Warts are also called Verrucae. Warts are benign (not cancerous or not posing any serious threat to health), well-defined skin growths of varying shapes and sizes that appear when a virus infects the top layer of the skin and they are horny projections on the skin.
Viruses that cause warts are called Human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts are named in accordance to their looks and feel or according to the place where they appear on the body. Eight different types of Warts can be identified.
- (1) Filiform warts
- (2) Mosaic warts
- (3) Oral warts
- (4) Common warts
- (5) Plantar warts
- (6) Flat warts
- (7) Genital warts
- (8) Periungual warts
Filiform warts are benign fleshy growths on the skin, which appear in persons who have been infected with the Human Papilloma Virus. When it comes to filiform warts, they are named like that because they are projections of filiform shape.
They often appear on the face and especially on the eyelids and lips but they can also appear on the neck. Filiform warts are not strictly limited to the face but can also be identified in the axillary region i.e. region pertaining to the axilla or armpit or the cavity beneath the junction of the arm and shoulder .It can also be identified on the legs.
Symptoms of Filiform Warts
The following are the symptoms of filiform warts:
- Benign growth appears on the face, neck and few other areas
- Filiform wart can be asymptomatic (not exhibiting any symptom of diseases and there is risk of this wart spreading to others).
- Filiform wart patients complain of symptoms of itching and bleeding in those areas where they occur
Causes of Filiform Warts
There are few notable causes of the occurrence of filiform warts and they are:
- Warm and moist skin surface: The virus tends to grow on the epidermis of the skin that is warm and is exposed to moisture. Normally, butchers, sea divers and people who are constantly in water are mostly affected by the virus.
- Poor Personal Hygiene: Sharing of same skin care products, clothes or any other object is a also a factor as the chances of getting the virus is high.
- Footwear: Do not use the same footwear that an infected person has used since you don’t know when you will get infected by it.
- Weak immune system: A weak immune system coupled with cuts and abrasions on the skin puts you at risk of getting infected.
Treatment of Filiform Warts
- Tropical creams: These creams have salicylic acid that helps in strengthening the immune system .Trichloroacetic acid is another application that helps in treating filiform warts
- Cryo-therapy: In this, liquid nitrogen is used to stop the growth of this virus.
- Laser removal: This is another recommended method of treating this kind of wart and it is safe and doesn’t leave scars behind after treatment.
Sometimes too, a minor surgery may be performed with a scalpel or electric needle to uproot the filiform wart.
How do Filiform Warts Spread?
Filiform Warts are contagious in nature and can spread to people around in the following ways:
- If the wart is touched by someone and there is a likelihood of its spread. Similarly, if one part of the body is infected, the patient must take care to see that the area doesn’t come in contact with other parts of the body since it spreads easily.
- Sharing of Clothes or Towels can also spread the disease. HPV immediately spread if another individual uses anything used by the affected person, be it clothes or a towel.
An HPV affected person can spread the virus to a healthy person if both share the same shower, shower floor or are near the concrete area around the pool side. Cuts and abrasions easily make way for the HPV virus to get in.
Everyone who gets in touch with the virus doesn’t necessarily develop filiform warts but becomes a carrier and might simply pass it on to others without being infected by it. The reason for this is not far-fetched, it is because they possess a strong immune system as People with weak immune system are most susceptible to an attack from this virus.