Your skin is a large surface area that goes through many changes due to age, hormones and other factors. Although historically society has taught that smooth and fresh-looking skin is the ideal, those who suffer from warts, especially on the face, find dealing with the condition to be disconcerting and sometimes a lifelong battle. In terms of treatment options, warts on the face require a consultation with a doctor.
Warts
Warts are normally small, benign flesh-colored growths on the top layer of skin. These growths are caused by a viral infection, human papillomavirus, HPV. How a wart looks is dependent upon where it is growing, but it is normally the same color as your skin and feels rough to the touch. Warts can also be disfiguring and can hurt or itch. Flat warts tend to grow in large numbers and are smoother and smaller than other warts. These are the warts that are typically found on the face.
Risk Factors
Wart risk factors include being exposed to the virus and the frequency of the exposure. If your skin is broken or damaged, the virus is more likely to enter your body. If you have a compromised immune system, you are more likely to contract the virus. Warts can be transmitted from person to person. This happens when you touch a wart on another person or share a towel or other object with someone who has a wart.
Cryotherapy
Cryotherapy is sometimes called freezing therapy. The doctor uses liquid nitrogen to destroy the wart. According to Drugs.com, the treatment starts with the area the wart is on being numbed. If an area of dead skin surrounds the wart, that area may be cut away prior to the freezing. The liquid nitrogen is applied with a cotton swab, spray or a cryoprobe, which is a long, pointed device. The freezing lasts between five and 60 seconds to ensure the wart is completely covered with ice. This may be repeated after a few minutes. Cryotherapy may last up to four weeks and the wart may take one to three months after treatment to disappear completely.
Chemical Therapies
Facial warts can also be treated with chemicals like salicylic acid or glycolic acid. In this treatment, the chemical acts as an irritant to get an immune response to fight the HPV virus. The chemicals are applied to the surface of the wart and skin. The chemical will cause the wart to "peel" off your skin. Chemical therapies are often used in conjunction with a destructive therapy like cryotherapy. Another chemical therapy for persistent warts involves causing an allergic reaction to a chemical, which is then applied to the wart. This causes the wart to disappear over time.
Considerations
Removing any type of wart from any body area may leave a scar in that area. Avoid direct skin contact with a wart, especially if your skin is broken. Even with treatment, warts often reappear and require further treatment and examination. If you have a wart, you should never try to burn, cut or tear a wart as a form of removal yourself. This may cause more harm and should be left to a medical professional.
