Warts

Up to one-third of children and 5% of all American adults have warts. At The Dermatology Center of Worcester, in Worcester, Massachusetts, a team of talented cosmetic and medical dermatology specialists provides the most effective solutions for warts in a comfortable environment. To get help for warts, click on the online scheduler or call the office to book your appointment today.

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What are warts?

Warts are noncancerous growths that usually appear as small fleshy bumps on the skin. There are also long threadlike warts, flat warts, and hard warts on the bottom of the feet (plantar warts).  

Warts usually develop when the human papillomavirus (HPV) enters the uppermost layer of skin through a cut or other opening in the skin. There are more than 100 types of HPV, 

with most of them causing warts on the hands or feet. Some types of HPV cause genital warts.  

Are warts contagious?

Warts are contagious. You can get them by touching another person’s warts, like shaking hands, or even by touching a surface that the warts touched, like a towel. 

You can also transfer HPV from one part of your body to another. For example, scratching your hand wart and then touching your foot could lead to foot warts. Or, you could transfer HPV from one area to another via a razor or other tool.  

Do warts need treatment?

While warts aren’t cancerous, they can be irritating, uncomfortable, and embarrassing. Most people with warts opt for wart treatment for one or all of these reasons. It’s also important to treat warts to reduce the risk of spreading HPV to other parts of your body or to other people. 

How are warts treated?

There are many different treatment options for warts. The Dermatology Center of Worcester team can recommend a wart treatment approach based on your age, overall health, and type of wart. Some of the most common treatments are:

• Cryotherapy: freezing the wart to kill it
• Cantharidin: a paint-on substance that destroys the wart
• Electrosurgery and curettage: burning and scraping away the wart
• Excision: removing warts with a surgical blade
• Laser treatment: destroying warts with laser light
• Chemical peels: acid products to slough off large clusters of flat warts
• Bleomycin: anticancer medicine that can destroy warts when injected

If warts persist or keep coming back after you’ve tried more conservative treatments, you might need immunotherapy, which makes changes to your body’s immune system to make you fight the HPV more effectively. There are several types of immunotherapy, including topical and injected options.

If you have troublesome or new warts, the experts at The Dermatology Center of Worcester are ready to help. Book your appointment online or call the office to schedule your visit today.

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