There are thousands, if not millions, of carcinogenic pollutants thriving in our proximal atmosphere and the skin, being a very sensitive tissue, often responds to the environment in a variety of ways. Sometimes the skin may develop a rash, an unhealthy shade of red and much more. Effective diagnosis and knowledge about these unbidden developments on the skin are of paramount importance. What if it is indicative of cancer? What if the growth on the skin is benign? Keeping this in mind, certain abnormal growths on the dermal layer is discussed below.
Warts are essentially ‘bumps’ on the upper dermal layer. The skin appears bloated around these warts and is distinctly observable by any pair of unassuming eyes. Warts are caused by variants of the HPV virus and are mostly harmless unless found in the vicinity of the genital region, which can otherwise can cancer. There are 5 types of warts- common warts, plantar warts, flat warts, filiform warts, periungual warts. Common warts are mostly observed on the fingers and toes and have a darker grayer coloration than the normal skin pigmentation. Plantar warts are not directly visible as they grow into the thick skin of the soles of the feet. Plantar warts can make locomotion uncomfortable. Flat warts, as the name suggests, are flat in appearance, unlike most warts which have a distinct bulging appearance. Flat warts appear on the face, arms or thighs. They are mostly brownish, pink or yellowish in appearance. Filiform warts can be found on the throat, nose, lips or chin. Shaped like a small flap of the skin, these warts have the same color as the skin. Periungual warts grow under the toenails or fingernails. These warts are very painful.
Composed of the same pigment-producing cells in our dermal layer – melanocytes, moles are essentially lesions on the skin. Depending on the exposure to sunlight, UV rays or hormonal flux, the moles might have a darker complexion than skin. Typically moles are localized and do not spread out and some variants might even uneven growth of hair. Usually, moles are indicative of genetic makeup of every individual.
Skin tags can be simply described as the loose flap of skin and are comprised of a type of protein fiber called as collagen. Typically they develop on friction prone areas of the anatomy such as armpits, thighs etc.

There are certain candidates who are very likely to benefit from surgery. Keeping in mind that surgery is always an invasive and uncomfortable procedure, it is often wise to determine if the client in question has no other alternative other than surgery or if he/she has ailments that will prove detrimental to recovery after the procedure.
If warts are on the face of the patient or another sensitive part of the anatomy then it would be better to have the wart scrutinized. If pus formation, swelling, redness or bleeding occurs then it would be best to have the wart checked out immediately or risk getting it septic. If the size or color of the wart changes then it might be possible that the wart is cancerous. Go to a doctor immediately. Finally, since warts are very much prone to infection and quite contagious by themselves, excessive caution must be taken especially if the patient has an immune-deficiency disease like AIDS. It would be practical to have the wart extracted from the body. Similar conditions for cysts, moles and skin tags.