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Facts about warts
General Info
Warts are an infection caused by viruses in the
human
papillomavirus (HPV) family. More than 100 HPV
types of viruses exist. Warts can grow on all parts of your
body: your skin, the inside of your mouth, on your genitals and
on your rectal area. Some HPV cause warts on the skin, while
others can cause warts on the genitals and rectal area. Some
people are more naturally resistant to the HPV viruses and don't
seem to get warts as easily as other people.
Treatment methods
Aside from Terrasil, there are
various methods often recommended by traditional medical
practitioners.
Freezing (cryotherapy or liquid nitrogen therapy). Your
doctor may use liquid nitrogen to destroy your wart by freezing
it.
Cantharidin. Your doctor may use cantharidin a
substance extracted from the blister beetle on your warts. It
is usually mixed with other chemicals, painted onto the skin and
covered with a bandage. The subsequent skin blister can be
uncomfortable, but it lifts the wart off your skin, so your
doctor can remove the dead part of the wart.
Minor surgery. The wart tissue is cut or or destroyed with an
electric needle. However, the injection of anesthetic given
before this surgery can be painful, and the surgery may leave a
scar. For these reasons, surgery is usually reserved for warts
that haven't responded to other therapies.
Laser surgery. Laser surgery can be expensive, and it may
leave a scar. It's usually reserved for tough-to-treat warts.
Other medications: If your warts haven't responded to
standard treatments, your doctor may refer you to a
dermatologist for further treatment including:
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Imiquimod (Aldara). Prescribed for the treatment of genital
warts, it can also treat common warts. Immunotherapy attempts to
harness your body's natural rejection system to fight off warts.
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Bleomycin (Blenoxane). Your doctor may inject a wart with a
medication called bleomycin, which kills the virus. Bleomycin is
used infrequently for warts, but in higher doses, is used to
treat some kinds of cancer.
Common warts can be tough to eliminate, especially when around
and under your nails. And, if you are susceptible to the wart
virus, you probably always will be. New warts may crop up even
after successful treatment. More than one treatment or more than
one approach to treatment may be necessary to manage the
problem. Warts are viral and antibiotics are not effective for
viral illnesses.
Additional
resources
American Social Health Association
P.O. Box 13827
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Phone: (919) 361-8400
Fax: (919) 361-8425
E-mail:
hpvnet@ashastd.org
Website:
http://www.ashastd.org/
The American Social Health Association is a trusted,
non-profit organization that has advocated on behalf of patients
to help improve public health outcomes since 1914, and is
America's authority for sexually transmitted disease
information. ASHA is recognized by the public, patients,
providers, and policy makers for developing and delivering
accurate, medically reliable information about STDs. Public and
college health clinics across the United States order ASHA's
educational pamphlets and books to give to clients and students.
Community-based organizations depend on ASHA, too, to help
communicate about risk, transmission, prevention, testing, and
treatment.
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