What are warts?
![Warts are a common skin problem that can happen in both kids and adults. Warts are not caused by being dirty, but by viruses in the HPV family.](https://images.medicinenet.com/images/article/main_image/what-are-warts-caused-by.jpg?resize=650px:*&output-quality=75)
Wartsare a common skin problem that can happen in both kids and adults. If you’ve had one, you know that they can be uncomfortable, painful, or even embarrassing. But do you know what causeswarts? Here’s what you need to know.
Warts are small lumps or skin growths that usually pop up on your hands orfeet. You can have a single wart or they may grow in clusters. Warts can vary in appearance and even though some look cancerous, they are harmless. Anyone can get warts, but kids andteensare more prone to them.
Warts usually are the same color as your skin and have a rough texture when you touch them. Sometimes they can be flat and smooth in texture and either dark brown or gray in color. They can also vary in size. Occasionally, warts may be black in color with seed-like dots on them.
There are many kinds of warts. Some of the most common kinds include:
- Common wartsthat appear on your elbows, face, and knees
- Flat warts that grow in clusters on the backs of your hands, legs, and face
- Filiform warts that grow on your eyelids, face, neck, or lips
- Genital wartsfound on your genitals or in the genital area
- 足底和出现在手掌疣soles of your feet (plantar) or palms of your hands (palmar)
- Periungual warts that look like thick skin growing around your nails
What causes warts?
There are many myths about how you get warts. The cause is actually an infection of thehuman papillomavirus(HPV). There are more than 100 kinds ofHPVthat can cause different types of warts. HPVvirusescan be passed from one person to another by close physical contact or by touching something that’s been infected. The infections can grow anywhere on your skin or where you havemucusmembranes, like your mouth or genitals.
Once you’ve been infected with HPV, it can take up to a year for the warts to grow and become visible. After appearing, they grow really slowly over the next months or even years. Since there are many viruses in the HPV family, it’s possible that you’ve built up immunity to some kinds but not others.
You’re more likely to develop warts if your skin is damaged by a scratch or cut since these are places for infection. Warts arecontagiousso it’s easy to get warts in public places likeswimmingpools or public showers where people are barefoot. Even touching something like a dirty towel or bathmat that’s been infected with the HPV virus can lead to warts.
Treatment and care
Warts are harmless and about half of them will disappear on their own within a year or two. They can linger around longer in adults or people that have weakened immune systems. If your warts aren’t causing you any problems, there isn’t a medical reason to treat them. Even so, some people feel embarrassed by them so there are several wart treatments that you can try.
Home care.To treat your wart at home, make sure that you keep it covered with a bandage or waterproof tape. This keeps the HPV virus from spreading to other parts of your body or to someone else. Any time that you touch the wart or change the bandage, make sure that you wash your hands with soap and water to kill off any germs on your hands.
You can get wart treatments at many pharmacies without a prescription. These are usually paints or ointments that contain salicylic or lactic acid that peel away layers of infected skin. These treatments can take a few months to work and are usually most effective on the hands. To be most effective, soak your wart in warm water for 10 minutes and then rub the infected skin with a pumice stone. Apply the treatment and then cover the wart.
Remember that warts are stubborn and it may take a while for them to go away. Treatments aren’t guaranteed to work and warts may still persist.
Seeing a doctor.If your wart isn’t clearing up, you can see your doctor or dermatologist for help. Your doctor can freeze off stubborn warts through cryosurgery. To do so, your doctor will apply liquid nitrogen to the wart. It should fall off within the next few days. For warts that are really hard to remove, your doctor can try to get rid of them through laser surgery.
Your doctor may advise you to continue withover-the-countertreatments even after cryosurgery or laser surgery to make sure that the wart goes away.
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Top Are Warts Caused by Being Dirty Related Articles
Are Warts Contagious?
Human papillomaviruses cause warts, which are small growths with a rough texture. Warts may cause symptoms and signs such as pain, itching, bleeding, and discomfort depending upon their location. Salicylic acide may effectively treat some warts.Can Genital Warts Be Mistaken for Herpes?
What is the Difference between genital warts and herpes, and, can genital warts be mistaken for herpes?Can Toothpaste Get Rid of Warts?
Though toothpaste is one of the popular home remedies for getting rid of warts, it is advised to not use toothpaste on your warts because it can do more harm than good by irritating your skin. Some people have reported warts getting smaller by applying toothpaste on them.Genital Warts in Men (HPV)
The HPV virus (genital warts) in men can cause health problems. Genital warts are confined primarily to the moist skin of the genitals or around the anus. Genital warts are caused by the human papillomaviruses (HPVs), which are transmitted through sexual contact.Genital Warts (HPV) Infection in Women
Genital warts is a sexually transmitted infection (STI, STD) caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). It is the most common STD in the US. The warts can appear anywhere on the skin where sexual contact has occurred.
The warts look like raised, flesh-colored lumps or bumps that have a cauliflower-like appearance. Signs and symptoms of genital warts in women include vaginal, vulva, or groin pain, itching, and burning where the wart(s) is.
Treatment can remove warts or lesions, but it does not prevent spread of the virus, and the warts usually grow back. Removing genital warts does not prevent the infection from spreading elsewhere on the body.
没有治疗生殖器疣,还有no vaccine to prevent them; however, there is a vaccine to prevent infection from four common types of HPV. Gardasil vaccine available for female adolescents and teens to prevent HPV infection and cervical cancer.
How Do You Get Rid of Warts?
Learn what medical treatments can help you get rid of warts.How Long Do Genital Warts Last?
Genital wart is an infectious skin condition caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The medical term for genital warts is ‘condyloma acuminata,’ and it is a sexually transmitted disease (STD).How to Get Rid of Common Warts Fast
Common, plantar, and genital warts are growths on the outer layer of the skin (epidermis) caused by the humanpapilloma virus (HPV). Home remedies touted to get rid of common warts fast include garlic, vitamin C paste, and duct tape; however, none of these methods have been proven to work.
Over-the-counter drugs (OTC) used to get rid of warts include cryotherapy (freezing the wart). Doctors that treat warts are skin specialist called Dermatologists.
Is It Genital Warts or Skin Tags?
How do I know if I have genital warts or skin tags? Learn about each condition and how to tell the difference.Warts (Common Warts)
Common warts are skin growths causes by the human papillomavirus. There are many types of warts, including plantar warts, common hand warts, warts under the nails, mosaic wars, and flat warts. Over-the-counter treatments typically involve the use of salicylic acid products.Types of Warts
Plantar warts, genital warts, common warts, flat warts, and filiform warts are caused by infection with members of the human papillomavirus (HPV) family. The main symptom of a wart is a fleshy growth. Most warts resolve within a few months to 2 years. A weak immune system may be a risk factor for warts in the genital region and elsewhere.What Are the Symptoms & Signs of Genital Warts?
Of all warts, 30% will subside within the first four months of infection. A genital wart is a type of sexually transmitted disease appearing in various sizes and shapes. Some people get a few warts, whereas some get many.What Are Warts Caused By?
What are warts caused by?What Is the Fastest Way To Get Rid of Genital Warts?
Genital warts or HPV (human papillomavirus) are very common. There is no cure but there are fast treatments to help get rid of them. Learn what they are.