What are flat warts on face and how can you get rid of them naturally at home. By definition, warts are growth of the skin. Flats warts on face and other parts of the body can be caused by a number of various causes including the different types of human papilloma virus. This topic provides you with deep insight into the possible causes of warts, treatment and removal procedure of how to get rid of the wart. We have also provided with pictures to help with the visual understanding of how warts look like.
Human papillomavirus that causes this wart is infectious and can be acquired from one person to another. The virus causes thickening of the top skin layer. On the face, flat warts will tend to remain small I size but they can be numerous in number. Warts on the face are considered harmless, in most case, no treatment option is required to get rid of them, this is because they will often disappear on their own without treatment.
Lack of proper ad urgent medical attention may lead to warts spreading from one part of the body to the other. for instance, is the warts were initially only present on your face, failure to seek proper medical care may cause them to appear around your neck, on shoulders and eventually all over the body.
Flat warts on Face
Flat warts on the face are common and can occur on the face of anyone regardless of age. Apart from your face, these warts can also occur on the neck, on your legs, on hands, and on fingers. Warts can also appear on the back of feet and hands, the only part of the body they are unlikely to occur remains to be the plantar and palm of the hand.
Basically, warts on the face are considered benign skin growths caused by viruses. The most common virus likely to cause flat warts on the skin is the human papilloma virus. According to the American center for diseases control and prevention, HPV is a group of more than 150 related viruses. Each HPV virus in this large is given a number which is called its HPV type.
HPV is named for warts (papilloma) some of the HPV types can cause. According to the organization, some HPV types can cause cancer. Both men and women can get cancer of mouth, throat, anus or rectum caused by HPV infection.
In males, HPV can cause penile cancer whereas, in women, the virus could lead to cervical, vaginal and vulvar HPV cancer. With urgent and proper medication, there are some vaccines that could prevent infection with the type of HPV that most commonly causes cancer.
So what or how would you end up with flat warts on face due to cancer? CDC clarifies that HPV Is transmitted through intimate skin to skin contact. You could get infected with the virus by having vaginal, anal or oral sex with someone already infected with the virus. The virus is found to spread more often during virginal and anal sex.
Flats warts on the face caused by HPV can go way on their own with no treatment option given. This is true when the virus clears. Though it does not cause any health problem, it could lead to genital warts and cancer if it fails to go away, in such cases, proper and urgent medical attention is required.
Warts on the face as mentioned are benign growths, they are formed when the human papillomavirus infect the top layer of the skin and causes it to grow rapidly. This is what creates flat warts seen on the face. The human papilloma virus causing warts can be contacted when you damage your skin in any way, then you have a physical contact with a person already infected with the virus.
Flats warts on the face can also be spread from one person to the other by sharing personal effects such as a face towel, a shaving razor, and skin care cosmetics, especially for women. Even though flats warts on the face are common and anyone could develop them, these bumps are more common in children, teenagers and people with weak or compromised immune system.
Flat warts on face images, pictures
There are different type of wart that can appear on the face and other parts of the body. Each type will look different from the other. The other thing is that warts will appear on different parts of the body. Some will appear on the face, neck, shoulder, on the penile shaft (in male) and on the vaginal lips (labia).
Below and through this topic, we have provided you with some images of how the flat warts o face will look like. Remember, the images, pictures provided are for illustration purposes only and cannot be used as a substitute for professional health diagnosis, or examination.
Causes of flat warts on face
What are the causes of flat warts on the face? Understanding the underlying cause of flat warts on the face is the first step in treating and getting rid of warts. As already seen, warts are tumor-like masses that develop on the skin. Though the warts are often slightly elevated, they are called flat because they resemble a flat growth that looks like a light mole.
When occurring in children and adolescence, flats warts on the face are also referred to as juvenile warts. As those infected continue to grow, warts will disappear on their own during puberty and maybe occur no more. These warts are commonly located on face but can also appear on other parts of the body.
On face and other parts of the body, the common cause for the formation of flat warts is believed to be the infection with human papillomavirus. It is this infection that will in most cases lead to the proliferations on the skin. In such case, the warts are also referred to as HPV warts.
Not everybody infected with the human papillomavirus develops warts after infection. Available statistics shows that the appearance of warts on face and other parts of the body will vary depending on how strong the immune system of those infected is.
In those who shave, a razor injury can be the first step of infection. What this means is that, since the human papillomavirus is can easily be spread from one person to the other, having such openings on the skin can be an easy entry point for the virus.
Poor body hygiene, especially for those who sweat a lot, is another possible risk factor for the development of these warts on the skin. Common issues like respiratory infection like a common cold may weaken your immune system making one more susceptible to human papillomavirus infection.
Hormonal changes and fluctuation, especially in young people, is said to be a risk factor in the formation of flat warts not only on the face but also on other body parts. What happens is, the fluctuating levels of hormone in the body could result in
- Reduce immunity,
- causes excess secretion of sebum ( an oily secretion of the sebaceous glands that help keep the skin and the hair follicles soft and moist)
- lead to the growth or appearance of a pimple on face (this is known as acne)4
- Cause excessive sweating and many other changes that could make one more susceptible to an infection with human papillomavirus and at the end the formation of HPV wart on face.
Flat warts on face removal
Flats warts on the face can be described as disgusting, annoying or anything you think should be the right word to describe them. Though warts might be harmless, it is very important to have your dermatologist check them out just to be sure that the bumps are not contagious, they are not cancerous or are not spreading to other parts of your face or the body.
After identifying the underlying cause of warts, you can then choose to either remove them or leave them on. From our introduction, we have said that warts on the face are harmless and most will clear on their own without treatment.
For large painful and irritating warts, your dermatologist may recommend removing them. So what is the best removal option for flat warts on the face? Flat warts on the face are often slightly raised, they are skin colored and will range in size from 1 to 5 mm. they can be numerous in quantity and may appear in a line due to autoinoculation from scratching or shaving.
After being diagnosed with flat warts on face, there are different options available to help get rid of warts. Your dermatologist or attending professional health care provider might prescribe any other following to try and get rid of the bumps.
- Cryosurgery where liquid nitrogen is used to remove warts on face
- You dermatologist may also recommend an electrocautery, a medical procedure that involves burning warts an electric needle
- Laser therapy that disrupts blood supply of warts can also help get rid of the warts
- For cancerous warts on face, removing them might involve directly injecting warts with bleomycin, a chemotherapy drug.
These are just some common removal option for face warts. But remember, since the cause, type, size and other characteristics of warts vary from person to person, so does the available treatment option. If you have to remove flat warts from the face, please have a doctor examine them and recommend the best way possible you could use to get rid of warts.
Flat warts on face treatment
Flat warts on the face will in most cases require no treatment. This is however not the case will flat warts that appear on the face. Most will disappear by themselves after some time in most cases usually after a month or two.
However, for large, irritating warts on face, there are different treatment options available that will help you get rid of warts. Once your dermatologist carries out some medical examination to establish what the underlying cause of the warts are, the dermatologist may recommend any of the following treatment option to try and get rid of warts.
Though warts as said could be harmless, there are some indications that call for immediate medical attention. Be on the lookout for the following signs of warts:
- Warts begin to increase in size or grow rapidly
- You need to be on the lookout on what the color of the warts is. Report to your dermatologist of any professional health care provider when you notice warts to appear inhomogeneous in terms of color
- Urgent medical attention is also required ulceration appears on flat warts on face
- See you doctor if warts become painful or start to bleed
- Finally, urgent medical attention is required if flat warts on face increase in number.
How do you treat flat warts on the face? Here’s how to:
When you notice any of the above signs, you doctor may recommend laser treatment or freezing warts with liquid nitrogen. Your facial skin is not that strong, what this means is that, after removing warts with such intrusive methods, in most case, your skin will be left with scars. Why would you then choose to remove something that could clear on its own?
According to WebMD, the following are some of the most recommend treatment options for skin warts:
- Freezing warts with liquid nitrogen, in this treatment option, after warts has been freed, a blister forms around the wart and the dead tissue falls off within a week
- Applying cantharidin on the wart then covering them with a bandage, the skin forms a blister around the wart which can, later on, be removed by the doctor
- Bleomycin may be injected in the wart to kill the virus causing the wart to form.
- Minor surgery can also be used to remove flat warts on face, in this procedure, the base of the wart is destroyed using an electric needle or by deep freezing it
- Flat warts can also be treated with prescription creams such as retinoic acid, imiquimod, and others
Instead of treating flat warts on the face with such intrusive methods, most dermatologist will recommend unconventional options of treatment to get rid of warts on face. This would include simple methods such as rubbing your face with celandine or fresh garlic.
More natural treatment option are discussed below.
Flat warts on face laser treatment
Laser surgery may also be used to treat a flat wart on face. Flat warts laser treatment is a procedure that utilizes an intense beam of light to burn and completely destroy wart tissue. In laser treatment, string rays are used.
To treat flat warts on face, soft tissue laser surgery may be used. In soft tissue laser surgery, a highly focused laser beam vaporizes the soft tissue with the high water content (the flat wart). The laser will make small incisions when the beam is focused on the tissue.
When the beam is defocused, the intensity of the laser light on the tissue diminishes and it can be used for cauterization of small blood vessels and lymphatics. This is what decreases post-operative swelling.
How to get rid of flat warts on face naturally
Small, flat warts on the face can also be treated naturally at home with simple remedies. There are many home remedies or individual wart removal. Before attempting to treat warts naturally at home, it is important to first have a doctor, preferably a dermatologist look at them.
You need to be aware that home remedies might burn your skin and leave you with scars. Before you start using the remedies, you also need to know that most home remedies will work well for individual warts and not a group of flat warts on the face.
To get rid of flat warts on face naturally, you can try the following home remedies:
- Applying castor oilis a remedy for most of the skin’s condition apart from getting rid of the itching that might accompany warts, this remedy will help get rid of common warts such as flat warts and planter’s warts.
- Using fresh aloe Vera gelcan also help get rid of different types of warts especially flat warts on face Aloe Vera is an effective remedy as it is believed to slow down the spread of cancer
- Rubbing your face with onions
- Papayais not only a nutritious food but also a great remedy. The latex found in papaya is effective in peeling flat warts on face and cancerous tumor on skin
- Washing your face with tea tree oil
- Applying a mixture of baking powder and Castrol oil
- Aspirin paste, applying a paste of aspirin on the flats warts on the face is also a great and simple way to get rid of warts at home. Leave the paste on overnight then rinse it off the morning. Repeat the process twice or thrice a day for an even more optimal result.
Sources and references
- Flat warts: https://www.skinsight.com/skin-conditions/adult/flat-wart-hpv
- Causes of flat warts occurrence: http://noskinproblems.com/flat-warts/
- Human papillomavirus (HPV): https://www.cdc.gov/hpv/parents/whatishpv.html
- Natural solution for warts: https://www.annmariegianni.com/warts-10-ways-to-get-rid-of-them-naturally/
- Skin conditions and warts: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/warts#1
- Everything you should know about flat warts: http://www.healthline.com/health/skin-disorders/flat-warts
- Home remedies for flat warts: http://healthfoxx.com/flat-warts-pictures-on-face-legs-hands-treatment/