Abstract
Wart is a small growth with a rough texture that can appear anywhere on the body. It can look like a solid blister or a small cauliflower. A small, fleshy bump on the skin or mucous membrane. Warts are benign skin growth that appears when a virus infects the top layer of the skin. And the viruses that cause warts are called human papillomavirus (HPV). Warts can apply anywhere on the skin and are noticed mostly on the hands and feet. They are highly contagious and spread to other areas of the skin as well as spread to others when shared towels, razors etc are used. The skin is where internal diseases manifest. This article provides an overview of the aetiology, diagnosis, and appropriate general & homoeopathic management of this disorder.
Introduction
Warts are typically small, rough, hard growth that are similar in colour to the rest of the skin. Warts are common, harmless skin growth usually asymptomatic but may present with itching and bleeding, may be painful if present on pressure bearing site. While they usually occur on the hands and feet, they can also effect other location such as-face, palm, shoulder, back. They are not cancerous. Although they are usually painless but can bleed and cause pain when bumped up. Warts are the expression of deranged vitality reflected on skin and must not be treated as local or regional maladies. There are more than 100 types of HPV, the virus that causes warts. Almost all types of HPV cause relatively harmless warts that appear on hands or feet. However, there are a few strains of HPV that cause warts on, in, and around your genitals. In women, these warts — called “genital warts” — can eventually lead to cervical cancer, a potentially fatal disease. A well selected suitable remedy is required to cure the disease in its whole extent. Homeopathy is a unique system of medicine which deals with the disease in a holistic manner and at the root.
Causes of Warts
Warts are nothing but skin growths caused by human papilloma virus (HPV) and spread easily when in direct contact with them, Common warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The virus is quite common and has more than 150 types, but only a few cause warts.
Some strains of HPV are acquired through sexual contact. Most forms, however, are spread by casual skin contact or through shared objects, such as towels or washcloths. The virus usually spreads through breaks in skin, such as a hangnail or a scrape. Biting nails also can cause warts to spread on fingertips and around nails.
Each person's immune system responds to the HPV virus differently, so not everyone who comes in contact with HPV develops warts.
Risk Factors of Warts:
People at higher risk of developing common warts include: Children and young adults, because their bodies may not have built up immunity to the virus, People with weakened immune systems, such as those with HIV/AIDS or people who've had organ transplants
l Having an impaired immune system
l Patients who are on immuno suppressive drugs.
l Walking barefoot on moist surfaces, as in public showers and locker rooms and around swimming pool areas.
l Sharing towels, razors, and other personal items with a person who has warts.
l Biting your nails or cuticles.
l Wearing closed or tight shoes that cause sweaty feet.
Clinical manifestations of Warts
Common warts usually occur on fingers or hands and may be:
Ø Small, fleshy, grainy bumps
Ø Flesh-colored, white, pink or tan
Ø Rough to the touch
Ø Sprinkled with black pinpoints, which are small, clotted blood vessels
Types of Warts:
Common Wart: It usually appears singly or in groups on the hands, although they may grow on any part of the body. They usually are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths.
Plantar Warts: It can develop on any part of the foot. As the wart gets larger, walking can become painful, much like walking with a pebble in your shoe. When pressure from standing or walking pushes a plantar wart beneath the skin’s surface, a layer of thick, tough skin develops over it. Sometimes dark specks are visible beneath the surface of the wart.
Flat Warts: They are small warts usually found on the face, arms, or legs and are generally located in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow. Flat warts are often spread by shaving.
Filiform Warts: It is a kind of flat wart that can grow around the mouth, nose, and beard area. The surface of this type of wart has many flesh-colored, finger-shaped growths.
Periungual Warts: They are found under and around the toenails and fingernails. They appear as rough, irregular bumps.
Many times warts cover the lines and creases in the skin, thus making it difficult to tell a wart from other skin conditions, such as skin tags or moles.
Diagnosis
In most cases diagnose a common wart with one or more of these techniques:
Ø Examining the wart
Ø Scraping off the top layer of the wart to check for signs of dark, pinpoint dots — clotted blood vessels — which are common with warts
Ø Removing a small section of the wart (shave biopsy) and sending it to a laboratory for analysis to rule out other types of skin growths
Management
Home Remedies:
Many home remedies have little or no reliable scientific evidence to back them up; however, individuals report success using them to remove warts.
n Cut a potato in half and rub the wart firmly with the potato half, making sure that the skin becomes saturated with raw potato juice. Repeat morning and night for two weeks to start seeing results.
n Soak a cotton wool ball in apple cider vinegar and apply directly to the wart. Use a bandaid to fix the cotton ball to the wart. Remove after three to four hours. Repeat every day for three days to start seeing results.
n Rub the wart with the peel of an orange. The wart will turn orange and then darken and finally drop off. Continue for two weeks to start seeing results.
n Soak a cotton ball in fresh aloe vera and apply directly to the wart. Repeat each day for two weeks to begin seeing a result.
n For plantar warts, apply the inside of a banana peel to the wart. The peel must remain in contact with the wart at all times. Continue for 3 – 4 days to see a result.
n Rub castor oil onto the wart twice a day for two weeks to begin seeing a result.
HOMOEOPATHIC MANAGEMENT
Homoeopathy treats the person as a whole. It means that homoeopathic treatment focuses on the patient as a person, as well as his pathological condition. The homoeopathic medicine for warts are selected after a full individualizing examination and case-analysis, which includes the medical history of the patient, physical and mental constitution etc. In Homoeopathic system warts are classified under one sided disease i.e. disease which have very few expressions in terms of symptoms. Under this it is further categorised under external local maladies. Chronic diseases are classified into 3 main categories of miasm, namely-Psora(Itch), Sycosis(Condyloma), and syphilis(Chancre or bubo). Warts comes under sycosis miasm. The symptoms listed against each homeopathic remedy may not be directly related to this disease because in homeopathy general symptoms and constitutional indications are also taken into account for selecting a remedy. None of these homoeopathic medicine for warts should be taken without professional advice.
Indicated Remedies | Indications |
Antimonium crudum | This homeopathic remedy has warts that are Hard and smooth that often appear in groups. Sole, very painful in touch, cannot walk bare feet. Skin is very sensitive to cold bathing.Dry skin. Skin complaints often associated with gastric derangements. Irritability and a thickly coated white tongue also suggest the need for this remedy. |
Calcarea carbonica | Warts on the neck and hands. Small, horny warts in large numbers with itching and stinging; inflamed; ulcerated; itching; bleed easily and soft and spongy and have a stinging sensation.Round, hard, solitary growth. Often useful for growth that have a horny wall surrounding a central depression.Indicated in fleshy people with clammy hands and feet.Patients are often fat and flabby; shy children who may be aggressive and obstinate with immediate family but averse to strangers.Profuse sweating in palm and soles.Patient has desire for eggs, sweets and indigestible thing like chalk, charcoal etc.Tendency to hard stool or constipation. |
Causticum | Medicine for old, large growth on the face (especially the nose), under the fingernails.Effective when the warts are solid, flat on the surface of the neck, face, eyelids, and tip of nose and on the fingers. Warts on fingertips that bleed easily. Tend to be hard, inflamed, and painful and sit on whitish-yellow, dirty looking skin.People who benefit from this remedy tend fear that something awful will happen. Patients who feel intensely sympathy about the hardship of others. Patient craves salt food and has a sympathetic nature; unable to tolerate any kind of perceived injustice to anyone. |
Cinnabaris:
| Condyloma, easily bleeding a common remedy for Molluscum contagious that has a reddish periphery and senile keratosis (thick, crusty, and scaly skin growth of the aged). |
Dulcamara | Flat growth located on backs of hands and face and soft brownish to black seborrheic found on the back. Large and smooth. Indicated in people with rheumatic complaints that are worse in cold, damp weather or humidity. |
Ferrum picricum | medicine for warts has small pointed growth appearing in large groups. Also useful in some cases of flat or plane warts with irregular borders that grow on the face, neck, wrists, hands and knees. Hands full of warts. Men may have prostatic enlargement. Patients of this medicine usually feels deafness before menses. |
Thuja | Thuja is a wonderful medicine for warts, skin complaints associated with urinary and sexual infection.Flat black warts, large seedy, pedunculated; sometimes oozing moisture and bleeding readily.Thuja has family tendency of warts, whichare cauliflower-like in shape, occur in crops, are moist to touch and bleed easily.Warts especially on left side of the body and on covered parts only.Thuja nicely acts on all kind of skin growth and tumors.Growth in anal and genital region.Unhealthy skin, offensive sweating leaves yellow stain.Patient is very sensitive to cold weather. |
Medorrhinum:
| Small pedunculated warts, with pin heads, like small button mushrooms, on various of body and the thigh. A powerful and deep acting medicine, often indicated for chronic ailments due to suppressed gonorrhoea. |
Natrum muriaticum | warts on the palms of the hand and soles of the feet.Skin is dry, with oily sweat. Greasy look of face and dryness of skin of whole body. Skin eruption specially in skin folds.Patient who are sensitive to sun heat.Indicated in those who are closed, reserved and sensitive. |
Natrum Sulphuricum
| This remedy is suited for genital warts in damp conditions and for individuals whohave warts along with a history of genital herpes. |
Nitricum acidum | indicated in treating large, fissured or gold-yellow warts that itch and sting or bleed upon washing. This remedy is also indicated for people who are anxious about health and worry about cancer.Often useful for growth that have a horny wall surrounding a central depression or the more common plantar wart. |
Sepia | Genital warts, warts on margin of prepuce; on the body.Flat warts on face and back of hands.Large black warts that have hair growing from them.Often a female patient with lots of cares and worries; anxiety especially for children and husband.Overworked females may show indifference and uterine prolapse. |
Sulphur | Hard, painful, throbbing, itching warts. History of skin eruptions that were suppressed. Dirty skin; They still feel they look good. Over confidence is a common trait in patients requiring Sulphur. |
Sabina | Warts especially of black and dark colored, with intense itching and burning. Medicine suited to the women who had history of abortions or having clotted dark menstrual discharge |
Ruta graveolens | for plantar warts, especially on the palms of the hand. |
Conclusion
From the homoeopathic point of view physician can approach treatment in different ways. Homoeopathy treats the person as a whole and tries to find a constitutional remedy with the aim of strengthening the organism generally. Dr. Kent was of the opinion that every experienced homoeopath knows positively that unless he has penetrated and understood the psychological personality and vicissitudes of adaptation to life which give the earliest symptoms of neuro- vegetative dystonia determining the nature of his character and its particular pathology he will never know what he has to cure in the patient whom he does not know because he has not understood him. Please consult a qualified homoeopath before taking any homoeopathic remedy. Along with Homoeopathic medicines, the lifestyle, personal habits & food habits modification may be useful for treatment of patients
