Customer question:
What do skin papillomas look like? Anonymous customer's question
Pharmacist's answer:
Papillomas look like small warts and are round, benign skin lumps. Their color is usually the same as the skin color, but they can be pink, brown, or even dark. In the latter case, papillomas resemble common warts. Sometimes the pubic hair or foreskin of uncircumcised men can hide papillomas, making them difficult to see.
Papillomas can vary in size and increase, often growing back after removal. Intraductal papillomas are usually 1 to 2 cm but can be slightly larger. Most intraductal papillomas are not cancerous, but 17-20% are cancerous. In addition to this fact, it should be noted that approximately 20% of intraductal papillomas contain abnormal cells.
Can papillomas disappear by themselves?
Papillomas can disappear mainly with treatment. If papillomas are not treated, they may disappear independently, remain the same, or increase in size. As the immune system strengthens, the immune response will be strengthened and most likely resolve the papilloma infection. Most papillomas will resolve on their own and disappear within three months.
Doctors can treat papillomas using the following methods:
- cauterization, which involves burning the tissue and then scraping it off with a curettage
- excision, in which the doctor surgically removes the papillomas
- laser surgery, a procedure that destroys the wart with high-energy laser light
- cryotherapy or tissue thawing
- applying liquid nitrogen or injecting it into the papillomas
For the destruction of the papilloma, drugs that apply to the papilloma tissue are also used:
- 5-fluorouracil
- cantharidin
- imiquimod
Interesting reading: How to remove papillomas
Interesting reading: Skin growth
