A wart is a benign new growth on the skin to which no person is immune.Everyone who cares about their own health should know what warts look like, photos showing various types of growths.Knowing the specific signs of different types of tumors will help you identify the growth in time and consult a doctor if you have any questions about treatment or removal.
What warts look like: photos and features
The human papillomavirus causes the formation of various growths on the skin.
Warts, of which there are countless photos on the Internet, can take different forms.The reason lies in the diversity of HPV virus strains, which cause the process of epithelial cell division and the appearance of growths.
The following types of neoplasms are distinguished:
- common warts;
- papillomas;
- flat warts;
- keratomas;
- threadlike warts;
- condylomas;
- Plantar warts.
In fact, any type of growth caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) can be called a papilloma, as this is a general name for a type of benign neoplasm.
Keratomas are the only type of growth from the list above that is not caused by a virus.Such neoplasms occur in older people, which is due to age-related changes in the epidermis.
Features of common warts
Such warts most often form on the fingers;If they bother you, they must be removed.
Wart vulgaris is the most common growth species.Its distinctive features make it very easy to recognize in a photo.It has the shape of a small ball and rises above the rest of the epidermis.The ball is homogeneous, fairly dense, palpation is painless.Common warts can be lightly or heavily pigmented.Most often they do not differ in color from the rest of the epidermis, but they can be brown and resemble birthmarks in color.
The size of vulgar warts ranges from a few millimeters to a centimeter in diameter, large sizes are a rare exception.
Hair can grow from the body of the wart if the growth is on a hairy part of the body.This is completely normal and not a pathology.
A wart can be damaged in everyday life.Accidental rupture of the growth is accompanied by severe bleeding.This is due to damage to the capillaries that supply the wart.Such warts are most commonly found on the hands, fingers and feet.
Rubbing the growth with clothing can cause swelling and inflammation.In this case, discomfort and pain occur.If a wart is in the way, it is usually advisable to remove it.
What do papillomas look like?
When papillomas appear, the virus strain must be determined - some types of HPV are oncogenic.
After you find out what a wart looks like in the photo, you should consider another common type of growth – papillomas.It is a small, soft ball on a stalk that protrudes significantly above the rest of the epidermis.
Features of papillomas:
- small sizes;
- slight pigmentation;
- soft homogeneous structure;
- No discomfort when palpated.
The thin stalk supplies nutrients to the body of the papilloma.The blood supply to the growth occurs via capillaries.If the leg is damaged, bleeding begins.Under normal conditions, papillomas do not hurt or cause discomfort, but when compressed by fabric, shoe straps, or other clothing, the papillomas can become inflamed.It causes pain.Damage to papillomas is potentially dangerous, so it is preferable to remove them in a timely manner.Depending on the strain of the virus that caused the formation of growths, papillomas can degenerate into malignant neoplasms.To be fair, this happens very rarely, in no more than 4% of cases.
Location of papillomas: back, armpits, groin folds, neck, but can also occur in other parts of the body.
Flat warts in the photo
Flat warts are structures on the skin that protrude slightly above the surface of the skin.
Flat warts occur in children and adolescents.You can clearly see them in the photo: They are flat, small growths that are predominantly yellowish in color.They resemble small plaques or bumps on the skin and are almost invisible.The surface of flat warts is smooth and shiny.
This type of growth is safe.Flat warts do not hurt or cause discomfort, they are difficult to damage in everyday life and they almost never degenerate into malignant neoplasms.
Flat warts are removed primarily for aesthetic reasons, as they often appear on the face and neck.
Keratomas
Keratomas have a different form of formation and occur in older people.
This type of growth is not viral, but age-related.The formation of keratomas is primarily observed in older people and is often accompanied by pigmentation disorders in other parts of the body.
Keratomas are small, dark, irregular patches with a keratinized top layer.Their surface is uneven, hard to the touch and scaly.Nevertheless, keratomas are not dangerous.They do not hurt or cause any discomfort.Essentially, these are small areas of skin in which pigmentation is impaired and keratinization processes are promoted.
Symptoms of filarial warts
Thread warts usually affect sensitive areas of skin.
Thread warts are small, elongated growths on the skin.They occur in areas with thin and sensitive skin, especially on the neck, around the mammary glands and in the armpits.Thread warts look like a papilloma stalk without a round body at the tip.They are rarely pigmented and usually do not differ in color from the rest of the epidermis.The size of the growths does not exceed several millimeters in length and diameter.
Such growths occur in middle-aged and elderly people.Filamentous warts are not observed in children, adolescents and young people under 35 years of age.
How do you recognize a condyloma?
Condylomas are located on the mucous membranes - in the mouth, on the genitals.
A condyloma is a small growth of overgrown epithelial cells.The main feature is the papillary structure.Condylomas occur on the mucous membranes, including in the genital area.In women, they can cover the labia minora, the walls of the vagina, the cervix, the urethra, and the head and shaft of the penis.
The virus that causes condylomas is sexually transmitted.
Condylomas can occur singly or in groups.In the second case, they gradually grow together, forming large growths in the form of a cockscomb, broccoli or cauliflower.Their structure is heterogeneous, the color is pink or light brown.
Condylomas on the genitals are particularly dangerous.They grow quickly and can affect the urethra and cervix.Condylomas on the cervix are potentially dangerous because their cells quickly degenerate into a malignant neoplasm.
Plantar warts
Plantar warts cause significant discomfort when walking.
A plantar wart, also known as a plantar wart, is a special type of growth that only affects the feet.Externally, they look like small calluses with calloused skin around them.The color is often yellowish-white.The peculiarity of the spine is that it quickly increases in size and hurts when walking.This is because its root lies deep under the skin and when walking, it irritates the surrounding tissue and compresses it.
Spines are common in adults and children alike.They grow quickly and therefore need to be identified and removed in a timely manner.A plantar wart practically does not protrude beyond the healthy epidermis and represents a small plaque of keratinized skin.
warty root
The papilloma itself, the wart or condyloma, is only the visible part of the growth that protrudes above the skin.The wart itself grows from the inside, from the root.It is the root that plays the main role in the formation of the growth, so all methods of removing warts are aimed at destroying them.
What exactly the roots of a wart look like depends on the type of growth.In vulgar warts, condylomas and papillomas, the roots are externally invisible because they lie under the skin.The root is a proliferation of epidermal cells that extends deep under the skin and includes small capillary vessels through which the blood supply to the growth and its growth is ensured.
The root of a wart and papilloma practically replicates the visible part of the neoplasm, but lies deep under the skin and therefore cannot be seen.
What the roots of a wart look like depends on the size of the growth's root system.In addition, the larger the papilloma itself, the larger its root.The only root that you can perceive yourself is the base of the spine.It is a slight compaction around the growth.If the spine is large, its root becomes darker, which is noticeable.
How do you avoid errors in diagnosis?
Only a doctor can correctly diagnose the type of formation.
Having figured out what warts look like on the body and what papillomas and condylomas look like, it is important to understand that the diagnosis should only be made by a specialist.In addition to determining the type of growth from a photo, it is important to undergo tests to identify the virus strain and its activity.This will allow you to correctly draw up a treatment regimen so that the warts do not recur immediately after treatment.For this purpose, it is advisable to consult a dermatologist immediately after detecting the first growth.When the virus is active, there is a risk of multiple benign skin growths appearing on different parts of the body.