A: A wart itself is the result of infection of the skin with HPV. Warts do not generally become infected with bacteria, unless they are scratched, cut or otherwise injured in some way. In such cases, it is possible that bacteria may enter the wart or surrounding area, and a bacterial infection may result, causing pain, discoloration and other symptoms.
If you are concerned that a wart may be infected, it is advisable to consult a doctor. Q: Should I be concerned about common warts during pregnancy? A: No, infection with HPV should not pose any risk to your baby.
As in any case of common warts, no treatment may be necessary, though options are available over the counter and from doctors.
Q: Does duct tape work on common warts? A: Occasionally recommended as a home remedy for warts, duct tape has not been confirmed as an effective treatment. Research is conflicting, but some people believe that doing the following may help to get rid of a common wart:. Results may only be seen after a number of weeks, if at all.
Duct tape can cause skin irritation, bleeding and pain when removed. It should never be used in sensitive areas, such as the underarms or face.
Q: What are the signs that a common wart is going away? This may happen on its own or with treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Accessed October 16, Mayo Clinic. Accessed August 15, Accessed August 17, NHS inform. Accessed February 24, American Academy of Dermatology. Accessed August 16, Journal of drugs in dermatology. The Egyptian Journal of Dermatology and Venereology. Accessed October 19, Bellflower Clinic. Dermatology Associates of Atlanta, PC. Genital Warts.
Accessed October 17, Penn State Hershey. HPV infects the top layer of skin. It usually enters the body in an area of broken skin. The virus causes the top layer of skin to grow very fast, forming a wart. The main way to prevent warts is to avoid contact with the human papillomavirus HPV that causes warts. If you are exposed to this virus, you may or may not get warts, depending on how susceptible you are to the virus.
Here are some tips to help avoid HPV. You can help prevent warts from spreading. Keep your warts covered with a bandage or athletic tape. Don't bite your nails or cuticles, as this may spread warts from one finger to another. Plantar warts occur on the soles of the feet. They look like hard, thick patches of skin with dark specks. Multiple plantar warts can form in a large, flat cluster known as a "mosaic wart.
Common warts appear most often on the hands. But they may appear anywhere on the body. They are rough, gray-brown, dome-shaped growths. They may have a cauliflower-like appearance.
Flat warts are usually found on the face, arms, or legs. They are small usually smaller than the eraser on the end of a pencil , and there are usually several in one area. They have flat tops and can be pink, light brown, or light yellow.
Flat warts are often spread by shaving. Watchful waiting is a wait-and-see approach. It's often okay to try this approach with warts, because they generally go away on their own within months or years.
But you may want to consider treating a wart to prevent it from spreading to other parts of your body or to other people. You can try a nonprescription wart treatment for 2 to 3 months before deciding to see a doctor. They generally go away on their own within months or years. But if you have warts that are painful or are spreading, or if you're bothered by the way they look, your treatment choices include:.
Surgery is more likely to leave scars. That's why it's mostly used to treat warts that are hard to remove or that keep coming back. Wart treatment doesn't always work. Even after a wart shrinks or goes away, warts may come back or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments destroy the wart but don't kill the virus that causes the wart.
Plantar warts can be on any part of the foot. But they cause the most discomfort when they are on a pressure point such as the heel. You can help reduce plantar wart pain by doing these things. Studies are now enrolling in Arkansas.
Florida, Ohio, New York, and Texas. Browse enrolling studies in your area and apply to see if you qualify! Join a Study! Contact Us. Which Location? Please Select One All rights reserved. Privacy Policy. Website by. Warts cover the lines and creases in the skin—this is one way to tell a wart from other skin conditions, such as skin tags or moles.
Human papillomaviruses can live on healthy skin without causing infection. But when a human papillomavirus enters the body through small breaks in the skin, it can infect the skin cells beneath the surface, causing a wart to grow. Watchful waiting is a period of time during which you and your doctor observe your symptoms or condition without using medical treatment. It is often appropriate treatment for warts, because they generally go away on their own within months or years.
But you may want to consider treating a wart to prevent it from spreading to other parts of your body or to other people. You can try a nonprescription wart treatment for 2 to 3 months before deciding to see a doctor. In rare cases, more testing is done. If the diagnosis of a skin condition is unclear or if you are at high risk for having skin cancer, your doctor may take a sample of the growth and examine it a skin biopsy.
A biopsy is usually done if a skin growth is darker than the skin surrounding it, appears as an irregular patch on the skin, bleeds, or is large and growing rapidly. Proper diagnosis of plantar warts is important. Some wart treatments can cause scarring. Not all warts need to be treated.
They generally go away on their own within months or years. This may be because, with time, your immune system is able to destroy the human papillomavirus that causes warts. The goal of wart treatment is to destroy or remove the wart without creating scar tissue, which can be more painful than the wart itself.
How a wart is treated depends on the type of wart, its location, and its symptoms. Also important is your willingness to follow a course of treatment that can last for weeks or months.
Wart treatment isn't always successful. Even after a wart shrinks or disappears, warts may return or spread to other parts of the body. This is because most treatments only destroy the wart and don't kill the virus that causes the wart.
Many people don't treat warts unless they are unsightly or painful. You can treat warts yourself with:. If your child has a wart, treatment probably isn't needed. That's because warts often go away on their own. But if the wart is on your child's face or genitals or is painful or spreading, your child should see a doctor for treatment. Otherwise, it is usually safe to treat a wart at home with duct tape or salicylic acid.
If the wart doesn't start to improve within 2 weeks, see your doctor. For more information, see Home Treatment. If you have diabetes or peripheral arterial disease, talk to your doctor before you try home treatment for warts.
It's important to distinguish a plantar wart from a callus before choosing a treatment. Wart treatment applied to a callus may be painful or create scar tissue.
Plantar warts are often hard to treat because they lie beneath the skin. A doctor may need to pare the skin over a wart to help the medicine penetrate the wart. The main way to prevent warts is to avoid contact with the human papillomavirus HPV that causes warts.
If you are exposed to this virus, you may or may not get warts, depending on how susceptible you are to the virus. Home treatment is often the first treatment used for warts. When done properly, home treatment is usually less painful than surgical treatment.
If you are uncertain that a skin growth is a wart, or if you have diabetes, peripheral arterial disease, or other major illnesses that may affect your treatment, it is best to see a health professional. Salicylic acid treatments are often effective. They aren't very painful, aren't very expensive, and usually don't cause scarring.
Salicylic acid is a good treatment for children because it isn't very painful. For treatment to be successful, salicylic acid must be applied on a regular basis, usually for a number of months.
Folk remedies, such as rubbing a wart with a bean, may have an effect on a wart. But such treatment may simply coincide with the natural disappearance of a wart. If you decide to treat your warts, both nonprescription and prescription medicines are available. Other medicines used for warts include 5-fluorouracil, which is more often used on genital warts , and cimetidine.
Cimetidine can be taken by mouth orally or as an injection. As with any medicine, talk to your doctor before using a wart medicine if you are or may be pregnant. Some wart medicines may cause birth defects. Surgery is an option if home treatment and treatment at your doctor's office have failed. Surgery for warts is usually quick and effective. No single surgical method is more effective than another in removing warts.
Generally, doctors start with the surgical method that is least likely to cause scarring. A wart may return after surgery, because surgery removes the wart but doesn't destroy the virus that causes the wart.
The type of surgery used to remove warts depends on the warts' type, location, and size. Curettage, electrosurgery, and laser surgery are more likely than cryotherapy to leave scars, so they are usually reserved for hard-to-remove or recurring warts. If you have a large area of warts, curettage may not be an effective treatment.
Cryotherapy , which uses a very cold liquid to freeze a wart, is the most commonly used procedure that doesn't involve medicine to treat warts. This procedure poses little risk of scarring but can be painful. Gabica MD - Family Medicine. Author: Healthwise Staff. This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise, Incorporated, disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. Learn how we develop our content.
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