Wart information & symptoms

Warts are rough and bumpy growths of skin caused by the human papilloma wart virus (HPV virus). In itself the virus is not harmful, but it does causes unpleasant, warty hard skin eruptions from time to time, especially when people are run down or stressed.

Warts are contagious and easily transmissible from person to person through bodily contact. Most adults will have contracted a type HPV virus at some point in their life and according to which type depends on where if occurs.

• Hands and fingers
• Feet and toes (also known as verrucas or plantar warts)
• Face particularly facial warts on the chin and lip area in men
• Genital areas see genital warts

Warts are often unsightly, and can be irritating or painful. In children, warts can disappear without treatment over a period of several months to years. Warts in adults often do not disappear as easily or as quickly as they do in children. They usually continue to spread and grow unless treated, and so many sufferers opt for wart removal.

The treatment for warts depends on where they are located, the size and how thick the wart is. Treatment is always better when they are small and thin

• Home remedies / pharmacy lotions etc are good to try for small thin new warts that are a few mm in size but not for the face
• The next step would be for freezing by a doctor to help speed up the removal of the wart and to stop if growing
• Last resort for treatment is laser surgery where the wart or warts are precisely removed leaving a graze like wound that heals over a few weeks. This is often for stubborn or resistant thick warts

Wart removal is available in London at our clinics in the following locations – Putney, Harley Street, South Kensington as well as inner-city London.

• HPV Virus types 1, 2, 3 and 4 usually cause common, non-genital type warts.
• HPV Virus types 6, 11, 16 and 18 cause genital lesions, for example, HPV Virus in men or the anal HPV Virus.
• Although warts in general are found to be benign, neoplasm in nature, some do have the potential for malignancy, specifically, genital warts of the 16 and 18 HPV Virus type. .
• Clinical appearance of a wart on its own cannot reveal the difference between one genotype and another. Therefore, it is highly advised for an individual to consult a qualified physician if unsure about the HPV genital virus that particular individual may have been infected with

Warts are a virus that remains with you for life so recurrence is possible.

There are some dos and don’ts that one must keep in mind, in order to stem the spread of this skin infection.

• Warts are highly contagious and can be transmitted from person to person. Therefore, try and avoid direct, physical contact with an infected person.
• Avoid using towels, or any item/s belonging to an infected person. This is the fastest, surest way one can get infected.
• Do not pick or squeeze warts as this could lead to severe infection and proliferation of warts.
• Avoid unprotected sex, or sex with multiple partners if infected or unsure. This can cause genital warts that are extremely difficult to diagnose or detect.