Flat papillomas – causes, symptoms and treatment

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Flat papillomas are painless, papillary single lesions most often located in the oral cavity. This ailment is mainly caused by the cutaneous types of HPV (mainly HPV2), which are actually ordinary warts in the mouth. Papillomas usually occur in young children and young adults.

What are flat papillomas?

Papillomas are commonly referred to as viral warts, usually found in children and adolescents (less frequently in adults). For this reason, warts are often referred to as juveniles. The cause of this ailment is infection with the human papillomavirus, namely: HPV2, HPV3, HPV10, HPV27 and HPV28. The infection occurs most often through direct contact with the person of the disease or as a result of using his personal belongings (e.g. underwear, towels, clothes). The lesions are most often located on the tongue, the floor of the mouth and the lip, and their appearance resembles painless, white and single eruptions.

The causes of the flat papilloma

As mentioned above, the cause of the ailments is the HPV virus (human papillomavirus), to which we become infected through direct contact with the disease or as a result of using the infected person’s personal belongings. The following are particularly exposed to the disease:

1. people with genetic or acquired immunodeficiency (e.g. patients with AIDS),
2. people with reduced immunity due to cancer or nutritional deficiencies,
3. people who chronically use oral glucocorticosteroids and immunosuppressants,
4. people with superficial injuries, through which the HPV virus can easily penetrate the damaged skin.

If you are concerned that you may have contracted HPV, you can undergo diagnostics without visiting a clinic. For this purpose, a mail-order HPV infection test, which is available in the Medonet Market offer, should be ordered.

Squamous papilloma – symptoms

Flat warts are most often located on the face and appear as papules that are quite numerous, scattered, rough and shiny. They mainly affect the lower parts of the face (e.g. chin, cheeks) and the forehead. These lesions are brown in color or the color does not differ much from the color of the body, and their diameter is about 1-5 mm. It is worth mentioning that warts can also appear outside the face, e.g. on the hands or forearms.

Along with the changes, a linear pattern of lumps may appear at the site of scratching the surface of the skin, which is called the Koebner phenomenon. In turn, a characteristic feature that distinguishes flat facial warts from other types of warts is their flattened form (they are not accompanied by itching or pain).

Warts on the face usually persist for a long period of time, and in people with severely weakened immunity, they may even stay on the skin for many years. Usually, however, warts go away on their own – in the final stage of the disease they turn red and become swollen. This symptom is characteristic of the coming end of the disease and occurs within a few days or weeks of noticing the symptom. Fortunately, flat papilloma does not leave any scars.

Diagnosis of flat papilloma

The diagnosis of squamous papilloma is usually made by a dermatologist. It is important to conduct a medical interview with the patient about the general complaints, existing diseases and the presence of the risk factor responsible for allergies. During the consultation, he examines the patient’s skin and finds numerous and flat papular eruptions, with no symptoms such as itching or soreness. Other helpful tests to confirm the diagnosis are laboratory tests and histopathological tests of the lesions. One hundred percent diagnosis of flat warts is possible only after performing molecular tests and revealing the presence of genetic material of the 3rd type of human papillomavirus in the epidermal cells.

Squamous papilloma – treatment

The warts on the face usually go away on their own. However, there are certain medications and treatments that can help speed up the disappearance of skin eruptions and prevent them from infecting healthy cells and others. Pharmacological treatment includes, inter alia, topical 15% salicylic acid and 0,05-0,1% vitamin A acid, and exfoliating preparations containing, for example, sulfur. These preparations are useful in reducing the diseased epidermis.

Another preparation that works well is in mod accelerating HPV infection. The following treatments are recommended for flat face warts:

1. laser therapy,
2. electrocoagulation,
3. freezing warts with liquid nitrogen,
4. dermatosurgery with curettage.

IMPORTANT: Properly selected treatment is effective in half of patients with squamous papilloma.

Can squamous papilloma be prevented?

In the prevention of squamous papilloma, it is important to avoid risk factors that increase the chance of an infection with HPV. Therefore:

1. avoid direct contact with infected people and their personal belongings,
2. do not scratch and squeeze the warts so that the virus does not spread,
3. take care of personal hygiene,
4. take care of your immune system by treating each cause of weakened immunity,
5. it is worth discontinuing or reducing the amount of immunosuppressive preparations,
6. it is worth taking care of a proper diet in which there is a large amount of nutrients,
7. anorexia, alcoholism, bulimia and drug addiction should be prevented and treated.