Flat Warts, Information, Best Natural Treatment

Scientific terms for Flat Warts: verruca plana (sgl) verrucae planae (pl)

Synonyms: Plane wart, verruca plana, verruca plana juvenilis, juvenile warts.

To be precise, juvenile warts are benign tumors appearing on the outer skin as small bumps. As against adults, kids are more affected by juvenile warts that occur as small pin heads on their face, arms, hands and knee. Also called Juvenile Warts, they very often form clusters that can not only be embarrassing but also disfiguring to some extent. And thus it becomes necessary to treat them so that the warts can be removed quickly.

Juvenile warts are caused by the HPV virus but are flat and not cylindrical like the common warts.

However, as all warts are the handiwork of a virus (human papilloma virus or HPV)), antibiotics have very little or no curative effect on them. Besides, the thick layer of skin formed by the wart makes it difficult for medications to reach the wart. Yet, if they are not timely treated or removed, they go on increasing in number and size, none of which is desirable to the person or its near and dear ones. As the virus gets transmitted from one person to another, kids often fall victim to the process. This happens mostly when someone walks barefoot on shower stills in communal showers or swimming pools. Occasional nicks or cuts in the skin only help in transmission of the virus to an otherwise healthy body. The virus can also spread while using towels of a person who is already infected.

Nevertheless, Juvenile Warts can be removed or eliminated by several processes that include surgical as well as non-surgical methods.

Most of the non-surgical methods of removal of Flat Warts involve the use of essential oils and herbs that has to be applied over the warts repetitively till they eventually go away. However, care has to be taken to see that the application does not cover the healthy non-wart portion of the skin as it might create problems there. OTC ointments and lotions also do the same job, if not a bit more harshly.

Flat Warts can also be removed in electrodessication process in which the hardened wart tissue is cauterized with the help of an electrically heated sharp needle that is passed through the skin under the wart. But the process is painful though prior anesthetization is done to reduce the pain. Also, the healing takes time when secondary infection usually crops up. Apart from that, it invariably leaves a scar which is bad enough for the face if the wart happened to occur there.

Laser surgery may prove rewarding though it may cost a lot. Popularly called Laser resurfacing or Laser Peel, the method involves directing short, concentrated pulsating beams of light at irregular skin, removing it very accurately, layer by layer, thereby avoiding the chance of hypopigmentation or abnormal lightening of the skin. The process nevertheless, removes the wart ultimately.

Topical immunotherapy with the help of specially formulated medications has been reported to be of much use in elimination of flat warts. Since human papilloma virus thrives more on immuno- deficient individuals, this remedial measure brings hope for many who had failed to find appropriate remedy for their warts removal.