Childhood Warts - Types, Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment

What Are Skin Warts?

Another name for warts is verruca, a harmless growth on the skin commonly seen on the face, around the feet, fingernails, and knees. Usually, the lesion is non-painful, but the area, like the feet and knees, can be pretty painful during walks or day-to-day activities. The infection is contagious, which means it spreads by contact with a contaminated surface. Scratching the surface or pricking them can also spread the infection. Warts usually disappear in two weeks, but children with weak immune systems or adults have a chance of infection lasting longer.

What Are the Types of Childhood Warts?

Usually, warts are not painful, but if they are located at the bottom of the feet, they can be quite tender to touch. Depending on the size and appearance, there are some types of warts, such as:

• Common Warts: Commonly found on fingers, hands, elbows, and knees. They are usually small and appear to have dome-shaped grayish-brown skin growth.

• Plantar Warts: Usually found on the soles of the feet in cluster formation. Because of the site, they are very painful.

• Flat Warts: Flat warts or verruca plana (VP) are usually flat pinhead-like structures commonly seen on the face. They might vary in color, like pink, light brown, or yellow.

• Filiform Warts: They usually appear around the mouth, eyes, or nose. They are finger-like, long, and narrow structures with a slightly red color.

• Genital Warts: Genital warts are usually found in the genital area, causing itching and burning sensations.

• Periungual Warts: They appear on thickened skin around the nails, causing painful fissures in the skin.

Which Children Are at Risk of Warts?

Warts are very common in children compared to adults, but they can occur at any age. The person is at higher risk of warts if:

• They are in close contact with someone who already has warts.

• The person has a weak immune system.

What Are the Causes of Childhood Warts?

Warts are commonly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV), although the type of wart depends on different types of papillomaviruses. The infection can spread from person to person by contact with an infected skin lesion, not only by physical touch, but also by using the same towel or bath floor.

Unlike any other infections, HPV viruses are like germs. They thrive in warm and moist places like cuts or scratches on hands or feet. Once the virus finds places like this, it starts to develop warts. The development of warts takes months to years before even one can notice. For the same reason, it often remains unnoticed by parents.

Children with thumb-sucking or finger-biting habits are more prone to this kind of infection, as biting creatings an open surface for infection to spread. Usually, the wart does not appear immediately after contact with the virus, but usually, the infection takes several months before spreading and showing its signs.

Moreover, warts are very common in adults, but there is a possibility that they can happen at any age. If a person comes in close contact with someone with warts, there are chances of contamination. Moreover, children with weakened immune systems are more at risk of it.

How Are Skin Warts Diagnosed in a Child?

Skin warts are usually diagnosed by a physical examination. A healthcare provider usually diagnoses it by its appearance. For further diagnosis, the doctor may scrape off the first layer of the wart. Below that, there may be a black dot appearance that shows the clotted blood vessels.

In very rare cases, the required doctor may refer the child to the dermatologist, where one may go for a shave biopsy. In a shave biopsy, a very small amount of wart is shaved, and the specimen is sent to the laboratory for further evaluation.

How to Treat Childhood Warts?

The infection predominantly goes away on its own but only takes a longer healing time. There are two different modes of treatment for children: one is a home treatment, and the second is medical treatment. According to its severity, parents go for either of them.

Home Treatment:

Conventionally, the warts are harmless and heal on their own. However, if they are causing any pain to children, it is best to treat them. The first line of treatment is covering them with waterproof tape to stop the infection from spreading. If the infection is not subsiding on its own, it is better to see a pediatrician. Further measures that need to be taken are:

• Wear shoes or slippers in the locker room or shared showers. Try not to walk barefoot.

• Wash hands even after touching warts to stop the spread of the contamination.

• Clean any grooming tools that have been used near a wart.

• Do not prick at or shave a wart at home.

• Do not share towels with others.

If a child is old enough, parents should take their child for HPV vaccination between the ages of 9 and 11 years.

Medical Treatment:

Doctors usually start the treatment by applying a 17 % salicylic acid solution to the affected area, which gradually dissolves the warts. After soaking the affected area in warm water, dead skin is removed, and salicylic acid is applied to cover the wart completely. After that, the area is covered with water-resistant tape for at least 24 hours. This treatment might take several months to complete.

Another option is cryotherapy for children over the age of five years, where with liquid nitrogen, the wart is frozen. This treatment is repeated until the wart falls off in a few weeks.

Cantharidin is a liquid medication that forms blisters on the skin. When this medication is applied to form the blister under the wart, it lifts, and then the doctor can easily remove the infection.

Moreover, there are other immune-stimulating treatments available in the market, like Imiquimod, Candida antigen injection, and Cimetidine. And at last, if none of these work and the child is still in pain, going for surgical removal of the wart is the only option.

How Can Warts Be Prevented?

Warts can spread quickly to other regions of the body and even to other people. This condition can spread through skin-to-skin contact. The spread of warts can be prevented by the following:

• See to that the wart do not s[pread to other parts of the body.

• Do not touch the warts on other people’s skin.

• Do not share any personal items, such as towels, with other people, as they can help spread the warts.

• Those people who have warts at the bottom of their feet should wear socks.

When Should the Person Consult the Doctor?

The person should consult the doctor if the warts present are:

• Painful.

• Result in problems while doing normal activities.

• Embarrassing.

Conclusion

Even though warts are a viral infection that heals on its own, some hygienic precautionary steps in children can prevent them from getting them. If the infection takes longer than usual to heal, it is better to seek a pediatrician’s help. However, it is very important to teach children some basic habits, such as not sharing towels, wearing footwear, washing hands, etc.