Warts

Warts are benign skin tumors per se, simply put: superficial tissue growths caused by a viral infection. Among warts, different types can be distinguished according to their location and characteristics:

Flat skin warts: They are usually found on the face or hands and show only a slight elevation. They mainly affect children.
Common warts: This type is mainly found on the hands of the affected persons and shows a small elevation with a rough surface.
Thorn nipples/plantar warts: Found on the soles of the feet and grow deeper compared to the other wart types, down to the subcutaneous fatty tissue.
Genital warts/anogenital warts: Are located on the mucous membranes of the external genital organs such as the vagina, penis, but also the anus.
Laryngeal warts: These warts are located on the vocal folds in the larynx and must be surgically removed

Treatment/Therapy

Treatment of infection with human papilloma viruses is primarily dependent on the type of HPV and thus on the symptoms the virus causes. If the “benign HP viruses” cause warts to develop, treatment is not absolutely necessary – the exception here are laryngeal warts, which could otherwise lead to closure of the trachea. Normally the local infection site, which later forms the wart, heals by itself after two years at the latest and the wart disappears.

However, since warts are often perceived as unsightly and disturbing, there are possibilities to treat the warts. They can either be cut out surgically, iced or treated with etching agents over a long period of time to remove the wart gradually. Unfortunately, all methods involve a frequent recurrence of the warts.

In the case of tumorous, i.e. “malignant” skin changes, the usual procedures as for other tumors should be applied. The treatment spectrum here can range from surgical removal to radiation or chemotherapy. This is determined by dermatologists or oncologists depending on the type of tumor. In the case of cervical cancer, there is the possibility of a vaccination to prevent a potential HPV infection on the basis of which a cancer could develop. Tumors of the neck and throat are removed in a similar way to skin tumors, depending on their type, using the options available to oncology.