Though warts can appear at any age, they tend to affect school-aged children and their incidence peaks between the ages of 12-16 years. The board-certified dermatologists at Northstar Dermatology in North Richland Hills, Texas, recommend getting professional treatment for warts because they take a long time to go away on their own and they’re highly contagious. While you wait for warts to disappear, chances are you’re spreading the virus. To learn more about the many treatment options available for warts, call the office or book an appointment online today.
Warts develop when certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) enter the skin through a small sore or tear. The virus slowly takes hold in the area and grows a wart. Warts aren’t cancerous, but they are very contagious and some may be painful.
Warts come in a variety of types, locations, shapes, and sizes. Types of warts include:
Common Warts
Common warts usually grow on your hands and fingers, but they can appear anywhere on your body. These warts are gray or brown, feel rough or scaly, and can grow about as large as a pea.
Plantar Warts
Plantar warts develop on the bottom of your feet. These warts typically grow in clusters. They also tend to become large and grow inward, which makes them painful.
Flat Warts
Flat warts are smaller and smoother than other warts, but they grow in large numbers. They typically grow on your cheeks, forehead, arms, and legs, where 20-100 flat warts can grow in a cluster.
Filiform Warts
These warts look like long threads. They develop on the face, often around your nose, eyelids, and lips.
Warts usually go away on their own but it may take some time before they disappear. In the meantime, the virus is contagious. You or your child can spread the virus to another part of the body or give the virus to someone else.
The virus spreads through direct contact or by touching something that came into contact with the wart. For example, if you touch the wart, then touch your face, the virus spreads to your face. You may want to consider having the wart treated rather than risk spreading the virus around.
Many patients seek treatment when the wart affects their appearance. It’s also important to have Northstar Dermatology evaluate warts that are painful, change in appearance, spread, or disappear and return.
