Written by Dr Tim Phillips
The reference used for this article is a handy website set up by dermatologists which is also a helpful resource for information on many skin conditions; Reference Dermnet : www.dermnetnz. .org
Recapping the last article, warts are a skin infection caused by the HPV virus.
They come in many shapes and sizes.
The warts virus spreads by skin to skin contact.
It is also be spread by picking or scratching and by normal activity like shaving
The virus grows its seeds in injured skin. Warts under the fingernail, for example might come from scratching a wart somewhere else. Scratching a wart might even result in a line of warts growing along the scratch.
Warts on bottoms and genitals, for example, might have accidentally spread from fingers, which have scratched an injured wart on a knee, then wiping a bottom (oh dear, washing hands has never been so important).
Sneaky warts . . . .
A wart may not appear for 12 months.
Some warts are flat so can only be seen on certain angles
Some warts mimic skin cancers and have to be removed to be 'checked'
Warts in armpits can be spread by shaving without noticing
Kissing a frog* with a wart might give you (a) a prince (b) a wart on your lip
How warts travel
Humans naturally shed warts virus.
80% of people can be carrying the HPV virus and sharing it during 'close' moments.
Cancers like cervical cancer are a risk for everyone who is sexually active
The HPV virus is also shed by hands so people can accidentally spread their own warts virus into the wrong places. So if you have a wart in an embarrassing spot, it's not necessarily cause to accuse your partner, it's just a wart and it could have gotten there randomly. Either way it's important to get checked.
Elephant warts travel with trunks (tah dah!)
Sexy (actually not so sexy) warts . . . .
HPV virus is a normal part of being human and it also cause cancers like cervical cancer
Warts on hands can spread the wart virus to other people
Condoms are common sense
The HPV vaccine is brilliant. It helps to protect the next generation from cervical cancer.
You can get the vaccination at your local GP practice
Warts love cigarettes . . . .
Warts come back more often in tobacco smokers.
*. . . . beware the infectious kiss of the smoking frog
Does a wart need to be treated ?
If it's on a mucus membrane in an adult, YES, definitely, simply because it might trigger a cancer later on; otherwise . . . maybe not;
Children have excellent immune systems and without treatment, 50% of warts are gone within six months, and 90% in 2 years.
Warts are slower to clear in adults, they often do go away, eventually!
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