Warts and keloids are common problems that can affect men, women and children.
These protrusions are unsightly and may worsen over time because warts spread all over the body, and keloids often get bigger.
What are warts?
Warts are completely harmless growths that can range from being skin-coloured and fleshy to thick and horny. Common warts are an infection in the top layer of skin caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus, or HPV, family. When the virus invades this outer layer of skin, usually through a tiny scratch, it causes super-fast growth of cells on the epidermis leading to wart.
Unfortunately, the HPV virus is everywhere and we end up in contact with it inadvertently while shaking hands, turning doorknobs, walking barefoot in gyms or typing on keyboards.
These warts, while common, can be very unsightly and sometimes painful.
What are keloids?
When first coined in 1806, the original term was chéloïde (from the Greek word chele meaning crab’s claw), referring to the way the keloid grows sideways into the normal skin. A keloid is an overgrowth of scar tissue that starts around a wound. It can develop after acne spots and boils, body piercings, burns, lacerations and surgical wounds.
It usually happens after the wound has healed and becomes bigger than the original wound or incision. It can also be itchy, but usually the major problem is disfiguration. It is essentially an idiopathic condition, i.e. the exact cause is not known.
What is cryotherapy?
Cryotherapy is the use of cold to treat skin problems. In use since the 17th century, cryotherapy uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the water inside the cell known as cytosol. The intracellular ice crystals then break the cells apart, causing ultimate destruction of the unwanted growths. While relatively painless and with a low-risk profile, cryosurgery must be done by a certified dermatologist to prevent risk to the nearby healthy tissue. Side effects are minimal.
How is cryotherapy used to treat warts and keloids?
Usually, for regular warts, one sitting is enough to get risk of the growth. Local anaesthesia helps prevent discomfort. The lesion will be frozen with liquid nitrogen and, over a few weeks, the wart will slowly fall away!
Cryotherapy is one of the few therapies that can be used to get rid of keloids too. The cost depends on the number of sittings required and the number of lesions. It is usually done once a month because it takes time for the scar tissue to vanish. Typically, dermatologists combine cryotherapy and intra-lesional steroids for the best results.
The writer is Consultant Dermatologist based in New Delhi.
