How Are Warts Diagnosed and Treated?
Healthcare providers can diagnose a wart by its appearance. If individuals have a wart, they should see a professional who can examine the wart, determine exactly what is growing on the skin, and recommend the best treatment. In the case of genital warts, a doctor may also screen a woman for cervical cancer by performing a pelvic exam, including a Pap smear. In some cases, warts eventually disappear without any treatment. However, if a person has several warts or if the warts are painful or seem to be spreading, several possible treatments exist.
Over-the-counter medicines containing salicylic (sah-lih-SIH-lik) acid can remove common warts. Depending on the particular brand of medicine, the person may be able to paint it on or may be able to use a stick-on patch that attaches directly to the wart. These over-the-counter medicines can take longer than other treatments do, but they are painless. People who have diabetes or other conditions that affect the circulatory system should first consult with a doctor before using these over-the-counter medicines.
Another typical treatment for common warts and also for plantar warts is cryotherapy, or freezing. In cryotherapy, a medical professional freezes the wart with a special chemical. Afterward, a scab develops as the skin heals. Plantar warts can be difficult to treat, however, because most of the wart is located beneath the surface of the skin. Medical professionals may use electrosurgery to burn plantar warts--and also sometimes common warts--with a tool that uses an electric current. Sometimes, a doctor will recommend an acid-containing chemical peel to treat flat warts, which grow in such large bunches that the other types of treatments usually are not efficient. These chemicals, which are applied to the skin, eventually peel away the warts. Doctors also may use laser treatment to destroy any type of wart that proves difficult to remove. In some cases, doctors may use a cream called imiquimod, which is applied to the site of the wart and stimulates the body's immune system to fight the HPV.
Genital warts require treatment from a doctor. To remove them, doctors may use cryotherapy, lasers, medicines that can be applied directly to the warts, or surgery. If a woman has had genital warts, doctors may advise her to have Pap smears more often. In some cases, certain types of HPV infection can lead to cancer of the cervix, and a Pap smear allows the doctor to find and treat the disease in its early stages.
Can Warts Be Prevented?
It can be very difficult for people to protect themselves from common, flat, and plantar warts, because they are so common, and the virus spreads so easily. In addition, individuals can come into contact with HPV many months or even a year before a wart grows big enough to see, so it is often impossible to know for sure where and how they got the virus. If people have a wart, it is best for other people not to touch it. It is also advisable to avoid sharing towels and washcloths with someone who has a wart and to wear sandals at public showers or pools or in locker rooms, to avoid infection. The prevention of genital warts can be difficult, because skin-to-skin contact spreads them. Condoms may limit the spread of genital warts, but because some warts grow on the skin around the genitals and on the buttocks, a condom may not cover every one of them, making it still possible for the HPV to pass between sexual partners. Abstaining from sex with a person who has genital warts is the safest choice.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration licensed a vaccine to fight HPV infection. Medical professionals recommend the vaccine, called Gardasil, for all girls and young women. Studies were under way to determine if it can also protect others groups of people, including boys and men, from HPV infections.
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