Periungual warts: description with photos, causes, symptoms, removal options and doctor’s recommendations

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Lumps that suddenly appear on the body will bother anyone. Warts are not only an aesthetic defect. They may well develop into cancer. A wart under the fingernail brings particular discomfort. How to treat a neoplasm?

What are warts

Warts are skin growths of a viral nature, formed as a result of the proliferation of epidermal cells. In most cases, they do not cause any discomfort and are a purely aesthetic defect. They are not prone to degeneration into malignant tumors.

Without treatment, warts can persist for years, although they often resolve and disappear on their own.

Prevention

Avoiding HPV infection is quite difficult, and only a few succeed. Modern medicine can solve warts in the shortest possible time, but cannot destroy the virus in the body. That is why, in order to reduce the risk of relapse, you must adhere to the following rules:

1. Maintain strict hygiene of your feet and hands, but do not overdo it. Frequent washing can lead to a decrease in the local immunity of the skin.
2. Trim nails in accordance with all rules. Thanks to this, it will be possible to avoid the formation of hangnails and ingrowth of nail plates into the skin.
3. Wear comfortable, high-quality shoes that are appropriate for the season.
4. To ensure normal air circulation, wear cotton socks
5. For even minor damage to the skin, treat wounds with antiseptic agents.
6. When visiting public places with high humidity (baths, swimming pools), wear personal replacement shoes.
7. of biting forever .
8. Do not use other people’s personal belongings (towel, mittens, nail polishes, manicure sets and even creams.
9. Even try on new shoes in nylon socks.
10. When visiting beauty salons, carefully ensure that all instruments are sterile.
11. properly and fully .
12. Play sports, but avoid excessive physical activity.
13. Give yourself enough time to rest and sleep.
14. Spend more time outdoors .
15. If necessary, take vitamin complexes.
16. Get rid of all bad habits.
17. Avoid stressful situations and learn to react calmly to all problems.
18. Monitor your general health and promptly treat any illnesses.

Such preventive measures will help avoid the reappearance of warts. Those who are lucky enough not to become infected with HPV are recommended to get vaccinated against this virus.

It will not be able to protect completely, but at the same time, the most dangerous strains with a high risk of degeneration into a malignant tumor will no longer be able to enter the body.

The appearance of warts under and near nails is not uncommon. New growths look very unattractive, and in addition, they can cause some discomfort, itching and pain.

Causes of subungual warts

The human papillomavirus is responsible for the occurrence of warts of any localization. Infection occurs through contact and household contact through damaged skin. With good immunity, the virus can remain dormant in the body for a long time. But with a decrease in protective forces, it turns into an active form and causes the development of warts and papillomas. Additionally, various provoking factors may contribute to this.

A wart on the hand near the nail often occurs in the following situations:

• in the presence of hangnails;
• after cuts and injuries to the skin of the fingers;
• due to the habit of biting nails;
• in case of errors during manicure (cuts, injuries, use of contaminated tools);
• after skin irritation with chemicals, including household chemicals.

A wart on the foot under the nail develops after the action of the following provoking factors:

• wearing tight, uncomfortable or rough shoes;
• visiting the pool, bathhouse or sauna barefoot;
• wearing someone else's shoes.

Increased sweating and ingrown toenails also contribute to the occurrence of periungual warts on the feet.

Methods for removing warts under the nail

Methods for removing warts from the skin and under the nail are varied. You can get rid of it yourself by treating the affected area with liquid cauterizing preparations - verrucacid, ferresol, solcoderm.

It is possible to apply creams with an antiviral effect: viferon, oxolinic, riodoxol, panavir.

A popular way to remove subungual formations from the palms and plantars is the drug cryopharma. An aerosol containing refrigerant applied to the growth freezes it without leaving any scars. A product with a similar effect is liquid nitrogen. By treating viral growths with keratolytics (salicylic ointment, kolomak), it is possible to achieve gradual destruction and peeling of pathological tissues.

If the methods do not work, you need to contact a dermatologist for hardware removal.

Minimally invasive methods:

• laser;
• diathermoelectrocoagulation;
• radio knife

Large-scale growths, deep root - indications for surgical removal. All local effects should be supplemented by the administration of antiviral drugs and immunomodulators.

Symptoms of warts

Typically, warts are round-shaped formations that do not rise much above the skin. Their surface is initially smooth, but over time it becomes rough and becomes covered with horny growths. The skin pattern disappears.

There are two types of such formations on the fingers near the nails:

• subungual wart (located under the nail);
• periungual or periungual wart (on the cuticle near the nail).

In the first case, the element is located under the nail. It may be small and indistinguishable in color from the surrounding skin. In such cases, they are absolutely invisible and do not cause inconvenience. Problems begin when a wart under a fingernail or toenail begins to grow. This first provokes thinning of the nail plate, and then its deformation and destruction. Moreover, a wart under the toenail, due to compression by shoes, can be very painful and lead to lameness of the patient or limited mobility. Therefore, with such a pathology, you should definitely contact a dermatologist for diagnosis and treatment.

A periungual or periungual wart is a wart near the fingernail or toenail. Its appearance usually does not go unnoticed, since it is a growth that rises to one degree or another above the level of the skin. Nail warts can be flat or have a deep root. In the latter case, the elements during growth spread to the adjacent nail, causing its damage, deformation and destruction.

When examining warts in detail, you can notice small dark dots and stripes on them, which are actually thrombosed capillaries.

On the hand near the nail, a wart can often become injured during everyday work and bleed. On the feet, the same thing happens when there is pressure from shoes or when there are rough seams in the toe area. Due to frequent damage, these warts may appear darker in color than the surrounding skin. In such situations, there is always a risk of infection, which is a good reason to consult a doctor for help.

Why are warts dangerous? Possible complications

How dangerous can a periungual wart be? Reviews indicate that in most cases such growths represent only a small cosmetic defect. However, the likelihood of complications cannot be ignored.

• There is a possibility of existing tumors growing and new ones appearing.
• The growth of warts can lead to deformation of the nail plate. In the absence of therapy, nails become brittle, embossed, and begin to flake.
• Periungual warts are often injured. Small wounds and cracks form on the skin, which can turn into gateways for infection. Often the situation is complicated by the development of various bacterial and fungal skin diseases (especially when it comes to warts on human feet).
• As already mentioned, some types of papillomavirus increase the likelihood of skin cancer. That is why you should not refuse tests recommended by your doctor.

Diagnostics

Warts of this localization can be confused with other pathologies. Therefore, it is better to entrust the diagnosis and choice of therapeutic tactics to a doctor and not self-medicate. For a competent dermatologist to make a diagnosis, it is enough to examine the skin formations. In some cases, additional research may be necessary.

Warts around the nails are very similar to calluses. The main difference between them is the preservation of the skin pattern on the surface of the calluses and the absence of thrombosed capillaries (black dots on the surface) in their structure upon visual inspection.

Warts under the nail cause its destruction, which is clinically very similar to a fungal infection (photos of these pathologies in the medical literature are practically the same). But a negative culture for fungi will quickly clarify the situation in terms of the etiology of the disease.

If necessary, the doctor will additionally prescribe a dermatoscopy and biopsy of the formation.

Are there effective traditional treatment methods?

Of course, traditional medicine offers a huge number of medicines that can be prepared at home:

• Some traditional healers recommend treating the wart with fresh garlic juice.
• Do not forget about celandine - this is a universal way to combat skin warts. Cut the stem of a fresh plant and treat it with the juice of the new growth tissue.
• Kalanchoe can also be used to remove warts. A fresh leaf of the plant needs to be crushed, and the resulting pulp should be applied to the skin growth, securing everything on top with a plaster or bandage.

Treatment of warts

Official medicine offers many ways to get rid of warts near and under the nails. Conventionally, all of them can be divided into two large groups: conservative therapy and surgical removal.

Conservative treatment of warts

Conservative therapy involves taking antiviral and immunostimulating drugs orally and local treatment.

Warts are a viral disease. Therefore, the use of drugs that inhibit viruses is completely justified. For this purpose, doctors prescribe Cycloferon, Anaferon, Isoprinosine, etc.

In case of reduced immunity, the use of immunostimulating and immunomodulating agents is indicated. You should take such medications only as prescribed by your doctor.

External remedies for warts

The most common treatments for warts are topical medications. Depending on the number of elements, their size and location, medications from different groups are used:

• immunomodulators (Imiquimod);
• based on acids with a necrotizing effect (Solcoderm, Verrukacid);
• antiviral (Viferon);
• refrigerants (Cryopharma);
• keratolytic agents (salicylic acid and ointment, Collomac).

Small and superficial elements can be removed using these drugs. In order to get rid of large, deep or old warts, you have to resort to surgical methods.

Surgery

If you can’t get rid of warts using conservative methods, but you still don’t want to live with them, surgery with its radical but gentle techniques comes to the rescue. These include:

• laser removal;
• removal using the Surgitron apparatus (radio wave knife);
• cryodestruction;
• electrocoagulation.

These manipulations are performed by a dermatologist on an outpatient basis. A few minutes after the procedure, the patient can go home. The rehabilitation period varies in time depending on the method used by the doctor to remove periungual warts. But the features of caring for the wound surface are similar for all methods - you cannot peel off the formed crust, the skin must be treated with antiseptic and antibacterial agents.

In some cases, excision of the wart with a scalpel is required. This operation is performed only by surgeons. After it there is always a long rehabilitation and a high risk of scarring, so it is prescribed only for serious indications.

How to treat periungual warts? Features of drug therapy

It is immediately worth noting that drug therapy is rarely required. In most cases, it is enough to remove the wart, and sometimes the tumors completely disappear on their own.

Drug treatment of periungual warts is prescribed only if there is a marked decrease in the activity of the immune system. It is advisable to take Acyclovir and other antiviral drugs.

Naturally, treatment must be comprehensive. Antiviral drugs are taken not only internally - the affected areas of the skin are treated with special ointments and gels, which also negatively affect the activity of viruses. Products such as Panavir and Viferon are considered effective.

Features of subungual warts in children

Warts are more common in children than in adults. This is due to the immaturity of the immune system and frequent skin injuries. At the same time, self-resolution of such elements is also observed more often in them than in adults.

Most wart removal methods are quite painful. Therefore, parents of children are in no hurry to consult doctors, but resort to traditional medicine methods. This is not the best option. There is little chance of getting rid of warts through self-medication, but it is quite possible to end up with deformation and destruction of the nail plate.

If a child has a single wart that does not bother him in any way, you don’t have to take any action, but just wait. There is a chance that it will disappear on its own. But you should definitely see a doctor if:

• there are many warts;
• they grow;
• are injured and bleed;
• new elements continue to appear;
• There are doubts that this is a wart.

If any of these conditions occur, you should not put off visiting a dermatologist.

Laser therapy

Laser removal of periungual warts is considered the most effective and safe method today. A concentrated laser beam removes overgrown wart cells layer by layer. In this case, there is no direct contact with human blood and tissue, and damaged vessels are immediately cauterized, which minimizes the likelihood of skin infection. By the way, during the procedure you can even remove those warts that are located directly under the nail plate.

As for the disadvantages, the list of them includes only the high cost of the procedure. In addition, not every hospital has equipment for laser removal.

How to prevent the formation of subungual warts

Prevention of this pathology, first of all, comes down to following the rules of personal hygiene:

• you cannot walk barefoot in public places;
• It is not recommended to wear someone else’s shoes, socks, tights, gloves, etc.;
• manicures and pedicures should be done only in trusted places, where all necessary processing of instruments is carried out after each client;
• Do not bite your nails or hangnails;
• In case of cuts, you should immediately treat the wounds with antiseptics.

In the case of frequently recurring warts, you should definitely consult an immunologist and check your immunogram. You may need to take immunomodulatory drugs to stimulate the body's defenses.

Warts around and under nails are rare. Most often, they do not cause any inconvenience other than aesthetic discomfort. Fortunately, medicine offers many ways to get rid of these formations on the skin quickly and without a trace.

Care after removal

There are rules that must be followed after surgical removal of a wart:

• one day after the procedure, you should not wet the removal site;
• you can't sunbathe;
• It is prohibited to use cosmetic skin care products;
• You cannot remove the scab that has formed yourself ; it must fall off on its own;
• It is necessary to treat the wound several times a day with an antiseptic .

With improper care, suppuration, the formation of large scars, age spots, relapses, and malignancy of cells can occur, so you should definitely consult a doctor about care.

Prevention of the appearance of subungual warts

As a preventative measure, you must constantly observe the rules of personal hygiene .

You should not use personal hygiene products that belong to other people, you should avoid wearing the same shoes, items of clothing: socks and gloves.

Physical activity, taking vitamins, proper nutrition, and getting rid of bad habits will significantly increase immunity , which means they will minimize the possibility of infection or activation of the virus in the body.

Photo 2. To prevent the disease, stress and uncomfortable shoes should be avoided. Source: Flickr (Euphoria Love).

If you are prone to various manifestations of infection due to the presence of a virus in the blood, you should undergo periodic examinations to avoid or significantly reduce the risk of infection.

To prevent relapses and re-formation of warts, you must follow the above tips. To improve the skin's ability to regenerate, you can take a complex of vitamins , including vitamins A and E.

How to remove periungual growths in medical institutions

To treat a subungual wart, it is worth visiting a dermatologist, who will rule out the malignant nature of the tumor and select the optimal method for its removal.

You can get rid of a wart on a toenail or fingernail in a medical facility in the following ways:

• cryodestruction;
• laser destruction;
• electrocoagulation;
• surgical intervention.

The first three methods require specialized equipment, but the last method is the most traumatic and painful.

Sometimes a chemical method is used to burn out subungual warts with concentrated acids or alkalis. But they resort to it extremely rarely, since it requires certain skills and maximum accuracy from the specialist. In addition, these substances are precursors, which require special permission to work with.

Hardware methods

All hardware methods for removing subungual warts have their advantages and disadvantages. Not every clinic has the necessary expensive equipment to carry them out.

Removing papillomas using a laser beam is recognized as the best method. It eliminates bleeding, takes a few minutes, and leaves no scars. Laser destruction also minimizes relapses. The only disadvantages include the high cost compared to other methods.

The electrocoagulation method involves removing subungual warts using an applicator through which a current of a certain frequency is passed. As a result, damaged blood vessels are cauterized, which reduces the risk of wound infection and explains the absence of bleeding.

Radical methods

Surgical excision of warts involves cutting off the growth with a scalpel under local anesthesia. Dermatologists resort to this method when the subungual tumor grows significantly, as well as when its roots go deep under the nail plate.

The disadvantages of the method include a high percentage of the likelihood of relapse, a long healing period, and the presence of postoperative scars.

Cryotherapy

It involves cauterizing the wart with liquid nitrogen. Its advantage is the simplicity of the procedure, the absence of the need to use specialized equipment and anesthesia, as well as excellent results. Disadvantages - if the tumor grows significantly, repeated manipulation is required. Contraindications to cryotherapy include the period of gestation and disturbances in the functioning of the endocrine glands.

Chemical method

Trichloroacetic acid and concentrated nitric acid are used to remove growths chemically.

The complexity of the method lies in the fact that these chemical compounds must be applied exactly to the affected area, since contact with healthy tissue causes severe burns, and after healing, the formation of scars.

Causes and types

The appearance of warts is associated with a viral infection or with age-related changes in the skin. Among the types of keratinized growths on the skin located around or under the nail, simple and juvenile warts are the most active.

The first type of neoplasm has a dome-shaped shape with a dirty-brown surface, reminiscent of the upper part of a cauliflower inflorescence. Small individual growths can gradually merge and form large lumpy nodules.

Juvenile warts are distinguished by flat, rounded nodules of a grayish-yellowish hue, which are often grouped along abrasions or cuts. The main reasons for the appearance and activation of warty skin growths include several groups of factors:

• direct contact with a carrier of human papillomatous virus;
• infection through household items (towel or bed linen) and various surfaces (handrails in transport and others), especially in the presence of microtraumas on the skin;
• prolonged stressful situations;

• weakened immunity;
• the presence of chronic diseases, especially with frequent exacerbations.

How to get rid of the problem

Treatment with folk remedies does not help. The placebo effect does not count. There is a technique in that alternative medicine that is based on self-healing of the body.

A person begins to eat properly, namely, gradually switches to a raw food diet (eating raw fruits and vegetables). And during this, his skin gradually clears.

There were cases when problem areas of the skin disappeared on their own. But the method is questionable, if only because it sometimes takes ten years, and this is if you do not deviate from such a diet.

There are quite a few half measures: these are various ointments, and special pencils like Celandine. As for ointments, their use is justified only if the doctor prescribes them after removing problem areas of the skin.

Pencils that cauterize a wart will not solve the problem at its root. This is just a “cosmetic repair”, which does not even guarantee that papilloma will not grow in this place later.

These formations can go quite deep under the skin. And the pencil will not remove this peculiar “sole”. Even from a thin layer, a new papilloma then grows.

Important addition: Treatment of psoriasis with sodium thiosulfate: features, effectiveness and application

In addition, you should use such pencils very carefully, because if they come into contact with healthy skin, they will cause a chemical burn. As for the skin of the neck and face, you can’t use a pencil in these places in principle.

A few words about what a wart is

To better understand the ineffectiveness of half measures, it is worth saying what the nature of education is. This is nothing more than modified skin, which takes one form or another depending on the type of virus. This is just a symptom.

It’s just that in some specific place on the body the immune system failed, and as a result, a consequence of HPV formed there.

Of course, treatment at home is impossible. This is an area of ​​skin, albeit deformed. This virus has modified it. Do not cut off an area of ​​skin with scissors or otherwise attempt to remove it. This is fraught with various problems, including blood poisoning.

How to win

Removing education is a matter that requires qualifications. This is done by a doctor specializing in such troubles.

A number of methods are used:

• cryodestruction;
• removal with a scalpel;
• laser removal.

Freezing isn't everyone's cup of tea. Removal with a scalpel is an outdated method, the only advantage of which is its low cost. But laser treatment of education is an effective and proven technique.

The beam burns through the formation, removing layer by layer. Then, layer by layer is also removed at the base. Here's how to get rid of this problem.

Folk remedies for removing nail growths

Traditional methods of treatment involve the use of plants that have a burning juice that destroys warts.

Such plants include celandine, spurge, and dandelion. Pure plant juice can be applied to the new growth, which must be done extremely carefully, otherwise burns may occur.

Treatment with folk remedies can be carried out using the following recipes:

1. vinegar compress - add a few drops of 80% vinegar essence to a small amount of wheat flour and mix thoroughly until a thick dough forms. A lump of dough is applied to the wart, excluding healthy skin in order to avoid burns;
2. garlic ointment - carefully chop a clove of garlic and mix it with an equal volume of Vaseline or natural butter;
3. onion compress - onion pieces are soaked in 6 or 9% vinegar and applied to the wart.

Before getting rid of a wart using traditional methods, you should consult a doctor.

Self-medication can cause damage to the neoplasm and give impetus to its malignancy.

Unfortunately, many people do not like to go to doctors and prefer to remove skin tags on their own. We don't recommend doing this.

How I got rid of papillomas at home

It turned out that papillomas are the first symptom of HPV infection!!

Hello, my dear readers! I really want to tell you today how I got rid of two terrible papillomas on my face.

I didn’t even know that to get rid of these nasty papillomas you just need to cleanse your body!

Honey. reference:

If papillomas are not treated, then the disease further develops and spreads throughout the body, up to the appearance of rashes on the mucous membranes. Also, in 92% of cases, papillomas appear on the scalp, as well as on the skin of the genital organs - on the penis, vagina, as well as on the cervix and anus - in this case, the papillomas pass into the phase - genital warts.

After I got a second papilloma and I learned the details that it wouldn’t end there, I decided to close this issue right away. I really didn’t want to have to remove nasty papillomas all over my body later.

And just imagine that they may begin to appear in all sorts of intimate places in the future - it’s just horror and a nightmare.

How it all happened.

A doctor friend of mine told me something like this. PAPILLOMAS and WARTS are the first sign of the presence of HPV in the body. Our immune system is weakened and cannot cope with the virus. HPV not only lives in the body of an infected person, it is also easily transmitted through household contact. That is, you can infect children, close relatives and even colleagues at work!

Here are materials from Elena Malysheva’s program, which acutely touches on the topic of HPV.

HPV causes enormous harm to the human body, and our immune system is the first to suffer, which, in turn, should protect the body from various diseases. As a result of a weakened immune system, the body is weakened, it cannot fight and cope with the virus, and it also becomes susceptible to the development of numerous diseases.

The fact is that in our latitudes alone there are more than 100 types of HPV. It oppresses our body from the inside, feeding on the microelements we need and, in the process, their deficiency occurs, and also releases poisons that affect our internal organs. HPV infection occurs in different ways.

Signals of the appearance of HPV in your body may be frequent rashes of WARTS and PAPILLOMAS on the body, especially on the face and hands, also indicating the presence of HPV in the body. If you feel frequently unwell, you simply need to cleanse your body. It is pointless to conduct an examination for the presence of HPV; among the huge variety of species, it is useless.

How can you protect yourself from HPV?

Cleansing the body of HPV must be done using effective and modern means. The best and most affordable cleansing agent at the moment is Papilovir. I recommend this remedy to everyone without exception, but especially to those who want to cleanse the entire body. Already in the first days of use, you will feel noticeable improvements, a surge of strength, headaches will disappear, and your mood will improve. At the end of 30 days, HPV will leave your body. The drug has a general strengthening effect, and at the same time, easily clears most HPV.

If you want to minimize the risk of cancer and generally live 20-30 years longer, do not ignore this problem. Find a specialist, contact specialized centers, or simply take a regular course of Papilovir.

It is imperative to use Papilovir according to the regimen that is written in the instructions. The whole secret lies in a double attack on the virus - from the inside and the outside. The method of application is simple:

1 time per day internally, 2 times a day externally.

After reading this material, I immediately ordered Papilovir on the Internet with delivery to the post office. By the way, payment is only made by mail when I have already received the parcel!

What’s nice is that the components of Papilovir are natural. When I made the order, I was well instructed and an individual treatment option was selected for about 30 days.

When obvious results appeared, I decided to start photographing myself and this is what happened.)

Photos during the course of treatment with Papilovir: 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks.

I advise everyone to follow my example, I really don’t want to take risks. At a minimum, get rid of nasty papillomas or warts. at the very least, change your life!

Original Papilovir can only be ordered on the official website, which is published below. This product has all the necessary certificates and is tested for effectiveness. There are a lot of fakes in the CIS countries, ordering which you will not get the effect.

This is what the box looks like