Don't be careless! These "small bumps" may induce cancer...

Expert of this article: Zhou Xiaobo, Doctor of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

The skin is the largest organ in the human body. It is not only a direct manifestation of external appearance, but also the first line of defense against the invasion of foreign pathogens into the human body.

However, whether it is an adult or a child, this line of defense is not impeccable. At some point, you may find a small bump on your face, body, or limbs that you cannot pull off. What are these small bumps? Can you pull them off at will?

What are those little bumps on the skin?

There are many kinds of small bumps that may grow on the skin, red, black, round, flat, etc. They may be skin tags or seborrheic keratosis caused by skin aging, or purulent granulomas caused by trauma, and the most common of them is warts.

Warts are growths on the skin surface caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. There are many types of warts, which are usually distinguished according to the different locations of the disease and manifestations.

Common warts: Common warts can occur anywhere on the body, but most often grow on the hands. They are usually hemispherical bumps with a rough papilloma-like surface. They can be grayish yellow or dirty brown in color and are generally painless. Trauma or immersion in unclean water are common causes.

Flat warts: Flat warts are mainly seen in young people, often on the face, back of the hands and forearms . They are usually flat papules ranging in size from rice grains to mung beans, with a relatively smooth surface. They are often numerous and appear in batches. They can be distributed in a linear pattern along the scratches and may cause itching.

Plantar warts: They can be considered common warts that grow on the soles of the feet , but because they appear at pressure points on the feet, their appearance is slightly different from common warts. They are gray in color and have a rough surface. Due to the pressure of the foot, plantar warts generally only slightly protrude from the skin surface. As the disease progresses, enlarged plantar warts may cause pain when walking.

Filiform warts: These are long, finger-like or filamentous growths on the skin surface, with rough tops and a soft texture. They often occur on the face and neck . Generally, there is no obvious discomfort, but they may also be self-infected through scratching.

Does warts mean I’m infected with HPV?

Wart infections are all related to HPV. Generally, they are caused by small breaks in the skin due to trauma, scratching or dry cracks. The HPV virus takes advantage of the opportunity to invade the epidermis, causing excessive proliferation of the epidermis and forming warts.

There are reports that HPV is associated with many cancers, especially cervical cancer. So does having warts mean that you may develop certain cancers in the future?

Actually, it may not be the case, because there are more than 200 subtypes of HPV virus, among which the main high-risk types that may cause cancer are only 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45, 51, 52, 56, 58, 59 and 68. The HPV that causes skin warts is generally low-risk types such as 1, 2 , and 4. Although it can cause local changes in the skin and is somewhat contagious, these low-risk HPV viruses are generally cleared by the body within 1 year, and the warts may also disappear spontaneously in 1 to 2 years. Therefore, you don’t need to be too nervous about warts on the trunk, limbs or face. If your immunity is normal, they may be cleared spontaneously.

However, if you find warts growing on the genitals and mucous membranes , you need to be alert because the infection here is often a high-risk virus, and the common clinical manifestation is genital warts . Long-term infection may even induce cancer. Therefore, if you find it, please seek medical attention in time.

Can warts be pulled off? How are they treated?

Although warts are not deep and are only on the epidermis, they are difficult to pull out directly unless you are extremely strong and not afraid of pain at all.

In addition, the wart is often thicker, and there are more capillaries at its base, so if the wart is not pulled deeply, the wart will only fall off a layer of skin and grow again after a while. If it is pulled deep, the blood vessels at the base will be exposed, and although it will not bleed profusely, it will not be easy to stop the bleeding.

Therefore, if necessary, you can go to the hospital for treatment. Physical therapy is generally more effective, such as laser, electrocautery, freezing, scraping, etc. Except for freezing, most of them can eliminate warts immediately, but may leave scars.

For some small and superficial warts, topical use of 0.05-0.1% retinoic acid, salicylic acid, etc. can have a certain effect. For refractory warts, diluting pingyangmycin with procaine and injecting it at the base of the wart can have a better effect.

In addition, there are other options such as interferon, imiquimod cream, and fluorouracil ointment. The specific one that is suitable needs to be decided by a doctor.

How to prevent it?

Avoid trauma

Warts are mainly transmitted through contact with broken skin . In addition to direct contact with the lesions, contact with objects contaminated with HPV under certain conditions can also be transmitted. Therefore, an important way to prevent warts is to avoid trauma . Scratches caused by scratching may also be a channel for HPV transmission. Therefore, patients who already have warts should especially avoid scratching , which causes the warts to spread from one place to other parts of the body.

Develop good hygiene habits

Avoid sharing towels, slippers, etc. to avoid cross transmission.

Exercise properly and get enough rest

Improving your own immunity is an effective way to prevent viruses from taking advantage of the situation.