WARTS

Warts are skin growth caused by Human Papillomavirus (HPV). There are about 130 known types of HPV, some of them cause the skin to produce warts. HPV stimulates accelerated growth of cells to the skin’s outer layer, resulting in warts.

TYPES OF WARTS

Flat

Flat warts are smoother, flatter, and smaller than common warts, and generally occur on the face. This type of wart is more common in children than in adults.

Plantar

Plantar warts usually appear as flesh-colored or light brown lumps that are flecked with small blood vessels, which appear as black dots. Plantar warts occur on the bottom of the feet.

Common

A common wart is a raised wart with a rough surface that can occur anywhere on the body but is most often found on the hands.

Genital

Genital warts can appear in the pubic region, on the genitals, in or around the anus, and in the vagina. They look like small pink or red growths. Genital warts usually grow in clusters of two or three and can spread and grow rapidly. Mild pain, itching, and bleeding can occur. HPV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse and is the most common sexually transmitted disease in North America. 

CAUSES & TREATMENT

Causes:  Warts are caused through direct contact with someone who has HPV, which is contagious. They can also be spread by an object used by the person with the virus.

Treatment: Warts are generally harmless, but genital warts should be taken seriously. There are many treatment options for warts, although often warts reappears after treatment, and sometimes multiple types of treatment are necessary, which includes:

In this treatment, liquid nitrogen is used to freeze the wart. A blister forms around the wart and the dead tissues fall off within about a week.

Some medications can be applied to the wart to help it form a blister and fall off, such as Cantharidin. Other drugs, such as Bleomycin, are injected into the wart to kill the virus. Aldara is a prescription cream used to treat genital warts.

When other treatment fails, minor surgery may be considered. The wart will be cut away, and then the base of the wart will be destroyed using electric needle or by dep freezing.

This procedure uses an intense beam of light (the laser) to burn and destroy wart tissues.