Professional Treatments for Warts

Warts cause embarrassment and discomfort. Home remedies and over-the-counter preparations work for some people. However, there are times when it becomes advantageous to call in a professional to treat your warts.

Retinoid cream is prescribed by doctors as an experimental treatment to get rid of warts. It is composed of a substance that comes from Vitamin A, called tretinoin. It has been shown, in research studies, to work well. Eighty-five percent of children who used it had positive results.

Retinoid cream shouldn't be used on pregnant women's warts because it's been associated with birth defects. It can also cause changes in the skin of those who do use it. Skin can become dry, sensitive, swollen, crusted, or blistered. It can become red or have other color changes. If you use it, your skin can become sensitive to the sun.

Rather than slow down skin cell growth, which is what retinoid cream does, contact sensitizers work with the immune system instead. The first thing the doctor will do is to apply a contact synthesizer to your arm or back. This will start a reaction in your immune system.

The next time the contact sensitizer is applied, an allergic reaction will ensue. After that, the substance will be put directly on the warts and it will destroy it by summoning your immune system. Eighty percent of people in one study were helped with this treatment.

A doctor might put Cantharidin on your warts and keep it there with a bandage. After awhile, the wart will have a blister around it. Then, the doctor can lift the warts off and remove it.

Warts can also be frozen off. This is called cryotherapy. There is actually at least one over-the-counter kit for this. If a doctor does it, he will apply liquid nitrogen to the wart. After a blister has formed, you have to wait for about a week. At this time, the wart will fall off.

Cryosurgery uses basically the same ingredients, but the deep freezing gets rid of the warts sooner. Or, the base of the warts can be destroyed by applying an electric needle to it. These are miner surgeries.

Laser surgery can be done to remove warts. It is usually reserved for special cases. A pregnant woman may have no other way to have warts removed. A person may have a great number of warts and they may be very large.

The laser is basically just a beam of light that is highly focused. It can burn off warts and leave surrounding tissue unharmed if done right. It may be done with local anesthesia. Or, if the warts cover a large area general anesthesia is called for.

Once the warts have been removed, there will be a wound. This will be painful for a few days, but it should feel better after that. If you have undergone this treatment, you should watch out for excessive pain that persists. Tell your doctor if you notice pus or run a fever. This method has been shown to be successful on warts sixty-six percent of the time.


 

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Professional Treatments for Genital Warts

The best way to treat genital warts, caused by the human papilomavirus, is to seek help from a physician. A doctor can evaluate what kind of treatment needs to be done to your genital warts, or if any needs to be done at all. A professional can also make sure that you don't have a more serious condition.

Doctors will often adopt a wait and see attitude at first. This is because genital warts often go away spontaneously. Depending on the extent of the problem, the waiting period may be short or longer. Once it is past, if the genital warts are still there, treatment will begin.

There are several creams that are used for genital warts. A doctor may prescribe Podofilox for use at home. The doctor will explain how to use the cream. Another cream that might be prescribed is Aldara. This medication aids the immune system in fighting off the virus. It has a very high success rate with low recurrence.

Fluorouracil is a medication in a cream. This medication prevents HPV and this stops warts from multiplying. It can also get rid of existing warts. The doctor can tell you how to use it. You will need to protect the healthy skin with petroleum jelly.

Fluorouracil is very good for treating all the sensitive areas of the genitals. However, pregnant women can't use this treatment. Also, people often have to stop treatment after having a severe reaction to the cream.

Podophyllum resin can only be applied by a doctor. The doctor oversees treatment once a week for at least six weeks. A different version of the same substance, podofilox lotion, can be used by the patient at home with a few instructions from the doctor.

Health care professionals are also responsible for the application of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) or bichloroacetic acid (BCA). This medication works by destroying proteins in cells. Thus, it is important to only treat the genital warts and not the surrounding tissue.

Interferon is a product that has been used to treat immunity problems of all kinds. It attacks HPV and boosts the immune system. The methods of delivery are cream, lotion, or injection at the base of the genital warts. It has some side effects, especially for pregnant women.

Surgery may be required for some genital warts. Simple excision, or cutting off, of warts is done in some cases. It is especially effective on genital warts of the vagina, the penis, and around the anus. The area should be healed in three weeks at most, if all goes well.

Sometimes doctors use an electric probe to burn off genital warts. This is called electrocautery and is most useful for genital warts around the anus, on the penis and on the vulva. Local or general anesthesia is used, depending on the severity of the problem. The healing should be finished in a month or less.

Laser surgery can also be effective when all else fails, or if the patient is pregnant and needs warts removed. The genital warts are burned off with the laser. They heal within a month.


 

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How to Treat Plantar Warts at Home

Plantar warts are warts of the feet. They can make walking very painful. As this cuts down on the amount of exercise a person gets, it can contribute to an overall decline in health. It is necessary to treat plantar warts, and sometimes you can do it at home.

First of all, many people with plantar warts also have diabetes. If this is the case, you should always seek professional consultation. People with diabetes can't afford to take chances with their feet because of their particular health issues.

If you don't have diabetes, though, you may be able to do something about your plantar warts at home. Just as with common warts, you can use salicylic acid liquids such as Dr. Scholl's or medicated pads such as Mediplast,

With a plantar wart, it is especially important to protect the area surrounding the plantar wart. You may put a lot of weight on the wart. Any acid you put on healthy skin will soak in and eat away a circle of skin around the wart. To avoid this, you can put petroleum jelly around the circumference of the wart.

Keeping a plantar wart dry is crucial helping it to go away. Try putting on a drying medicated powder up to ten times a day. Change your socks at least three times a day. Some people have even used chlorine to thoroughly dry their feet. If the plantar wart is faithfully kept clean and dry, it doesn't stand a chance.

On the other hand, some people recommend methods that keep moisture on the wart. As little as this makes sense given that warts thrive on moisture, some find these methods effective.

A remedy that is often referred to is the banana peel remedy. You tape the inner side of a banana peel down onto a plantar wart. This is supposed to draw out the wart. Some say it works well.

One method is to slice up lemons and use them in a remedy. Put them in apple cider and let them ferment for a couple of weeks. At the end of this time, rub the lemon slices on your plantar warts.

You can get Vitamin C tablets at a supermarket, health food store, or pharmacy. Crush tablets of it and apply it to the plantar wart. Cover it with a bandage. Again, bandages are usually not recommended by the experts because they hold in moisture. Moisture does nothing to help remove plantar warts, or any warts.

Another such treatment is applying grapefruit extract to the plantar wart a few times a day. Once more, the suggested treatment is to cover it with a bandage. If you do, make sure that you take the bandage off whenever you can. Let the area air out and dry up a bit.

Aside from genital warts, plantar warts probably require the most attention. Because they cause pain in the feet, they cut down on a person's mobility. If you have diabetes, you need a physician's help. If you can treat plantar warts, that's great. If you can't, go on to the doctor.


 

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How to Treat Genital Warts at Home

Genital warts are usually treated by professionals. Some people, though, have found that they are able to treat genital warts in the privacy of their own homes. They find these methods preferable to subjecting themselves to a doctor's treatments.

Some home remedies for genital warts involve some form of vinegar. You can dab cider vinegar on the warts. You can also use red wine vinegar and mix it with garlic to put on the warts. Or, you can use white vinegar. White vinegar has no unpleasant odor.

Certain oils have been used. Coconut oil removes warts, and is soothing as well. Vitamin E oil is also a good choice. It loosens the wart. At the same time, it is good for the surrounding skin.

Herbal remedies are numerous. There is a powder called Job's Tears, a plant extract called hatomugi. It can be found in Chinese medicine shops. It also comes in tea and bags of dried herbs. If you take this substance for a few days, genital warts will fall off.

Other herbs are used in an effort to boost your immune system. Genital warts are caused by the human papilloma virus. This is why when you have one, you often have many. To help your body fight the virus, you can use herbs along with other immune system building activities.

Echinacea helps to fight off viruses by using the natural acids of your own body. Goldenseal has been used for centuries for wound care. It has recently been discovered that goldenseal has antibiotic properties. It can be used, and works especially well with prescription medications for genital warts.

Astragalus is another Chinese herb that has been used for thousands of years. It has been used as a remedy for genital warts. Today, there is proof that this herb actually does energize the immune system. This helps it fight off the virus that causes genital warts.

Some other herbs used in the treatment of genital warts are St. John's Wort, Ginkgo biloba, and Olive leaf. These herbs are usually taken orally to help the body combat the virus. The herbs are easy to find in any pharmacy or health food store.

To go along with these herbal treatments, you should be taking time to care for yourself, too. Eat healthily, drink plenty of water, and get an adequate amount of sleep. Exercise is also helpful in helping to boost your natural immune system.

Garlic, in its many forms, has been used for a long time to fight genital warts. It can be used raw, or it can be found in capsules or ointments. You can take it by mouth or you can put it directly on the wart. It will not injure the surrounding tissue, so it is perfectly safe.

Actually, the most unsafe thing about these home remedies is that your condition may need to be seen by a physician. As little as you would like to tell someone about this problem, it may be necessary. When left untreated, genital warts can be very dangerous at times. If you have them, it's best to ask a doctor before you try a home remedy anyway.


 

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What Causes Stress?

Looking at what causes stress can be vital in helping us to understand how to manage and handle all of the different types of stress in our lives.

Biologically, stress is a natural and healthy response to a difficult situation. Faced with some kind of pressure or threat, the body heightens its stress resistance by releasing extra adrenaline, cortisol and related hormones that prepare us for physical exertion: the 'fight or flight' response.

These hormones give us an energy boost but they also have other effects that may not be so positive. For example, they shut down our digestion so that all energy can be directed to the muscles. They also cause muscle tension, a rise in blood pressure and reduced sensitivity to pain.

All of these things are very useful if we are about to be attacked by a man-eating tiger, or even a mugger. The problem is that the body does not know what type of pressure or threat it is facing, and the physical response is not appropriate to most kinds of modern day stressors. What causes stress today is often not a physical problem at all. When faced with a situation such as an important test in college or a serious financial problem at home, the 'fight or flight' response is not useful. There is nobody to fight, and running away will not achieve our long term goals.

So the body does not get to use the hormones it has prepared to energize us in either of these situations. If what causes stress in our lives is not a physically dangerous situation, these hormones may never get to be released in action. They build up in our systems while the stressful situation continues, causing damage in the long term if we do not take steps to manage and release them.

Now let's look at what causes stress in most people's lives today.

1. Stressful Events

Stressful events are things that happen from time to time in most everybody's lives. They are well known contributors to what causes stress. They include events like:

– the death of a spouse or child
– divorce
– serious illness of self, spouse or child
– moving home
– pregnancy and childbirth
– physically dangerous situations like a fire, an accident, being attacked by somebody.

Stressful events are probably the clearest example of stress in our lives, but they are not the only things that can cause a physical stress response.

2. Long Term Stressors

Long term stressors are the issues that never seem to go away. They can hang over our lives for many years, causing us stress just about permanently. These things can include:

– having suffered abuse as a child
– financial problems
– problems in relationships
– pressure at work.

Most of these situations cannot be avoided unless we live on a trust fund as a complete recluse. Even then, there would inevitably be some health issues in a person's life, and in fact, having no close relationships is also a cause of stress. Stressful situations are natural and in fact, we would not want to avoid some of them. The important thing to remember when considering what causes stress is that it is a physical response – it is not our fault, nor is it a mental illness.


 

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How to Treat Common Warts at Home

Common warts plague many people. If what they have is truly a common wart, then it probably is not anything dangerous at all. However, it can be a big nuisance. It can make them feel self conscious and it may be uncomfortable. Fortunately, common warts can often be treated at home.

The standard treatments for common warts are mainly different salicylic acid products. These preparations come in liquid, ointment, gel, and or specially coated adhesive pads. Some examples are Compound W ointment and Mediplast pads. Dr. Scholl's also makes a liquid.

You should never use salicylic acid products if you have diabetes or a problem with your immune system. If you don't have any such conditions, and you do use them, do so with caution. Follow the directions carefully.

If you leave the acid on healthy tissue, the acid will eat into it. The preparation that stays on the common warts will dissolve away the warts. You can eventually rub it off with a pumice stone.

Besides this, there are home remedies you can try. Using about 25,000 i.u. of Vitamin A from fish oil capsules can help. Open the capsules and spread it on the wart. Rub it in once a day. The advantage of this method and most other home remedies is that good tissue around the common warts is not damaged.

Other oils and juices can be used in a similar way for common warts. Vitamin E oil, castor oil, and clove oil are said to help with common warts. Aloe vera juice, milkweed juice, and the milky juice of unripe figs have been known to have a positive effect. Even dandelion sap has been used.

Some people rub their common warts with chalk. Some use a raw potato to rub it. A poultice of flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, and raw honey can be put on warts. The poultice should be changed every day.

Tea tree oil, when rubbed on the common wart, is said to melt the wart away in a little over a week. You can soak the wart in water for twenty minutes. Then dry it and apply vinegar. After this dries, wash and dry your foot again. Doing this regularly is said to remove common warts.

Some people advocate the use of garlic for removing common warts. Some would have you crush the garlic. Then hold it in place on the wart with a bandage. Some simply recommend taking garlic supplements.

Applying fresh cut pineapple to the common warts is supposed to get rid of them in just two or three days. The problem with this method is that you have to constantly cut into fresh pineapples. You will have more of the fruit than you know what to do with.

Perhaps, in the end, the best treatment for common warts is no treatment at all. These warts often go away with no treatment at all. About half of all warts will disappear with no help within two years. So, if you have common warts, you might try doing nothing at all.


 

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How to Deal with Juvenile Warts

Juvenile warts require more than the simple treatment that is required for warts on adults. Children can, unfortunately, be cruel. They also find it hard to leave warts alone. Therefore, additional remedies may be required to deal with juvenile warts.

Juvenile warts are actually flat warts. They are often called juvenile warts because they occur most often on children and young adults. These warts may appear white, brown, or yellow. They can be itchy or sting slightly if touched often. They are called flat warts because they have a flat top.

Juvenile warts are caused by the human papaloma virus. There are actually sixty strains of the virus, and it is contagious. Many children will experience juvenile warts because their immune systems are not strong enough to fight these viruses. However, some children may go their entire lives without having a single wart.

Because juvenile warts are contagious there are steps that must be taken to protect the child as well as other children. The warts may spread to other parts of the body if touched frequently. Since juvenile warts are often seen on the face or hands, it is easy to spread them to other areas of the body, or to other children.

To protect the child and other children, the warts should be covered. Covering with a band aid is not recommended, however. Warts thrive in warm, damp places on the body. A cluster of warts may occur if the original wart is covered with a band aid, which will insulate the wart and cause the virus to spread within that area.

There are many over the counter medicated treatments available for juvenile warts. These treatments involve a small, round, band aid like covering. The pad of the covering contains medication with acids that eat at the wart and cause it to disappear faster. The covering also helps the child to leave it alone, and prevents other children from touching the wart.

Juvenile warts cause more than physical discomfort. When juvenile warts are present, children often feel ugly, and their self worth drops considerably. Other children may compound these feelings with teasing and harmful remarks and pranks.

Covering the wart can help prevent some of these feelings and events. However, it is important to let the child with juvenile warts know that they are not less than they were simply because they have juvenile warts. Helping the child understand where the warts come from and that they are easily treated can provide a lot of comfort for the child with juvenile warts.

To further the advocacy of these children, some type of education about juvenile warts should take place with all children. Many schools are beginning to require health classes for older students, where issues such as juvenile warts are discusses. This education will likely limit the number of children teased mercilessly on the playground for their wart problems.

Parents should also make siblings aware of the facts about juvenile warts. This will help cut down on teasing and self esteem issues within the home. It will also keep the other children from touching the warts and getting them themselves.


 

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Where To Get More Information About Warts

If you've discovered warts on your skin, or if you simply wish to learn about your personal risk factors and best means of prevention, you can visit your family physician. Your own doctor is the person who will be the most familiar with your healthcare needs and any known medical problems which you may have. He will be able to assess how much at risk you may be of contracting warts, and give you information on the steps you should take to prevent them. If you have already experienced an outbreak of warts, he will be able to advise you on what wart-removal methods will best suit your personal needs.

If you do not have a physician, or if you wish more detailed advice, you should consult with a dermatologist. A dermatologist, who specializes in the care of skin and treatment of skin conditions, can provide all of the same help that a family physician can, and will likely be more skilled at the various wart-removal procedures. He will probably have had experience in doing these procedures as well; so if you have any reservations about requesting medical help for wart removal, you should check with a dermatologist.

Perhaps your only concern on the subject of warts is that you would like more information. In that case, there is a wide variety of resources where you can find out everything you wish to know. You can check the medical section of your local public library. There is sure to be some reference-type materials which can answer your questions.

You will probably also be able to gain information at a college or university library if there is one in your locale. Most colleges and universities have no objections to allowing non-students to do research at their campus libraries. You can ask the reference librarians for assistance.

Some hospitals also have libraries where anyone who wishes to do so can do research. Basic information about warts is not difficult to find in most kinds of libraries. You will likely find someone who will help you find the information that you are looking for.

Regardless of what aspect of warts you are curious about, you can surely find whatever information you are looking for on the internet. Whether you want information on the causes of warts, prevention and treatment, or risk factors, you can find relevant information on many websites. If you know what type of information you are looking for, you will probably be able to find it.

Of all the possible sources of good, helpful information about warts, what generally is not the best source are your friends, family, co-workers, and other non-professionals. Through these people you will be more likely to gain a host of misinformation and opinions, as well as a host of home remedies that will not work. To find out whatever you need to know about warts, it is best to check with someone who has medical knowledge, or material which has been written by professionals.


 

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Stress Symptoms: Are You Suffering From These Symptoms?

Sometimes it is hard to be sure if a person is suffering from stress symptoms. You or somebody close to you might be under a lot of pressure and having some health issues without being sure if they are stress symptoms. Sometimes we do not even know that we are in a stressful situation.

There are two kinds of stress and the symptoms can be a little different.

1. Acute stress

Acute stress means sudden and temporary stress. It is not necessarily greater than the other kind but it usually has an obvious cause and the effects are seen immediately. An example would be getting into a serious argument with somebody or being in an accident.

Acute stress symptoms are characteristic of the 'fight or flight' bodily response to a physical threat. The most common acute stress symptoms are:

– Increased heart rate.
– Sweating.
– Fast breathing.
– Tensing of the muscles, including muscles in the face and hands, but elsewhere too.
– Nausea, diarrhea or stomach pain.

The digestive issues are caused by the sudden shutdown of the digestive system in stressful situations. If you think of your body's resources like an army, you will understand that at times of stress any resources that were being used for non-urgent maintenance are redirected to deal with the urgent issue. That means taking energy away from digestion, and it is one of the biggest causes of stress symptoms, both acute and chronic.

2. Chronic stress

Chronic stress means stress that continues over a long period of time. It could be severe but equally, it may be low level, background stress that we are hardly even aware of. Many people who suffer from chronic stress think that it is a normal part of life. Causes of chronic stress can include unhappiness in relationships, ongoing pressure at work, financial issues or problems in the environment like poor housing or pollution.

Chronic stress is characterized by a continual release of stress hormones, usually at lower levels than in acute stress but over such a long period of time that they build up and cause secondary stress symptoms.

Having chronic stress means that the body is never quite able to devote enough resources to its normal functions, so the symptoms can include almost anything that a person has a tendency to suffer from. Some of the most common chronic stress symptoms are:

– Chronic back pain or other muscular pains.
– Frequent viral illnesses.
– Fatigue, depression, anxiety attacks, irritability, mood swings.
– Weight loss or gain (from loss of appetite or over-eating).
– Lower fertility and other issues of the reproductive system such as menstrual problems for women, erectile dysfunction for men.
– Frequent asthma attacks and allergic reactions.
– Episodes of autoimmune diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, psoriasis, Crohn's disease, gastritis, lupus and even cancer.
– High blood pressure.
– Irregular heartbeat, cardiac disease or heart attack.

Of course, stress is not the only thing that can cause these symptoms. You may know that you are under some pressure, and you have some symptoms, but you are not sure whether they are 'just' stress or something more serious. Please do not make assumptions but talk to your doctor. He or she can help with treatment, whether your problems are stress symptoms or something else.


 

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Warts: Weighing Up Your Options

In every area of medicine there always new developments being made in diagnostics, preventions, and treatments. Some are genuine improvements based on sound scientific research; others are more a matter of hit-and-miss, and not nearly as helpful as they proclaim to be. All it really takes is becoming adequately informed and exercising a bit of common sense to decide which ones fall into which categories. In doing this, you can then determine what will be the most beneficial for you.

On the subject of treatments for warts, the seemingly-wide range of options available can be broken down into three categories. Each has its own particular benefits, and each has its own particular drawbacks. You should weigh these factors carefully, in order to find the option of treatment which is best for your situation.

Although having your warts removed by a medical professional may initially seem like the most viable course of action, it would be wise to assess the facts about this procedure before dismissing other possibilities. First, while the methods which are currently available are minor procedures, they are indeed surgical procedures. Surgical procedures, regardless of how minor, are never without some degree of risk involved. The main risk involved in having warts removed surgically is that of infection. A skilled professional, as well as a sterile environment, greatly lessen this risk, but it is impossible to eliminate the risk entirely.

Another important factor to consider if you are thinking about having your warts surgically removed is that many people have some degree of apprehension about medical procedures of any type. People who are in this category can be traumatized by any of the aspects of these procedures. The procedures which require either general or local anesthesia may be particularly traumatizing.

Last but not least, one of the main factors to carefully consider is that the surgical removal of warts will be considerably more expensive than any other methods. While you might assume that having them removed professionally will be worthy any extra cost, the fact is that even having them removed by surgical means does not guarantee that they will not return.

The do-it-yourself methods also pose both benefits and drawbacks. There is a very large range of products you can purchase over-the-counter at pharmacies, department stores, and even supermarkets, which are all designed for the purpose of removing warts. Although their effectiveness varies from product to product and from person to person, the drawbacks of these products should be considered before deciding that you wish to purchase one of them for attempting to remove the warts yourself.

First, it is unwise to spend money on a product if you are not certain how to use it correctly, or do not have the ability to do so. Second, incorrect use of these products can cause more harm than their potential benefits. At the very least, incorrect use of over-the-counter wart removal products will result in the product not working, and therefore being a waste of money. You must read and be follow the instructions on the packages, and be willing to use the products for the specific time basis that it requires. This is a special concern for people who have very busy or active lifestyles, for they must ensure that they are willing to take the time necessary to use the product on a regular basis.

Another important concern about over-the-counter wart removal products is that if they are not properly used they can damage healthy skin tissues around the wart. This means you must take special care to keep the product localized on the wart itself, and not allow it to spill onto your skin or clothing.

Home remedies present another option. In general, the only risk involved with most of these home remedies is that they may not work, and the lack of results can be frustrating.

Assessing the pros and cons of these available methods will help you decide on the option which best suits your needs.


 

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