Warts are benign growths that develop on the skin or inside the mouth and are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
While there are different types of HPV, only a few cause warts. Warts are usually harmless, but some can become painful.
While warts can be stubborn, many effective treatment options help you get rid of them.
Below are the types of Warts
Warts vary in appearance based on their type. They may appear:
They can range from 1 mm in size to a few centimetres. You may find a solitary wart or several clustered together in the same area. While you will be able to identify a wart yourself, see a dermatologist if you are unsure about any new skin growth.
Warts are caused when the HPV enters your skin through small cuts or wounds. Once inside, it stimulates excess cell growth, which causes the outer layer of the skin to become thicker and harder, thus forming a wart.
The HPV usually affects moist, soft and injured skin.
Since a virus causes warts, they are contagious. Due to this, they can spread through direct or indirect contact.
Warts are easily identifiable by their physical appearance and medical history. If your dermatologist suspects a wart, they will perform a biopsy to confirm the presence of the HPV.
This is done by scarping off the topmost layer of the wart to check for dark pinpoint dots. The scraped tissue sample is sent to the laboratory to rule out other skin lesions.
The good news is that warts resolve by themselves without treatment most often. However, warts do not easily disappear in adults as in children. Though warts are otherwise harmless, they must be treated by a dermatologist.
The most commonly used treatments for warts include:
This is the most commonly used treatment for warts in adults. It is a painful procedure.
The wart is painted with cantharidin. This medication causes blister formation under the wart. After a week, the dermatologist can clip off the dead wart.
This involves scraping the wart before electrosurgery.
Surgical removal of the wart.
If the warts do not respond to the above treatment, dermatologists may use the following options:
The most commonly used treatments for warts include:
Since warts can spread, getting them treated as soon as possible is important.
Warts are commonly seen in skin growths that can spread. While you may think warts are harmless, they do spread. For this reason, warts must be treated as soon as possible. Unsure about the skin growth? Get it checked by our experienced dermatologist today!
Warts are non-cancerous and generally harmless. However, they are caused by a virus and are contagious (can spread). They can become bothersome when they affect daily life or appearance.
Warts are relatively common, affecting 10% of the global population. They are more common in school-going children and, because they are viral in nature, more commonly seen in immunocompromised people.
Yes, warts are contagious because they are caused by HPV.
Some doctor-prescribed at-home wart removal treatments are safe and effective. However, never rip away or cut open a wart at home. This can result in infections or other complications.
Around 65% of the warts go away by themselves in a year or two. If you are immunocompromised, warts may need extra help to resolve.
Here are some ways to prevent the spreading of warts:
Though warts can go away by themselves, they may cause complications like:
Cryotherapy is the quickest and the most commonly used wart removal method. This therapy removes around 70% of the wart in 3 to 4 sessions.
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