How to get rid of spines using pharmaceuticals and medications

A pimples is a benign skin formation that occurs as a result of the introduction of the human papillomavirus (HPV) into the epidermal cells. The virus causes changes in the structure of skin cells, leading to the appearance of a characteristic growth. Thorn (lat. verruca plantaris) is a common name, the root of which encodes a description of the peculiarities of this neoplasm. Due to its hard and dense structure, it in many ways resembles a thorn, causing discomfort to the owner. Most often, the spine appears on the foot (heel, toe, side of the joint), less often - on the inside of the fingers.

Difference between the spine and other warts

Unlike other types of warts (plantar, vulgar, flat) the spine has some differences:

causes pain and itching upon appearance;
causes discomfort when wearing shoes.

The characteristic features of the spine are a dense structure of keratinized cells. The formation usually has an unpleasant yellowish-gray color, and black dots can often be seen on the surface (these are accumulations of blood cells from burst capillaries).

Discomfort when walking in the area where the spine appears is associated with the nature of this formation. The wart has a hard callous structure, and its body grows not only on the surface of the skin, but also inside the epidermis .
Mechanical impact while walking automatically leads to irritation of nerve receptors, which causes itching and pain.

Causes

Photo of what a thorn looks like

What are the reasons for the appearance of a spine? The main culprit behind plantar warts is the human papillomavirus. This dangerous virus is widespread, making it extremely difficult to completely protect yourself from possible infection.

But the fact that the virus has entered the body is not enough. There may be different reasons for the development of spines:

Any changes in the body that lead to a weakening of the immune system;
Exacerbations of chronic diseases;
Viral infections;
Violations of the integrity of the skin of the hands or feet;
Constantly wearing tight, uncomfortable or poorly breathable leather;
Stressful situations and severe depression;
Increased sweating;
Frequent freezing or overheating of extremities, etc.

What can cause the process of plantar wart growth to begin? Almost everything that can negatively affect a person’s immune system. Therefore, you simply must carefully monitor your own health and promptly respond to any signals from your body.

Effective medicines for spine

The easiest way to get rid of a spine is to remove it using a laser, liquid nitrogen, electric current, or surgery at a dermatology office or cosmetologist. At the initial stage of the formation of the spine, local external agents will also help - ointments, creams, gels based on active ingredients. The most effective in the fight against horny warts (its other name) are keratolytic agents that dissolve dead skin cells. Various organic acids and cauterizing agents also show good effectiveness in removing warts in a conservative manner.

It is important! It should be remembered that any warts are skin diseases of viral origin. Simply removing it will not be enough if the HPV virus is still present in the skin cells. It is necessary to use combination therapy - a combination of local drugs with antiviral supplements and immunostimulants.

Viferon ointment

Anti-thorn remedies that include human interferon are highly effective. Viferon ointment is a specialized antiviral agent that prevents the multiplication of the virus and inhibits its activity.

The drug can be used at home. The treatment is characterized by the absence of pain, scars and cicatrices do not remain after therapy. To get rid of the growth, the ointment is used 4 times a day at regular intervals. The duration of the therapeutic course is determined individually.

Some patients note that they were able to get rid of warts that are located on the sole within a few weeks. Other people took longer - about a month.

Important: if treatment of the spine with Viferon within a month does not produce a visible result, it is necessary to reconsider the treatment regimen.

In the absence of intolerance to the active components of the drug, the product can be used during pregnancy, lactation and for young children.

Advantages and disadvantages of medicines

You can get rid of the spine using topical products that are applied to the skin.

Among them are ointments based on organic acids (salicylic, oxalic, nitric, lactic, acetic), as well as creams and plasters with inorganic active ingredients .

The general principle of action of these drugs is necrotization ( death ) of epidermal cells . After application to the stratum corneum of the wart, these drugs cause softening of the skin, which is why the spine can be easily removed with a sharp object (scissors, tweezers).

The advantage of these products is their availability: any of them can be found in a pharmacy at an average price of 50 to 100 rubles .

Photo 1. In pharmacies today you can find more than a dozen remedies for getting rid of spines. Source: Flickr (Mike Siller)

But they also have significant disadvantages:

the need for repeated use, long-term treatment;
possibility of relapse;
uncontrolled process of tissue necrosis, which can also affect healthy skin cells;
burns, scars and light spots on the skin as a result of the use of aggressive acids.

If you decide to try one of the horny wart removal products, you must strictly follow the instructions for use .

Lapis pencil is one of the popular means for removing keratinized areas of skin (calluses, corns) based on potassium nitrate and silver nitrate. Effectively cauterizes the spine, but requires careful handling, because may cause chemical burns.
Salicylic ointment is a white substance with a fatty texture based on salicylic acid. It has a mild effect on dead skin cells, so it is considered an insufficiently effective remedy. Helps in the initial stage of spine formation.
Viferon is an ointment with an antiviral component based on human recombinant interferon. It does not have a necrotizing or cauterizing effect, so it is not effective for treating spines. But it can be used after removing warts to fight the HPV virus.
Salipod is an inexpensive keratolytic agent based on salicylic acid and sulfur in the form of a patch that is glued to the keratinized area for a day and then removed. The softened wart is cut off with scissors.
Verrucacid is a composition based on phenol and tricresol, which has a cauterizing and necrotizing effect and effectively removes spines.
Cycloferon is an antiviral ointment that does not have keratolytic or cauterizing properties. Effective as a preventive measure.
Super celandine is a powerful alkaline agent with a cauterizing effect. Apply strictly to the wart using an applicator. Requires extreme caution in use, because may cause severe burns.
Feresol is an analogue of verrucacid, having the same properties and component composition.

How does infection occur?

If the causes of infection are already known, few people know how the virus penetrates and adapts to tissues. Its activity is especially high when the patient’s immune status is low and after stressful situations. Indeed, in fact, many people experience foot injuries, but not damage to the epidermis.

In order for the virus to penetrate the skin, there must first be a lesion on the skin. When the pathogen is already in the dermis, its gradual adaptation occurs and the structure of the epidermis in a given place is disrupted. The longer the virus stays in the skin, the more the skin surface and its cellular structure change.

At the very beginning of the disease, skin changes can be quite harmless. It often happens that when immunity increases, the spine goes away on its own. But still, such skin lesions often take a chronic course and the pathological process covers increasingly large areas of the skin. The larger the damaged area, the more noticeable the pain.

In the presence of accompanying factors or with the addition of a secondary infection, the disease can take a progressive course. This often happens with incorrectly selected treatment tactics and with a large area of skin damage. This can happen if you try to remove the growth yourself.

As for the transmission of the virus from one person to another, this phenomenon is quite rare. This can only happen when scales from the spine get onto the damaged area of the epidermis. In addition, other accompanying factors must also come into play for the exchange of infected material to occur.

Some doctors say that infection most often occurs in adolescence and in young children. This is due to the fact that the immune system is not yet fully mature during this period, and the rules of personal hygiene may also be violated. This is especially true when sharing linen or towels.

In the environment, the pathogen can remain active for no more than three hours. If there was no contact with the skin at this time, the virus dies. You also need to take into account that penetration requires breaking the protective layer. Therefore, if you avoid injury and provide timely protection, the risk of infection will be minimal. If infection does occur, the incubation period can be up to 2 months.

Features of application

For ointments and plasters with keratolytic action, the following instructions for use are indicated:

The skin on the foot or palm is cleansed and softened using a water bath or bath with the addition of soda or regular soap.
An ointment (Superchistotel, Feresol) or a patch is applied to cleansed skin using a special applicator and left for some time (the patch is for about 24 hours).
After the spine is softened, it must be carefully cut off with scissors, without touching the healthy skin around it.
If ointment , it must be applied daily for at least 5-7 days (depending on the size and thickness of the stratum corneum).
stop using the cauterizing agent until the wart disappears and blood begins to bleed from the skin.
As a preventive measure, use ointments with an antiviral component (Viferon, Cycloferon).

Photo 2. To remove the spine yourself, you need to have time and patience. Source: Flickr (Bonnie.Chow).

Super clean

The solution consists of various sodium derivatives. The pharmacological effect is due to its cauterizing properties, as a result of which warts die and disappear over time.

Apply the solution directly to the growth. Neighboring tissues are pre-protected - covered with adhesive tape or lubricated with a thick cream. The procedure is carried out once a day. The duration of the course of treatment is five days.

Advice: if a little solution accidentally gets on undamaged tissue, you should immediately rinse with running water to avoid redness and burns of the skin.

Contraindications:

Children under 12 years of age;
The presence of birthmarks near the problem area;
Do not use on mucous membranes;
Do not use against the background of a violation of the integrity of the skin.

After home manipulation, the spine begins to gradually turn black. This indicates tissue necrosis. Over time, the wart falls off and a small wound surface forms in its place. It drags on for several weeks.

Measures to prevent the appearance of spines

To avoid the appearance of spines, you must follow simple rules:

regularly clean the skin of the feet , use abrasives to remove dead skin (pumice stone, emery file);
do not wear tight artificial leather shoes;
do not walk barefoot on tiles in public showers, saunas, and swimming pools;
Do not use other people’s hygiene products (towels, washcloths), manicure sets.

Note! Stimulating the immune system with the help of immunomodulators - drugs that enhance the body's protective function - will help prevent HPV infection.

What it is?

The spine, like all warts, is a benign neoplasm. At the first stage, it is a white dense node protruding above the surface of the skin. As it grows, the compaction becomes larger and begins to resemble a rough, keratinized callus. The basis of the spine is growths that penetrate deep under the skin, as a result of which nerve fibers are affected. This causes pain in the patient.

The growths can be single and large or small but multiple groups. In the latter case, one largest spine is isolated, around which the rest are grouped.

Colony of warts

Surgical removal

In addition to conservative methods of solving the problem, there are also more radical ways. Today, there are many procedures that are slightly invasive and provide the patient with a minimum of pain. Among the possible methods of destruction of the spine:

Electrocoagulation. This method is a high-tech cauterization of the wart. The growth is exposed to high-frequency current, which burns out the affected tissue.

The method is widespread due to its low cost and availability. However, electrocoagulation can leave scars on the skin and can also be quite painful for the patient.
Cryotherapy. The wart is removed using very low temperature. Liquid nitrogen is applied to the spine, instantly freezing it and causing tissue destruction.

Removal with liquid nitrogen
The main problem with this method is the inability to control the depth of exposure. Because of this, it is impossible to say for sure whether the wart's root system has completely disappeared or whether only the outer layer has been removed.
Laser removal. This method is one of the most progressive and painless. It is based on the action of a laser beam, which removes all affected tissue layer by layer.

During destruction, the laser instantly seals the capillaries, preventing blood loss and minimizing the risk of infection. This method does not leave scars and the skin becomes completely intact within a month.

Each procedure can be performed on an outpatient basis, after which the patient immediately goes home. This method of removal is considered the most preferable, as it is carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

The removal process - watch in our video:

In addition to the destruction of the growth, the patient needs to begin to strengthen the immune system, which is a limiting factor in the development of papillomavirus. Therefore, surgical methods need to be supplemented with supportive therapy, including the use of immunostimulating and immunomodulating agents.

Appearance

The spine on the leg resembles a dense nodule in the shape of a hemisphere. Initially, a smooth, round, yellowish spot appears. Over time, the surface of the outgrowth becomes denser and covered with scales. If you steam the affected area in hot water and remove the upper stratum corneum, black inclusions of clogged capillaries and small vessels appear. Over time, daughter formations appear near the first outgrowth. As they grow, they cover the foot with a hard brown crust.