Warts Moles Skin Tags Web Directory & Resources

Warts Moles Skin Tags Related Articles: 

Steps to wart-free healthy feet     Duct tape the wart KILLER- do it yourself   More about duct tape
Genital Warts Natural and Alternative Treatment Remedies   Natural Remedies for Eliminating Warts Quickly & Safely!        Moles, warts, Skin Tags Removal       What are Warts, all types    
Signs and Symptoms of Warts HPV     Homeopathy for Warts, Self-Healing    
 HPV - what, where & how to get rid of it     
WARTS - the conservative doctors' way    Warts and CANCER    Genital Wart Prevention   
Tricks To Get Rid of Warts Without Pharmaceuticals, HAMLET    Moles & Skin Tags
Study suggests relief on way for wart sufferers     More Articles    Get a Free Newsletter

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Steps to healthy feet

By Sheena McFarland
The Salt Lake Tribune 

Feet may lack communication skills, but they do speak a universal language - pain.
   If your feet are hurting, especially when you're resting, it's time to hoof it to the podiatrist.
    Podiatrists are seeing an increasing number of patients with heel pain caused by plantar fasciitis, and they say early treatment of symptoms, most commonly heel spurs, yields the most success.
   However, most people wait six months to a year before seeking help.
   "The longer a person waits, the harder it is to use conservative treatments," says Gary Green, a Farmington-based podiatrist.
   He encourages people to see a podiatrist if a foot ailment persists for more than two weeks. He has a few basic pointers to stop the problem in its early stages, before a doctor visit is necessary.
   Wearing comfortable shoes can significantly  decrease foot pain, he says.
   "Women seem to make up most of my clientele because many of them tend to choose fashion over comfort," Green says.
   He suggests finding comfortable shoes with wide toes and short or no heels. Wearing such shoes can decrease the risk of conditions such as hammertoes, bunions and plantar fasciitis.
   To avoid such ailments as warts and athlete's foot, Green suggests wearing flip-flops when at public swimming pools and gyms.
   While most fungi and warts can be cured with over-the-counter treatments, sometimes warts persist and spread throughout the foot.
   Green uses a treatment called the Panacos graft, in which he removes a wart from the infected foot and implants it under the skin of the other foot. This stimulates the immune system to heal the infection, he says.
   "My patients think it's kind of bizarre when I suggest it, but it really does work well," Green says.
   Most treatments are more typical, especially if the patient comes in early. Sometimes a heavier-duty, prescribed anti-fungal cream or a specially designed orthotic will fix the problem.  

OUR COMMENT:

Yeah, and make sure you stir away from sneakers and other sweaty nylon shoes that are not as breathable as leather. Better wear cotton socks than polyester ones.
Wash your feet and clean them afterwards with a drop or two of pure tea-tree oil on a slightly wet/ damp cotton wool little thingy, one of those makeup remover pads.
See our recommendations for boosting yourself and your immune system. Click here.

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Natural Remedies for Eliminating Warts Quickly & Safely!  - by Balaji B

Warts are a type of infection caused by virus called human papilloma virus (HPV). There are about 60 types of HPV viruses that cause various sexually transmitted diseases. Warts can appear on almost any portion of the body. Some of the places in the body where warts commonly occur include the skin, the inside of your mouth, the genitals and the rectal area.

Natural remedies for warts are available in plenty. Whatever be the methods used, the primary aim of that is to remove the warts from our body and to prevent any future outbreak of warts. The allopathic drugs and medicines are most often found to have side effects. Hence people mostly go for a natural relief for warts which includes essential oils like tea tree oil & others. Vitamin E oil is also effective in removing the warts completely.

Most of the natural treatments for warts also improve the immunity system of our body so that the warts don’t reappear in our body. By improving the immunity system through natural treatments, your body’s natural healing power is induced and it fights against the virus that causes warts. The application of garlic over the warts to remove warts from your body is also one of the method used. This considered as one of the effective natural remedies for warts since garlic has anti-viral properties in it.

Vitamin A and vitamin C are also considered to be effective against warts and hence these are used as supplements in natural remedies for warts. The other remedies for warts include the application of vitamin E oil over the warts along with garlic and to cover them with an adhesive bandage. Vitamin A capsules also remove warts in some people. Hence this finds its place as a remedy for warts. Cut potato is rubbed on the warts to remove the warts. This is done at least twice a day for about a week or two. This is a natural remedy for warts that is very cheap.

Some of the remedy for warts like garlic is found to improve the immune system of our body. Garlic is found to have anti-viral properties, and as a remedy for warts, is used to fight against the human papilloma virus. Intake of garlic not only removes the warts but also removes the virus that causes warts in our body. This kind of treatment using such a remedy for warts prevents any future outbreak of warts in our body. Hence this found to be the most effective natural remedy for warts.

About the Author

Visit : http://www.natural-treatment-guide.com/warts/natural-remedy-for-warts.html for more information

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OUR COMMENT:   Please see our additional recommendations for boosting yourself and your immune system. Click here.

Warts Moles Skin Tags Removal

By: www.FatFreeKitchen.com

Are you worried about your moles, warts, and skin tags? Are scared about the idea of removing them surgically using laser, knife or some acid?

Moles and warts are skin infection caused by specific wart viruses, producing bumps on various parts of body or the soles of feet. Keeping your feet dry after being in one of these areas is the best method of prevention.
Here are some remedies for removal of moles, warts and skin tags:

• Soak your wart in warm water for 15-20 minutes and dry. Apply apple cider vinegar with a cotton ball and leave on for 10-15 minutes. Wash off with water and dry.
• Dissolve an aspirin with a small drop of water and apply to the wart. Cover with a band-aid. Repeat twice daily.
• Mix some baking soda in water and rub on the wart 3-4 times daily. You can soak a cloth guage with a mixture of baking soda and castor oil and apply it on the mole. Secure it there with a band-aid. Leave it for overnight.
• For getting rid of plantar warts, daily take a piece of ripe (or raw) banana peel and apply the pulp side to the wart and cover with a band-aid. Remove it only when taking bath. Apply daily for many months.
• For quite old warts, chew some cashews and place it on the wart. Your warts should melt away in 3-4 weeks.
• Open the stem of a dandelion and rub on the warts 2-3 times daily until the wart disappears in 3-4 weeks.
• Rub crushed garlic on the wart 2-3 times daily until the wart disappears in 3-4 weeks. OR mash a garlic clove so it is pulpy and moist. Cover the wart with this pulp and secure it there with a band-aid. Leave it for overnight. Wart will start disappearing from the first night.
• Chop one raw onion and cover with salt and leave overnight. Apply the juice to the warts 2-3 times daily until warts disappear.
• Apply a drop of grapefruit seed extract to the wart and cover with a band-aid, 2-3 times daily. Your warts should fall off in 3-4 weeks.

This article has been written by http://www.fatfreekitchen.com. For more information, visit the web site http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/beauty/warts-remedy.html

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OUR COMMENT:     Nothing wrong with trying. Perhaps try a different one on each wart, see what works. Disinfect first with tea-tree oil (a drop or two on a slightly wet cotton wool pad), intake 1000mg vitamin C daily and drink lots of water.
In addition, read our tips on boosting your immune system as well as empowering your mind.

Warts Moles Skin Tags and all types of warts - avoiding

Warts, also called verrucas, are small growths caused by human Papilloma viruses. The viruses invade skin cells and encourage them to multiply thus creating thickened areas of skin. Warts usually occur on the hands or feet and are generally harmless. However, some types affect the genitals and are more serious, even dangerous and highly contagious to your partners. Warts occur both in adults and children. In-fact children seem to be most prone to wart infections, especially on hands, feet (Plantar Warts) and face.

WHERE DO THESE TERRIBLE WARTS MOLES SKIN TAGS COME FROM?

The source of wart infection is other infected individuals. Warts are transferred by direct contact, with an infected person or from Virus particles on recently shed flakes of skin. The infection is commonly spread in warm, moist condition. The number of warts vary from one or two to several hundred. People with reduced immunity due to diseases may develop large numbers of warts.

My Daughter, for example, started off with 2 warts on her fingers, and within a year she ended up with clusters of yucky warts, whole colonies of them! Although she is a very healthy, sporty child, eats healthy is powerful and is hardly ever ill- even when most around us keep getting a flu of one sort or another... probably she has a certain weakness in her immunity system (when very young she tended to contract middle-ear infections). Our body is so complex and often other mind issues effect our health.

WHAT ARE THE VARIOUS WART TYPES?

The different varieties of warts include the following:

Planter Warts: -These warts occur on the soles of the feet. Although Planter Warts are the same as common warts, they grow in to the skin because they are continually under pressure from the weight of the body. Plantar warts tend to get flattened in to the sole of the foot, firm with a thickened surface and become most painful to walk on. Plantar warts are sometimes dotted with tiny, black spots. Nothing alarming about this- The black spots are just some small blood vessels

Common Warts: - These warts occur on any part of the body but are most commonly present on the dorsum of the hands and fingers. They are, firm with a rough, raised surface, usually round, dotted with tiny, black spots. Common Warts often grow in groups, which are known as Crops.

Flat Warts: - They are commonly present on the wrist, backs of hands, and face. Flat Warts vary in size and are skin colored, Flat topped and very slightly raised. often itchy. These Warts often occur in lines where the virus has spread a long a scratch.

Filiform Warts: - These are finger- like projections with irregular surface and are usually seen on the neck, face and scalp. Some are tiny pinheads in size, almost like a pimple.

Genital Warts or Condyloma Acuminate: - These Warts are usually transmitted through sexual exposure. The virus causing the genital warts is human papilloma virus (HPV) different from the virus causing warts on the other parts of the body. The condition is reported more frequently by men than by women, probably because warts are more visible on the penis. However, an infected person can transmit the virus to sexual partners. By some estimates it is reported that 50% of population are infected with Genital Warts.

The Genital Warts appear from a few weeks to as long as 20 months after infection. They are soft with a rough surface and are usually painless. Genital Warts enlarge rapidly, and in some instances, the growths cluster together in one area.
In men warts may occur on the shaft of the penis or less commonly on the foreskin, the glans (Head of the penis), and around the anus. In women, the growths may appear on the vulva (the external part of the female genitals) inside the vagina, on the cervix, and around the anus .The warts may also occur in the rectum as a result of infection through anal intercourse, and in the mouth following oral sex. If a pregnant women has genital warts, there is a risk that the infection will be transmitted to her baby during delivery.

HOW CAN I AVOID GETTING INFECTED WITH WARTS?

Although it is virtually impossible to completely prevent infection with HPVs, good hygienic practices can help reduce the chances of developing skin warts:

• DO NOT have unprotected sex unless you are 100% sure your partner is free of genital warts.
• NEVER touch a wart on another person. (Although if your immune is high it is not likely you'll develop a wart from simply touching. I've touched my girl's warts and held her hand, as have her friends and neither of us developed a wart because of this.)
• DO NOT touch, shave, or pick at a wart on yourself (or anyone else).
• ALWAYS wear shoes or sandals in public locker rooms, shower areas, and around pool facilities.
• BE SURE that bathing areas are thoroughly cleaned if someone at your home has warts.
• DO NOT share bath towels with anyone with warts. A person with warts should only use towels once. Wash the towels between uses. (We find this rather bothersome and much work to wash towels all the time, for years...  Most critical is to not share shoes or rent our shoes you may use without socks).

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OUR COMMENT: For possible solutions we used, click here!

Warts are generally harmless growths that often go away on their own within two years. They can be contagious, some claim transmission from person to person is uncommon yet others claim this is how they spread.
After all, not everyone coming in contact with an infected person (for example, by holding a hand which has warts on it) end up contracting this HPV virus and not everyone carrying the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is responsible for Warts, ends up with a cauliflower garden sprouting all over himself. Some people will have one wart whilst others will have a general outbreak all over their body. It actually boils down to the quality of your immune system.

Your immune system can be boosted with a healthy diet of plenty of fruit and vegetables, NONI juice and some physical exercise. You'd also want to strengthen your mental health with EFT. FREE information and a FREE PDF tutorial ebook (of 75 pages, so you too can start right away to heal yourself and your children, parents, spouse or friend), simply Click here for EFT - the Physical Symptoms Section.

HOMOEOPATHIC and SELF-HEALING Approach for Warts

Warts are mere reflection of some deep seated diseases in the human being and they can be treated very simple by treating the patients as a whole following homeopathic lines. It is best you seek a good professional and avoid over-the-counter purchases of homeopathic remedies your local pharmacist may recommend to you.
Homeopathy is an art of finding the correct and unique cure to each person, based upon his or her character and history. Sometimes it is successful and sometimes perhaps not. For example, we managed to cure two very large and painful Plantar Warts which were absolutely killing my little girl. The warts were on the sole of her foot and prevented her from walking or running (she could only just cycle to school) for over 3 months. We had tried everything else beforehand, but the damn warts wouldn't immigrate away.
At last, after 3 months of trying out various -homeopathic Wart Cures, the 3rd attempt was astoundingly successful: The Horrid Plantar Warts had vanished within two days without a mark that they had ever existed! Finally she could walk again! No painful surgery or chemical treatments!
However, we still couldn't get rid of my little girl's facial warts and the common warts clusters on her fingers. We will soon try a new Homeopath for the wart treatment. It's not cheap, I can tell you that! I wish all doctors would only charge on a per-success-case. I guess we shouldn't complain, after all the foot (plantar) warts were healed and this is worth more than money can pay!

KIDS CAN SOMETIMES GET RID OF WARTS WITH MAGIC BELIEF:

Many of the doctors and alternative healers we've gone through, in our attempts to heal & rid my little girl's body of plantar warts, flat warts and other facial warts had mentioned to me that if the child believes a "magic chant" to rid him/ her of warts, often the warts will indeed disappear.
Unfortunately for us, my girl is a pretty clever type and not easily tricked into believing that chanting will get the warts away. A pity. I can yell at her all day: "Think Positively" and she will answer: "I'm positive this is nonsense"...

You can imagine how happy I was to have recently discovered EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). EFT is absolutely a great tool for helping yourself or your loved one to deal with Depression, Trauma & Abuse, Anxiety & Stress, Fear, Hate, Issues from our childhood/past.
These mind-matters often effect our health and can manifest themselves as a host of ailments, like Addictions, Compulsions & Overweight and other Rotten Physical Symptoms including WARTS- of all sorts and kinds, such as Plantar warts, Filiform warts, Flat warts, Common warts or Genital Warts.

I really must be crazy to encourage you to leave my site and visit the EFT Web site... However, I'd really like to help you. So: for a rich source of FREE information and a FREE PDF tutorial ebook (of 75 pages, so you too can start right away to heal yourself and your children, parents, spouse or friend), simply Click here for EFT - the Physical Symptoms Section
This site is amazing! So many articles and case studies!

You see, based on impressive new discoveries involving the body's subtle energies, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) has been clinically effective in thousands of cases mental & physical symptoms including headaches, body pains and breathing difficulties. Properly applied, over 80% achieve either noticeable improvement or complete cessation of the problem.
Try it on the hidden issues lurking behind the warts. Is anything causing you stress, anger or sadness? Use a combination of healing and ridding yourself (if it is you who has the warts) from blocks draining your life energy and directly addressing the wart problems as well. Good luck!

EFT for WARTS
...Often works where nothing else will.
...Usually rapid, long lasting and gentle.
...No drugs or equipment involved.
...Easily learned by anyone.
...Can be self applied.

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OUR COMMENT:
In addition, boost your immune system. I can't stop stressing how vital and important this is! More than vitamin pills - which if are of superior (=$$$) quality and the right ones for your organism - this fruit has been used for thousands of years and has so many benefits... click here to read more about it and see our special (naturally FREE) report and real hard research results.

Warts

From Heather Brannon, MD.

Warts are actually benign tumours of the epidermis, caused by a virus. The virus responsible is the human papilloma virus (HPV), a double-stranded DNA virus. The virus resides in the bottom layer of the epidermis and replicates into almost normal-looking skin. Different sub-types of HPV cause different types of warts. Some human papilloma virus subtypes also cause cervical cancer and other more obscure types of wart-related cancers.

The Wart Root Myth

Contrary to popular belief, warts do not have "roots". They only grow in the top layer of skin, the epidermis. When they grow down, they displace the second layer of skin, the dermis. They do not grow into the dermis. The underside of a wart is actually smooth.

The Appearance of Warts

Warts normally grow out of the skin in cylindrical columns. These columns do not fuse when the wart grows on thin skin such as the face. On thicker skin, the columns fuse and are packed tightly together giving the surface the typical mosaic pattern. Black dots can sometimes be seen in a wart. These are actually blood vessels that have grown rapidly and irregularly into the wart and have thombosed or clotted off.

Who Gets Warts?

Warts can occur in people of all ages, but occur most commonly in children and young adults. They spread by direct contact, simply by touching the wart. Warts normally resolve spontaneously but the time it takes for this resolution is variable. Most warts resolve within weeks or months, but some may take years. It appears that a person's susceptibility to warts and the time it takes for them to go away is related to the individual's immune system. People who have immune-related diseases such as AIDS and lymphoma, or who are taking chemotherapy tend to have more warts that last longer.

Wart Treatments

Most warts can be treated with simple over-the-counter remedies. For those that are resistant to these measures, other types of wart treatments are effective.

Salicylic acid is a very common and effective over-the-counter wart treatment, but requires consistent application every day. They best way to use salicylic acid is to first pare the wart with a blade, pumice stone, emory board, or small scrub brush. Soaking the wart in warm water will aid in the absorption of the medicine. Salicylic acid is applied to the wart and allowed to dry. Normal surrounding skin may be protected with petroleum jelly. Occluding the treated wart with a band-aid or piece of tape also improves the absorption of the medicine. This procedure should be repeated daily ideally around shower or bath time. Salicylic acid can be found in several forms including a thick oil, or incorporated into an adhesive plaster form.

Cryotherapy is another method for treatment of warts. A provider applies liquid nitrogen as a spray or on a cotton swab to the wart. This freezes and kills the effected cells. The connective tissue is not destroyed; therefore, the lesion usually heals without significant scarring.
The human papilloma virus is not killed by cryotherapy and is released into the surrounding tissue allowing the immune system to kill it. A blister typically forms on the site treated, crusts over, and falls off. Since blisters are painful to walk on, cryotherapy is not a first choice for warts on the bottom of the foot.

Other medicines may be applied to warts or injected into them include lactic acid, trichloroacetic acid (TCA), formalin, glutaraldehyde, cantharidin, podophyllin, Retin-A, and bleomycin. These treatments should be supervised by a health care provider.

Wart and Mole Removal Methods

Wart & Mole Vanish
Produces Natural Cauterization. The cell tissues of warts, moles and other skin disorders are burned by the natural components derived from the herbal extracts. Causes destruction of wart or mole to the root with in 20-30 minutes after a single application. Dried up lesions fall off in 7-10 days normally, produces similar results as Electro-cauterization, but without anaesthesia. This has an anti-viral action without recurrence and is minimally invasive. Unlikely to result in a scar unless scab is disturbed or removed early or a secondary infection occurs.

Laser Surgery
Warts can be removed through laser but this treatment may leave a scar. A stream of laser light is directed at the infected site to destroy the wart. May not destroy viral root and wart may return. Expensive.

Electro-cauterization
A heated electric wire is applied to the growth and destroys the wart. It stinks, you need to rely on the steady hand of practitioner. Usually wart returns but mole may indeed disappear.

Surgical excision
The wart is removed by cutting, usually leaving a scar. Painful Need to hope it does not reoccur.

Cryosurgery or Freezing with Nitrogen
Warts may be frozen with liquid nitrogen but will require several visits to the doctor's office. Liquid nitrogen is applied directly to the wart in order to freeze the growth and destroy the infected tissue.

Caustic Agent as 40% Salicylic Acid, Nitric Acid, etc.
Warts can be treated with salicylic acid solution but you must apply the acid every day for many weeks. It gives off a dreadful smell following you around.

Post-Treatment Problem with Surgeries or Other Products

High Recurrence Rate of Warts
Depending on the treatment, different recurrence rates have been recorded. A common treatment currently used in the United States is a self-applied, 5% imiquimod cream that works on stimulating the immune system to fight off the virus and lesions. It has a recurrence rate of about 13-19%.
Sometimes large warts are surgically removed under local anaesthesia. This has a recurrence rate of about 21%. In a study using self-applied podofilox gel, the cure rate was low at only 51% but the recurrence rate was only about 10%. For cryosurgery, the recurrence rate is quite high at 73%.

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OUR COMMENT:   As we've already mentioned in previous articles and comments, we recommend you try alternative ways first plus work on boosting your immune system and ridding your mind from harmful influences upon your body. Regarding cutting warts or digging into them, shaving a wart or other tempering of a wart- I have personally witnessed an expolosion of new warts on the hand of my daughter's friend, after the girl's parents had the doctors cut out a wart.

Tricks To Get Rid of Warts Without Pharmaceutical-Medication

I have read of people using Pee therapy. You drink your first morning pee - half a glass of it, like 3 millions of Chinese do. Try chilling it for twenty minutes in the fridge. It tastes somewhat more bearable this way. Think of the reason you're doing it, of --- whatever! Then gulp it down at once, never stopping to cry... After a few times even little kids will get used to it. If they really suffer from smell /taste you get a glass of sweet fruit juice for them to drink thereafter. Or hold their nose! Pour some of the pee on Warts. Pee is a known remedy. Many surfers use their pee as a first aid for cuts. Your own pee is a strong disinfectant and has many trace elements in it.

Alternatively, rub garlic, potato or banana peels or apply aloe vera to warts. Drink Noni!

NEWS: HAMLET Causes Warts to Self-Destruct!

Warts are non-cancerous skin growths caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin. Viruses that cause warts are called human papilloma virus (HPV). A cream made from human breast milk and nicknamed Hamlet can perhaps dramatically reduce, and often eliminate, stubborn common warts, Swedish doctors reported.
Human Alpha-lactalbumin Made Lethal to Tumor cells, which the researchers refer to by the whimsical acronym HAMLET, is the active ingredient that forces the wart cell to self-destruct by accumulating in each cell's nucleus and interfering with its control process.

The results, published in New England Journal of Medicine, may extend well beyond wart treatment because the same class of viruses that cause those growths are also responsible for cervical cancer, genital warts, and some types of skin cancer.

OUR COMMENT:   WOW. But until this is available and proven safe with no side-effects, start by boosting your immune system.

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Warts Moles Skin Tags

What is a skin tag?

Skin Tags (acrochordons) are small, brown or flesh-colored growths of skin that typically narrow at their base.

Skin tags are soft flaps of skin that vary in size from very tiny to the size of a pencil eraser tip. They do not cause pain unless they become twisted, irritated, or inflamed. Skin tags are likely to grow on skin surfaces that are hot, moist, or frequently rubbed.

Skin tags usually appear around the neck, under the arms, under the breasts, in groin creases, and on the inside of the upper thigh area. The reason skin tags form is not known.

Wart Mole Vanish claims to remove skin tags. The application process is similar to removing a mole. In the case of a skin tag with a long neck, you only need to target the base of the "neck".

What is a mole?

Moles (nevi) are a nevucellular skin occurrence located in the skin's various layers. Everyone has moles of some sort. Looking to most people as a dark brown spot, actually moles have a wide range of appearance, with colour ranging from red to black.

Sometimes regarded as fashionable and even called "beauty marks" as when found in women's cheeks. Some women even add a fake little mole using an eyeliner pencil... however, not all moles are beautiful. They can be very unsightly as when they protrude from the skin. They may sprout dark hair and they may be dangerous. They can have the "witch look" effect, if they form on your chin or tip of your nose.

Moles can appear anywhere on the skin. They are usually brown in colour and can be of various sizes and shapes. Most moles come out during the first 20 years of a person's life, although some may not appear until later in life. Sun exposure may darken existing moles and increase their number and size.
Freckles can end up sometimes as ugly moles. Make sure you use a good sun-screen lotion whenever outdoors.

Types of Moles

About 1-3% of all babies have one or more moles at birth. These are called congenital nevi

Other types of moles include:
Junctional moles, which are usually brown and may be flat or slightly raised.
Compound moles, which are slightly raised, range in colour from tan to dark brown, and involve pigment-producing cells (melanocytes) in both the upper and lower layers of the skin (epidermis and dermis).
Dermal moles, which range from flesh-color to brown, are elevated, most common on the upper body, and may contain hairs. Sebaceous moles, which are produced by over-active oil glands and are yellow and rough-textured.
Blue moles, which are slightly raised, colored by pigment deep within the skin, and most common on the head, neck, and arms of women.

Characteristics of Moles

Moles are the most common tumor in humans. Moles occur approximately 15-20 per adult and are present in various morphologic types.

Moles can transform into a Melanoma or Malignant Cancer. Mole recurrence is usually symptomatic of melanoma although most moles are benign, but atypical moles (dysplastic nevi) may develop into malignant melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer.
Atypical moles are usually hereditary. Most are bigger than a pencil eraser, and the shape and pigmentation are irregular. If your parent had a large mole on his or her back, chances are you could inherit it.

Congenital nevi are more prone to become cancerous than moles that develop later.
Lentigo maligna (melanotic freckle of Hutchinson), most common on the face and after the age of 50, first appears as a flat spot containing two or more shades of tan. It gradually becomes larger and darker. One in three of these moles develop into a form of skin cancer known as lentigo maligna melanoma.

Moles Suspicious for Cancer

Those moles with spontaneous ulcerations or bleeding or with symptoms such as pain and itching could be a sign of a tumor. Congenital and giant Nevus or moles showing changes in size and colour as well as moles with unexplained inflammatory changes are suspicious for CANCER and should be totally excised and subjected to careful microscopic examination or Biopsy.

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Study suggests relief on way for wart sufferers

Canadian Press

TORONTO — Skin injections to test a person's immune response, similar to what doctors use to check for allergies, can get rid of unsightly warts - and not just one, but up to hundreds at a time by treating just a single bump, a study shows.

Researchers at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences injected warts with substances used to test a person's immunity to mumps, candida and trichophyton (the fungus that causes athlete's foot). None of the preparations, called skin test antigens, contain live infectious agents, so they can't cause disease.

Sixty per cent of those injected with the antigens saw their treated warts disappear, while about half of those with multiple lesions on their bodies ended up entirely wart-free, said lead researcher Dr. Thomas Horn, head of dermatology at the university.
That's because the injection pricks the immune system into mounting a defence against the mumps, candida (a yeast) and the trichophyton fungus - and at the same time stirs up white blood cells (lymphocytes) to take care of the human papilloma virus, the agent that causes warts.
"So while the body is initially responding to, let's say, candida, the body's immunologic repertoire is broad enough that there are lymphocytes in that mix that say: 'Let's do something about the wart virus,' " Horn said Monday from Little Rock.

"So one of the joys of this is that patients with a large wart or patients with multiple warts, we only need to treat one of several to get many to go away, and in some cases hundreds."

The study, published in this week's Archives of Dermatology, involved 201 patients. About half had their warts treated with antigens, while the other half received injections of saline or interferon, a protein produced by cells that helps regulate the body's immune system. Patients in the antigen group had a significantly higher immune-system response rate.

The method works on all kinds of warts, from the familiar raised type found on the face, hands and soles of the feet, to flat warts, the type spread by shaving on areas like a man's face or a woman's legs.

Side-effects, including redness and soreness at the injection site and fever, were relatively rare and mild, Horn said.
Most current treatments try to destroy the wart by cutting it out, freezing it with liquid nitrogen or zapping it with a laser - methods that can be somewhat painful, especially in tender areas like the foot bottom (plantar warts) or around the fingernails.
"The nice thing about this is we treat two per cent of the surface area of the wart and we get the whole thing to go away," said Horn, noting that he's seen warts as big as saucers.
"This should become a standard treatment for warts . . . a routine treatment in our box of tools for patients with warts, whether that's a patient with a single wart or patients with multiple warts," said Horn. "It is effective, safe and relatively painless."

But Dr. Neil Shear, head of dermatology at Toronto's Sunnybrook and Women's Health Sciences Centre, said that when it comes to single warts, there are much easier ways of removal than giving patients - especially children - an injection.
Among those treatments is, of all things, duct tape. Doctors cover the wart for six days with the silver tape, then "pumice down" the dead skin on the seventh, he said. "It's easy, it works and you can do it at home."
However, Shear called the potential of eradicating numerous warts at one time "exciting. None of the other treatments we use right now really do that.
"Warts are funny creatures, and even though they're probably the most common chronic viral infection that humans have, we still haven't got very good at getting rid of them. And they're a big problem.
"Some people get a wart here and there, but some people just don't seem to fight it, their immunity is not up to snuff and they end up with quite large warts."

Still, Horn's research may have implications beyond the merely cosmetic. The human papilloma virus is also the culprit behind genital warts, a common cause of cervical cancer.

With other research by his team being considered for publication, Horn would say only that they "have data to show that this treatment works for genital warts."
"The study that we would like to do is a long-term study in which we treat genital warts and follow women's pap smears (tests for cervical cancer)," he said.

There are dozens of strains of human papilloma virus, and the one that causes genital warts probably differs from those that cause typical warts - although even a few of those may lead to skin cancer, said Shear.
But he lauds any research that advances knowledge of this common, easily transmitted family of viruses.
"The human papilloma virus is a potentially serious infection, so it's nice to see that people are doing novel work . . . stimulating the body's own defence system to try to clean them up."

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OUR COMMENT:  Interesting, though we're not sure we'd like to inject our bodies with any mumps or candida live infectious agents... click to learn how to boost your immune naturally.