Common Warts, Information, Best Natural Treatment

The scientific name for the common wart is Verruca vulgaris.

Common warts, as we know, are caused by the Human Papilloma virus or the HPV that usually occur as grayish-tan dome-shaped epidermal bumps with rough, often cracked keratinic surface on the affected person’s hands, elbows, legs, knees, etc. These bumps form cauliflower-like shapes and come with a blackish hue on the inside. Most of these warts have a rough external surface that can be felt by the touch. However the good news is that, these epidermal projections are neither carcinogenic nor the precursor of any fatal disease conditions. However, they do create some amount of cosmetic tribulations, necessitating their removal. Now, one thing must be borne in mind that their elimination either through surgery or by topical application does not guarantee against relapses. Also it needs to be kept in mind that the process itself may involve some scarring. That is from the conventional line of treatment. And repairing scar tissue is a far more complex cup of tea.

Children, pre-teens and adolescents are the more likely candidates for having a wart show up on the body. The wart-virus (HPV) is contagious; it spreads through skin to skin contact, and can even be transmitted through showers in public areas. Using an infected persons towel can cause the virus to spread and cause warts in a new individual. Each person’s immune system acts differently, and people are susceptible in various degrees. Young and immature immune systems are more susceptible. Obviously, immunideficient idividuals are also more likely to have warts develop on their bodies.

Removal of warts involves several methods of which Cryotherapy is most commonly practiced. Liquid nitrogen, in this process, is brought into contact with the wart by the doctor for several minutes, as a result of which a blister is formed around and under the wart due to the freezing action of the cryogenic agent. This freezing method causes a blister, and the dead tissue sloughs off in about a week or so. Scarring may occur.

Warts are also removed by Cantharidin (along with some other chemicals) when it is topically applied over the wart. The affected wart is then bandaged and left for a few days undisturbed. The result of this novel procedure is yet another blister which may become uncomfortable but not painful like any other surgical process. However, the ill-suited blister works as a benefactor-in-disguise. It lifts the wart off the skin, so that the dead wart can be removed later.

Warts can also be eliminated through Electrodessication in which the wart tissue is removed with the help of an electrically heated sharp needle passed under the wart. However, the process is painful despite the local anesthesia used beforehand while the surgery itself is prone to leave a permanent scar on the site.

Surgery is very seldom used these days, and is not any longer viewed as adequate therapy. It causes bleeding, the spread of infected blood, the chance for regrowth of the warts in the same area or where ever the HPV infected blood may get in contact with the skin, and of course a good chance for scar formation.

Another effective form of treatment for elimination of common warts involves injecting a medication called Bleomycin that is used to treat some forms of cancer.

Common warts can also be killed by Retinoids (chemicals related to vitamin A) that disrupt the wart’s skin cell growth, thereby resulting in its natural death. Common warts elimination through laser surgery is both expensive as well as not entirely free of scar and may, therefore, be left only for the most obdurate cases only.

Since common warts originate from a viral infection on which antibiotics have very little or no effect whatsoever, a holistic approach with more emphasis on developing the immune system may sometimes work wonders. Topical immunotherapy along with Indian Yoga has often been reported to be quite effective in eliminating the stubborn common warts in a number of cases. There are good, efficient natural treatment options, of which essential oils are most effective, and strangely enough, least known. Special blends of essential oils eliminate and inactivate the virus (HPV), causing the common warts to disappear within the time frame of 14 days to two months.

The only way to effectively remove common warts permanently is to actually draw the wart out with essential oils. Essential oils draw them out from the root upwards. It may take 2-8 weeks. Since the virus is inactivated and the immune system strengthened the enire wart, including the root will be eradicated, ensuring its inability to re-root itself. Permanent, efficient elimination happens without scarring or skin irritation, and should be the treatment of choice.