"Mandy Lamb’s Health Blog"

Flat warts are a particular type of warts which is caused by a virus called Human Papilloma Virus or HPV. This virus enters our system through tiny cracks or breaks in the skin. It is very easy for the virus to enter the body and after entering they take some time to settle down. Depending on the person’s immune system, the virus shows itself on the skin sooner or later. Warts appear on the face, neck, foot soles and even in the genital areas. These warts differ from each other according to the place where they appear. HPV likes places where it is warm, moist and where the skin is thick. It infects the skin and causes overgrowth of the skin cells.

Flat warts are also called verruca plana. In this situation the virus causes the skin to thicken but it doesn’t make the warts rise above the normal skin. The flat warts are small and spreaded. Flat warts are also smoother than the other types of warts. There will be a large number of flat warts and they can also easily spread to other areas. Flat warts mostly occur in the face but they may also appear in the arms, knees and hands. They are especially common among children and are very contagious. They can be transmitted from simple things such as sharing towels and other objects.

Flat warts do not pain but they can be irritated if touched continuously. They are ugly to look at and can cause disturbances in the mind of the person having them. Low self esteem and depression are possibilities. It is important therefore to remove them without waiting for them to go away on their own. There are several treatments available. The person may either choose to go to the doctor or experiment with traditional remedies at home. Treatments such as peeling the dead cells using acid and chemicals, cryotherapy or freezing of the warts, electrocautery or burning the warts using electricity, laser therapy, surgery, etc are available for removal of flat warts.

Over-the-counter medicines are also effective. These medicines will contain chemicals like salicylic acid, isotretinoin, silver nitrate, retinoids, etc. The warts will be removed but the bad news is that they may reappear again because the virus will remain in the body.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 5th, 2008 at 6:04 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.