsequently disappears. There are no traces left.
2. Cryodestruction is a method of getting rid of growth using liquid nitrogen. To remove one wart, you will need at least 2 sessions of treating it with liquid nitrogen. If you buy the drug Cryopharma, this procedure can be performed at home. The principle of the method is that when the wart tissue is cooled to –196°C, the water in the cells freezes and ruptures them. This leads to rejection of the growth.

Radical methods of removing warts are very effective, but not always justified. If the doctor does not advise getting rid of the tumor, do not insist.

Pharmacy products

There are a huge number of pharmaceutical drugs available to treat warts. Only after consultation with a doctor, strictly according to his prescription, the following drugs are used:

1. Supercleaner is a liquid product that is applied pointwise to the wart, and after application, it must be covered with a band-aid on the finger. The altered tissue is corroded by alkali, which is the main component of this drug.
2. Salipod is a patch with salicylic acid. It is mainly used when the colony has grown over the surface of the finger. The formations begin to disappear after 4-5 applications. Usually it is stuck on overnight.
3. Lapis pencil. The active substance – colloidal silver – burns out the neoplasm tissue. It must be handled very carefully. It is usually used only for toes.

All of these remedies can help treat warts, but you need to test your skin's reaction first. How to do this is usually written in the instructions included with the pharmacy product.

Traditional methods

Among the folk recipes there are harmless ones that are suitable for treating a child. But even these methods should be discussed with your doctor.

1. Mix pork fat (melted) with grated garlic mass in a 1:1 ratio. At night, lubricate the warts with this product and cover them with a regular adhesive plaster.
2. Squeeze juice from dandelion or celandine stems. Apply with a pipette to the affected area of ​​the finger 3-4 times a day.
3. Wrap aloe or Kalanchoe leaves in paper and leave for a week on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. Then, cutting the leaf lengthwise, apply the juicy part to the skin. Secure with adhesive tape. It is better to do this procedure at night.

Removal of warty growths on a child’s toe

To completely remove infectious formations, one of the non-invasive procedures is prescribed that will help cleanse the skin quickly and almost painlessly. They act much faster than drug treatment and often remove pathological skin without the subsequent appearance of marks and scars.

Most often prescribed for removal:

1. Laser therapy. The laser beam is directed at the overgrown skin, under the influence of which it evaporates, and the healthy dermis is subsequently restored.
2. Cryodestruction. Thanks to liquid nitrogen, the overgrown tissues freeze, after which a small bubble appears in their place, which is treated with a special solution. To completely remove the formations, you will need to undergo several sessions.
3. Electrocoagulation. Thanks to a thin loop, the growth is cut off under local anesthesia. Complete healing of the wound occurs in approximately 1 week.
4. Radio wave treatment (used to remove large formations).

All these methods are used to remove papules in the leg area in adults and children. The doctor who has examined the child comprehensively will tell you which procedure is best to choose.

How dangerous are warts for a child?

Warts are dangerous due to their degeneration into malignant neoplasms. Therefore, if skin growths appear on the arms, legs or other parts of the body, it is better to undergo diagnostics and act in accordance with the recommendations of doctors.

In very rare cases, the appearance of a growth on a baby’s hands can be caused by an oncogenic strain of the virus. Then the development of a malignant tumor cannot be ruled out.

Childhood neoplasms, as a rule, pass without a trace, but there are unpleasant exceptions. Therefore, parents should be on alert: monitor the dynamics of the disease.

Drugs

To remove warts on a child's finger, you can use topical pharmaceutical products.

Salicylic acid patch

To treat a wart, you need to cut out a circle and apply it to the wart, securing it on top with a regular adhesive plaster. Leave for 2 days. Then the procedure can be repeated. Salicylic acid softens horny deposits, has an antiseptic effect, and has a detrimental effect on viruses.

Antiviral ointments

The products do not cause irritation, are not absorbed and are well tolerated:

• Panavir cream;
• Viferon ointment;
• Oxolinic ointment 3%.

Cryopharma

The drug is approved for use in children over 4 years of age. It has a good healing effect. The mechanism of action is freezing the wart at a temperature of -57°C. As a result, tissue necrosis develops, and the formation disappears within 2 weeks.

Aggressive drugs containing mixtures of acids are not used in young children. After using them, scars may remain on the delicate baby skin.

What not to do with formations

We already know that warts are caused by HPV infection. And this virus is dangerous because it leads to malignant tissue degeneration. Therefore, warts cannot be:

• Expose to excessive sunlight. Ultraviolet radiation is harmful even to healthy skin, and even more so to infected skin.
• It is necessary to protect warts from mechanical damage. If suddenly it happens that the wart is torn off, you need to treat the wound with hydrogen peroxide, apply a bactericidal patch and observe. At the first signs of inflammation or growth, consult a doctor immediately.
• Do not cut growths from your fingers with a blade or scissors.

Causes of the disease

Main routes of transmission:

1. Contact - in direct contact with a person who has a wart, during a game, or with a handshake.
2. Contact and household - through toys, pens and pencils, towels.

The baby can become infected from other family members, or he can catch the infection while visiting, in kindergarten or in any other public place: in a swimming pool, theater, store, public transport.

Why do some children often develop warts on their fingers, while others rarely have them?

1. The duration of contact with the pathogen is important. If there is a sick person in the child’s immediate environment, the likelihood of infection will be much higher.
2. Skin condition – the entry gates for the pathogen will be the smallest defects on the skin: scratches, abrasions, cuts. At risk are children who bite their nails and tear off hangnails. They may develop periungual growths.
3. The habit of scratching warts - in this case, the pathogen spreads over the surface of the skin. This leads to the emergence of new elements.
4. Puberty - a natural hormonal surge makes the body especially vulnerable to the virus. During this period, “youthful” warts often appear.
5. Immunity status – the virus more often affects weakened and long-term ill children. Warts can appear in children who have just started attending kindergarten and have not yet had time to adapt.

Prevention

There are no methods to guarantee the absence of warts. You can only reduce the likelihood of their occurrence:

• It is imperative to wear shoes when visiting a swimming pool, bathhouse, sauna, or public showers.
• At the end of any water procedures, you should wipe your feet dry.
• It is unacceptable to wear socks or warm closed shoes on wet feet.
• It is also recommended to choose shoes appropriate for the weather to prevent your feet from sweating. Warmth and humidity are ideal conditions for warts to appear.
• You should not touch other people's warts (children and even teenagers may do this simply out of curiosity).

For any new growths on the skin, it is better to show the child to a pediatrician or dermatologist.

Symptoms

The appearance of skin growths is accompanied by itching in the area of ​​their occurrence . Initially, a small nodule develops, which subsequently develops into a wart. Neoplasms can be single in nature or develop in several places at once.

Cases of combination of growths on the skin with pathology of the upper respiratory tract (tonsillitis, sinusitis and sinusitis) are common.

Doctors insist on the connection between the recurrence of warts and acute infectious processes of the nasopharynx. Often the formation of skin growths on the hands of children occurs with a pronounced imbalance of the intestinal flora . In addition, even a tiny and barely noticeable formation on the hand causes enormous psychological discomfort in the child.

How to get rid of it at home?

And is it worth it? After all, according to statistics, within three years even the most persistent warts show regression and disappear without a trace.

But you still shouldn’t hope for this, because over such a long period of time the growths can either disappear or cover the entire body.

The best option would be to contact a dermatologist when the first symptoms appear, a thorough examination and compliance with all medical recommendations. What they will be depends on the degree of danger/neglect of the wart, its type and size, as well as the age of the child.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOMllXh3Cf4

Attention! All treatment methods must be agreed upon with an experienced specialist and carried out under his supervision.