Is it true that warts appear from touching toad?

The fear is widespread that warts will appear on the skin of a person who will touch this amphibian. We decided to check if the toads are really to blame.

In the mythology of many peoples of toads Binded with witchcraft, and this amphibian could used like in rituals For attracting wealth, prosperity, Good luckand for guidance damage And diseases. Powder From the toad traditionally Counted indispensable Ingredient witchcraft potions. And today, people continue to treat these amphibians with distrust and caution. Psychologists They even distinguish separate The type of phobia is buffonophobia, fear of toads and frogs. Many Internet users tell how in childhood they heard a warning from adults: if touch toad, then on the skin will appear Warts. 

Warts are benign neoplasms Skin that can occur in any area of ​​the skin. Typically, warts pass on their own (this process is called regression), but in some cases the doctor can offer their removal. To get rid of warts, both the surgical method and coagulation (cauterization) or destruction with liquid nitrogen are used.

Cause The occurrence of warts is the human papillomavirus (HPV). Most often it is transmitted sexually or from the mother to the fetus, in some cases possible broadcast Contact-household Throughout, including through touch. To date, scientists Determined And Described more than 200 genotypes HPV. More than 660 million people in the world (12% of the total population of the planet) infected This virus.

Some types of HPV contribute the development of cancer of the cervix, external penis, penis, anus, oral cavity and pharynx. More 95% Cases of cervical cancer are caused by HPV. In 2020 in Russia 3400 women Sick cervical cancer, 699 of them died, in 2021 Identified more than 5000 cases. In this case, they exist types HPV with low oncogenic risk, it is because of them that warts arise.

Moreover, infection with any type of HPV optional accompanied by the appearance of warts. In order for the virus to appear on the skin and mucous membranes, a catalyst is needed, for example, a deterioration in the work of the immune system. IN risk group Children, people with chronic skin pathologies and people who have recently suffered inflammatory diseases. A large number of bodily contacts can be a similar catalyst. That is why children who interact tactilely with each other and together play sports often face the problem of the appearance of warts.

Exists Several vaccines from HPV, which effectively prevent the negative consequences caused by the virus. So, for example, there is a vaccine from the 6th and 11th types of HPV, causing more than 90% of spicy warts, as well as from viruses with high oncogenic risk (types 16, 18, 31, etc.). It is advised to vaccine before the first sexual relations, but vaccination is possible after the start of sexual activity.

The papilloma virus can occur at animals. Harald Tsur Hausen, doctor and virologist, who received the Nobel Prize in medicine for study HPV and identifying the connection of the virus with cervical cancer, in particular, distinguished papillomaviruses from rabbit warts. Papillomavirus can infect cats, dogs And others animals, including toadsbut toads cannot infect a person to them. The human papilloma virus is transmitted from person to person, which, in principle, follows from his name. The toad infects a toad, a cat - a cat, and a man - a man.

So, having touched the toad, to become infected with a person’s papillomavirus and it will definitely not be able to cover the warts. However, this does not mean that it is worth touching all the toads met. Poisonous discharge from their skin and mucous membranes can cause irritation on the human body. In addition, toads can To be carriers of the bacteria of Salmonella, the causative agent of salmonellosis. The myth that the toads are infected with warts is most likely caused by the appearance of animals: tubercles on their skin - mumps - really look like warts, but In fact These are poisonous glands.

Image on the cover: Kuebi = Armin Kübelbeck, CC by-SA 3.0Via Wikimedia Commons

Not true

What do our verdicts mean?

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