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Warts are a common problem that are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). They are categorized by their shape and location and can be treated with everything from duct tape to lasers.
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Wart Removal Tips
- Warts are categorized by their location and shape.
- Warts can be spread through direct contact.
- Treatments for warts do not cure the virus.
- Most wart treatments take several weeks before they are effective.
- Salicylic acid is the safest treatment and available over the counter.
- Duct tape can be used to remove warts.
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Wart Removal Tips
- Warts are categorized by their location and shape.
- Warts can be spread through direct contact.
- Treatments for warts do not cure the virus.
- Most wart treatments take several weeks before they are effective.
- Salicylic acid is the safest treatment and available over the counter.
- Duct tape can be used to remove warts.
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Disclaimer
The content in this page is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please contact your doctor before using the information presented here.- by Darcy Logan
Introduction
- Warts are caused by viruses in the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. They can grow on every part of your body including the skin, inside of the mouth and the genital area.familydoctor.org: Warts Warts are transmitted through direct contact with a person who is infected with the HPV virus as well as indirect contact in areas such as swimming pools and bathrooms.PubMed Central Clinical Medicine & Research: An Armamentarium of Wart Treatments (December 2006)
Types of Warts
- Warts fall into one of six categories depending on their location and shape.
Common Warts
- Common warts usually form on the hands, especially around the nails, but can form elsewhere.WebMD: Warts and Plantar Warts-Topic Overview They are grey to flesh colored, dome-shaped and covered with rough projections. They can appear alone or in groups.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
Filiform Warts
Periungual Warts
- Periungual warts occur at the nail margins. American Academy of Family Physicians: Molluscum Contagiosum and Warts (March 15, 2003) According to research published by the National Institutes of Health, people who bite their nails often have these warts on several of their nail beds.PubMed Central Clinical Medicine & Research: An Armamentarium of Wart Treatments (December 2006)
Plantar Warts
- Plantar warts only appear on the feet (plantar is the medical term for the sole of the foot).HealthAtoZ: Warts They look like hard, thick patches of skin and may have dark specks caused by blood vessels.
- They grow into the skin rather than outwards like other warts.Skin Care Guide: Types of Warts
- They appear frequently on adolescents who come into contact with the virus in locker rooms, swimming pool areas or by walking barefooted on dirty surfaces, according to eMedicineHealth.eMedicineHealth: Plantar Warts
Flat Warts
Genital Warts
- According to WebMD, genital warts affects 20 million Americans. As many as 6.2 million people contract them each year.WebMD: Understanding Genital Warts Genital warts appear as small growths around the genital area that can be flesh-colored, pink or red. They are not usually painful, but may bleed and itch.WebMD: Sex and Genital Warts (Human Papillomavirus or HPV) They can be very tiny (about 1 millimeter), appear in clusters, and/or look like a cauliflower.
- According to McKinley Health Center, less than 5 percent of people with genital HPV will develop warts.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts
- Of the 100 types of HPV viruses, WebMD states that 30 of them are transmitted through sexual contact (oral, vaginal or anal).WebMD: Understanding Genital Warts
- Condoms do not offer total protection against genital warts, according to McKinley Health Center.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts
- Two-thirds of people who are intimate with an infected partner will get genital warts, according to WebMD.WebMD: Understanding Genital Warts
- McKinley Health Center advises that over-the-counter treatments are not intended and should not be used to treat genital warts.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts
- Two strains of HPV (HPV-16 and HPV-18) account for about 70 percent of cervical cancers.WebMD: Sex and Genital Warts (Human Papillomavirus or HPV)
- A vaccine has been approved that protects against four strains of the HPV virus.WebMD: Sex and Genital Warts (Human Papillomavirus or HPV) For more information about the vaccine, check out the Centers for Disease Control's site on the human papillomavirus.Centers for Disease Control: Human Papillomavirus Infection
Treating Warts
- Although there are a variety of treatments for warts, most are only available from your physician. Currently there is no cure for the HPV virus. Instead, treatment will simply eliminating the signs and symptoms of the virus. Which treatment is used will depend on a variety of factors such as the type of wart. Not all treatments are fully effective in all patients.PubMed Central Clinical Medicine & Research: An Armamentarium of Wart Treatments (December 2006) Some of the more popular treatments used are listed below.
Salicylic Acid
- Salicylic acid is the chemical found in most over the counter wart remedies. It is inexpensive, causes little or no pain, and cures warts 75 percent of the time. It takes a daily application for about two to three months.WebMD: Should I Treat Warts or Plantar Warts? It works by softening the skin layers so they can be rubbed off.WebMD: Warts and Plantar Warts-Topic Overview It works best when applied to damp skin and if you keep the area covered.familydoctor.org: Warts Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure
Duct Tape
- Using duct tape, also called tape occlusion, is an inexpensive safe method of removing warts. It has an 85 percent cure rate, according to WebMD.WebMD: Should I Treat Warts or Plantar Warts? For it to work, the person must leave duct tape on the wart for six days. Then, they soak the area in water and rub it with an emery board or pumice stone. The tape is then replaced twelve hours later.WebMD: Duct Tape Gets Rid of Warts
Podofilox (Condylox)
- A 0.5% solution or gel of podofilox (condylox) can be used to treat genital warts. It is applied to the wart twice a day three times a week for three to four weeks.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts It can not be applied internally and is not recommended during pregnancy.MayoClinic.com: Genital Warts
Podophyllin
- Podophyllin is a chemical that can burn wart tissue. It is applied in the doctor's office and usually requires multiple visits.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts A purified form of podophyllin called podophyllotoxin is available for patient use.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure
Vitamin A
- Vitamin A can be used in one of two ways to treat warts:
- Retinoids or retinoid cream (also known as Retin-A or Avita) can disrupt the wart's skin cell growth.WebMD: Warts and Plantar Warts-Topic Overview
- It is available as a cream or an oral medication.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- Vitamin acid (Tretinoid) is also used to help reduce or eliminate warts.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure
Cantharone
- Cantharone or Cantharidin is a substance derived from the blister beetle. Although the application is painless, it causes inflammation and blistering within a few hours that can be uncomfortable. The blistering lifts the wart off the skin.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts It may be injected or painted onto the wart.WebMD: Warts and Plantar Warts-Topic Overview familydoctor.org: Warts Two concentrations of this drug exist. The stronger version combines cantharidin with podophyllin and salicylic acid.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure
Bichloracetic Acid
Cryotherapy
- Cyrotherapy involves using liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart. It is relatively painless and works by causing a blister to form under the wart.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts It typically requires more than one office visit.MayoClinic.com: Genital Warts It can be used in combination with other treatments.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure
Surgery
- Surgery can be done by either cutting away the wart tissue or using an electrical current applied with a needle to burn off warts, known as electrodesiccation or electrocautery.MayoClinic.com: Genital Warts It requires the a local anesthetic and can cause scarring.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure Surgery can leave a scar and is usually reserved for warts that haven't responded to other treatment.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
CO2 Laser
- A CO2 laser uses light to vaporizes water in the skin and destroy the tissue.Skin Care Guide: Wart Treatment by Type of Drug and Procedure It is expensive and may leave a scar.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts It is used for larger warts that haven't responded to other treatments.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts
Immunotherapy (Imiquimod and Interferon)
- Immunotherapy is designed to use your own immune system to destroy the wart. These methods are usually more expensive and dangerous, so they are typically considered after other methods have failed.WebMD: Warts and Plantar Warts-Topic Overview
- Imiquimod (Aldara) can be used for both genital and common warts.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts It can weaken condoms and diaphragms.MayoClinic.com: Genital Warts
- Interferon is an antiviral drug that is injected into the wart. It can have toxic side effects and is expensive.McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts
Bleomycin (Blenoxane)
- Bleomycin (Blenoxane) is an injection that is not frequently used to treat warts.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts According to WebMD, its success rate can vary from between 16 to 94 percent. It is painful and can cause scarring, nail damage and changes in skin color.WebMD: Other Treatment for Warts
Trichoroacetic Acid
- Trichoroacetic acid (TCA) is a chemical treatment that burns wart tissue. It must be applied by a doctor and usually requires more than one office visit.MayoClinic.com: Genital Warts McKinley Health Center: Genital Warts There is a higher chance of recurrence when using and it may cause pain and burning.eMedicineHealth.com: Genital Warts (HPV)
Preventing Warts
- Since warts are caused by a virus, there are some things you can do to help prevent contracting the virus as well as prevent from spreading it to other people.
- OSF Healthcare suggests people to wash their hands frequently, especially after touching a wart.OSF Healthcare: Warts
- Use soap and disinfectant on any cuts or scratches, which are susceptible to warts.OSF Healthcare: Warts
- The Mayo Clinic advises that you can avoid infecting others by not brushing, clipping and shaving areas with warts.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- Don't use the same nail file or nail clipper on your warts as you do your nails.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- Don't bite your fingernails if you have warts near them, according to the Mayo Clinic.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- Don't pick at warts.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- Cover children's warts with an adhesive bandage to prevent them from picking at it.MayoClinic.com: Common Warts
- WebMD advises people to keep their hands as dry as possible because warts are harder to control in moist areas.WebMD: Skin Conditions: Warts
- Use shower or thongs in public shower rooms.eMedicineHealth: Plantar Warts
- EmedicineHealth suggests that people should avoid walking barefoot.eMedicineHealth: Plantar Warts
- Avoid direct contact with warts from other people.eMedicineHealth: Plantar Warts
- Cover warts with waterproof tape in wet environments to avoid infecting others.eMedicineHealth: Plantar Warts
- Do not have sex with anyone who has visible signs of genital warts.WebMD: Skin Conditions: Warts
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