Why do you get warts?
Warts are caused by an infection with a virus called Human Papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes an excess amount of keratin,
a hard protein, to develop in the top layer of the skin. This extra keratin produces the rough, hard texture of a wart.
What can you do for warts?
When someone has a healthy immune system, a wart will often go away on its own, but this process may take some time. In the
meantime, the virus that causes warts can spread to other parts of the body, leading to more warts. Treatment can help a wart clear
more quickly.
Treatment available for warts
The goal of treatment is to destroy the wart and stimulate an immune system response to fight the virus.
Our doctor may suggest one of the following approaches:
- Stronger peeling medicine (salicylic acid). Salicylic acid works by removing layers of a wart a little bit at a time.
It is more effective when combined with freezing.
- Freezing - Freezing therapy done at a doctor's office involves applying liquid nitrogen to your wart. Freezing works by
causing a blister to form under and around your wart. Then, the dead tissue sloughs off within a week or so.
- Other methods by using acids. If salicylic acid or freezing isn't working, your doctor may try trichloroacetic acid. With
this method, the doctor first shaves the surface of the wart and then applies the acid with a wooden toothpick.
It requires repeat treatments every week or so.
- Minor surgery. Your doctor can cut away the bothersome tissue. It may leave a scar in the treated area.
- Laser treatment. Pulsed-dye laser treatment burns (cauterizes) tiny blood vessels. The infected tissue eventually dies,
and the wart falls off. The evidence for the effectiveness of this method is limited, and it can cause pain and scarring.
