A wart is a cosmetic condition very commonly seen in daily practice. They occur when skin is infected with virus and enters into the skin through minor or microscopic injury. Warts are actually benign growths of the epidermis; they lie in the bottom layer of epidermis and replicates there. Their number may vary from single to several hundred. The individuals with depressed cell mediated immunity due to any reasons such as prolong use of steroids (immunosuppressive drugs) and any chronic disease and severe disease are more vulnerable. Outwardly there might be no symptoms but they can manifest in many forms as Common warts, Plain warts, palmer warts, filiform warts and genital warts in any part of body like back of hands, fingers, nails, face, neck, around eyes and scalp. Warts on sole or hands can be painful also. The local treatment, cauterization and destruction of warts with chemicals often lead to scars and patients are fed up of their reappearance in spite of repeated surgeries.
We don’t advice cautery /cryosurgery to remove warts as these processes are painful and only manage disease locally . The warts may re-grow and resurface after cautery. The duration of treatment varies from patient to patient. The duration of treatment depends on the severity of warts and their chronicity. Approximately, within two months or so, one finds positive results. Multiple warts and chronic warts treated with repeated cautery may require longer duration of treatment.