Wart on Eyelids-Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Wart on Eyelids is not a very common problem. But, the people who have these eyelid warts find them very embarrassing because they appear over the face. As these warts are present over the eyelids, people can even find them to be irritating when they try to blink their eyes. Let us explore all the causes, symptoms and treatment options for these eyelid warts.
What is a wart?
We are talking about warts on eyelids in particular over here. But, some people might be aware of warts. So, let us learn about them first. Warts are small and hard growths that appear over the body. They have the same color like our skin. They are mostly painless. But, they can be painful sometimes, like if they appear on soles of the feet.
Warts are caused by a virus called Human Papilloma Virus or HPV. People with weakened immune system have an increased risk of developing these warts. People having some other skin disorders like eczema can also get warts with increased frequency. Some other factors like handing meat, using public showers can also increase the susceptibility to warts.
What is a Filiform wart?
Warts on eyelids are Filiform warts. First, let us look at different types of warts that can occur over the body. There are many different types of warts like the Flat wart, Filiform wart, Genital warts, Mosaic wart, Periungual wart, Plantar wart, etc.
Filiform warts appear completely different in comparison to other types of warts. These warts are long and narrow. They extend about 1 to 2 mm from the skin. They appear over the face, mostly over the eyelids and lips.
Wart on eyelids causes:
Wart on eyelids is Filiform warts. They are caused by Human Papilloma viruses or HPV virus just like all other types of warts. There are many different strains of HPV viruses. There are almost Hundred different strains of HPV. But, only some strains of HPV are capable of causing eyelid warts. The strains of HPV like HPV 1, 2, 4, 27 and 29 are known to cause warts on eyelids or Filiform warts.
HPV virus enters the skin through any abrasion or cut or scratch. Then the virus gets multiplied or it divides in the Epidermal layer of the skin, which is the uppermost layer of the skin. Then it leads to the formation of Filiform warts. All the people who get infected with HPV viruses do not develop warts. People with weakened immune system are more susceptible to develop this wart on eyelids.
Some factors increased the spread of HPV from person to person. So, they increase the risk of developing wart on eyelid. The factors which facilitate spread of HPV infection are:
Weak immune system:
The weak immune system increases the susceptibility to all sorts of infections, including HPV infection. Some pathogens which live as commensals in normal healthy people can also become pathogenic in people with weak immune system.
Cuts in the skin:
The HPV virus cannot enter our body through the intact skin. Any breach of the continuity of the skin like cuts, abrasions, wounds, etc can facilitate easy entry of the HPV virus into the skin.
Warm and moist skin:
After the virus enters the skin, warm and moist environment in the skin facilitates the growth of the virus. So, always try to keep your skin dry to prevent the entry of virus into the skin.
Prolonged exposure to virus:
If you are being exposed to the HPV virus continuously over a long period of time, it increases your risk of developing wart on eyelids.
Wart on eyelids Symptoms:
These eyelid warts are Filiform warts. So, the symptoms of these warts are also similar to Filiform warts. These warts on eyelids are long and narrow. They are at about 1 to 2 mm distance from the eyelid. The color of these warts can be brown, or yellow, or pink or even like skin color or tone. They don’t appear or occur in clusters. They occur like single projection over the eyelid.
In majority of people, wart on eyelids is painless and asymptomatic. They are diagnosed just by looking at them. But, some people can develop symptoms like:
- Discomfort or irritation
- Feeling sore at the site of the wart
- Itching or Pruritus
- Bleeding when you scratch the wart
Wart on eyelids treatment:
There are many treatment options available for getting rid of eyelid warts. Generally, people tend to use many home remedies and over the counter treatments to get rid of warts. Some of these home remedies can be really very effective. But, they should only be used for warts over the body.
The eyelid is a very delicate and sensitive organ or part, as it’s in close proximity to the eyeball. So, we should never use any home remedy without expert advice or opinion. If we do so, we can even end up damaging our eyes due to the ingredients or chemicals present in the wart removal products and remedies.
Most of the treatments are done by an experienced Dermatologist. Let us look at some of the most common treatments used for its treatment:
Surgical removal:
Your dermatologist will give local anesthesia around the wart in order to numb the area and prevent sensing pain by you. Then, he might cut out or excise the wart on eyelid using a blade or sharp scalpel.
Cryotherapy or Freezing:
Liquid nitrogen will be sprayed over the wart by your doctor. This will freeze the wart and help in getting rid of it. Multiple sessions of this therapy might be necessary for it to work properly. It can also lead to pigmentation over the eyelid as a side effect in some people.
Curettage:
It is also called electrosurgery or burning. In this procedure, your doctor will first remove a part of warts with instruments like scalpel. Then he will burn the remainder of the wart with electrical current.
Cantharidin painting:
In this procedure, your doctor will paint a substance called cantharidin over the wart. This leads to the formation of a blister under the wart. Due to this blister, the wart dies over the period of a week. Then after a week, the dermatologist cuts the wart with a blade or scalpel and removes it.
Apple cider vinegar:
Apple Cider vinegar is a very effective home remedy for warts. Just soak a small cotton piece in Apple cider vinegar. Then apply it over the wart and wait for some time. This will help in reducing the warts size. But, don’t use this remedy if you feel burning sensation over the wart. Also, make sure that Apple cider vinegar doesn’t fall into your eyes.
Salicylic acid cream or ointment:
Wash your eyelid with warm water. Then apply salicylic acid cream over the wart with a wet cloth or cotton ball. Do this regularly for few weeks as per the instruction of your doctor. This will help in reducing the size of warts over a period of time.
Some other treatments that might be tried over the wart on eyelid are:
- Chemical peels
- Injection of chemicals into the warts
- Laser removal of wart
- Immunotherapy
- Topical ointments over warts containing ingredients like 5-Fluorouracil, Imiquimod, Benzoyl peroxide, etc.
References:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wart
- http://www.healthline.com/health/skin-disorders/filiform-warts#overview1
- https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/contagious-skin-diseases/warts
