Warts and HPV virus, and can warts turn malignant?

[BrokenGirl]

I've had warts on the top of my right hand for years, around my knuckles and fingers mostly.
There's a lot of them there, but I've had skin problems with that hand for years as well. It can get dry and quite itchy at times, and I also used to get a lot of these small itchy water blister things too.

So I went googling yesterday (I know I shouldn't, but I honestly didn't think any harm would come of this). I just wanted to know about types of warts and wart removal.
Then I learned that they are caused by the HPV virus. That has scared me half to death as now I'm thinking of cervical cancer and other cancers caused by HPV virus.
And I also learned that warts can turn malignant. I always thought warts were benign so now I'm worried about that because I have so many of them. They are mostly small in size but I'd say I have at least 30 or more, some growing in clusters.

Can anyone shed any light on the HPV issue or warts turning malignant?
I hadn't been doing too bad lately but this is really after setting me off again.

[nomorepanic]

I have/had warts on my toes and fingers and have been having treatment for about 8 or 9 years now.

Yes they are caused by the HPV virus and my Crohn's medication reduces my immune system so that doesn't help!

I have never been told they could turn malignant and I have never been told I am at risk because I have the HPV virus so I wouldn't worry about that so much.

I have had many laser treatments on them some with success and others not and tried just about every single wart treatment there is but they come back.

I even had 3 surgically cut out of my toes and they grew back as well.

[WiseMonkey]

Only certain types of HPV can cause cervical, anal and throat cancers and are passed on through sexual/intimate contact. The ones on your hands and legs are not of this variety/type.

[O_O]

Yes - the strain of the virus that causes warts on your fingers is different from the one that causes cervical dysplasia or cancer, or other types of cancer.

I've never heard of warts turning cancerous. I mean, I guess anything on your body has a tiny chance of growing a cancer in it... but I don't think warts are more likely to than anything else.

I had warts on my feet for years, and NOTHING got rid of them. Freezing, medications, doctor treatments, nothing worked. Then I read if you starve then of oxygen they eventually die. I applied clear nail varnish to them every few days for about two months, and all of a sudden they just started vanishing.

Never came back.

So try nail varnish ��

[BlueIris]

To be fair, warts can also vanish at random. I used to have several dozen verrucas on my feet, nothing would shift them, and then one day they all disappeared.

Not sure about the oxygen theory, Jennifer, sorry, because they're going to be receiving oxygen via the bloodstream.

[nomorepanic]

I think it is more to do with air than oxygen as they tell you to wrap them in Duct tape but that never worked for me nor did banana skins!

[O_O]

Maybe not oxygen then... perhaps it was air. Idk, it got rid of every single one of my warts, and it also worked for my dad! He had one on his arm for ages and I told him about the nail varnish - two months on and it's gone. Just left like a white scar.

I think duct tape won't work because you have to starve them continually for weeks. Tape wouldn't do that, and some air might still get to them. But with nail varnish, if you keep reapplying, it really does create a seal.

It seems like nothing is happening then suddenly after a few weeks they just go away.

I don't know how it works tbh but there we go.

[BrokenGirl]

Thanks everyone for the replies and advice.
It's good to know that I'm not the only one with many warts for years, and even better to know that it's a different strain of HPV that causes cancer.

I'd really like to try to get rid of them but I'm not sure at this stage which option I'll try - nail varnish, duct tape, otc medicine or something stronger from the doctor. I'll have a think about it but definitely going to try something because I'm sick to death of them!!