Warts and Moles

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Fitango EducationHealth Topics

Warts and Moles

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Overview

Warts are growths on the skin caused by an infection with the human papilloma virus, or HPV. Types of warts include:

-- Common warts (often appear on the fingers)

-- Plantar warts (often appear on the soles of the feet)

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Overview

-- Genital warts (sexually transmitted diseases)

-- Flat warts (usually appear in places where one shaves frequently)

In children, warts often go away on their own. In adults, however, they tend to stay. Warts are often removed for cosmetic reasons or to eliminate discomfort.

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Overview

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000885.htm

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Symptoms

The typical wart is a raised round or oval growth with a relatively rough surface. The spot may be lighter, darker, or black (rare) colored compared to surrounding skin.

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Symptoms**Common warts**

usually appear on the hands, but they can appear anywhere. They usually do not cause pain unless they are frequently rubbed against.

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Symptoms**Flat warts**

are found on the face and forehead. They are common in children, less common on teenagers, and rare in adults.

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Symptoms**Genital warts**

are found in the genitals, in the pubic area, between the thighs, or inside the vaginal and anal canals.

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Symptoms**Plantar warts **

are found on the soles of the feet. These kinds of warts usually cause difficulty walking or running and can be very painful, so they are very frequently removed.

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Symptoms**Subungual and Periungual warts**

are found under and around the fingernails and toenails.

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Diagnosis

A medical professional can diagnose warts by looking at your skin.

A biopsy might be done to confirm if the wart is not another type of grown, like skin cancer.

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Treatment**Never **

attempt to remove a wart yourself by burning, picking, tearing, cutting, freezing, or any other method. **Never **

use over-the-counter wart medications on your face or genitals.

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Treatment**How to safely remove a wart**

:

-- Use a clean nail file (emery board) to file the wart when your skin is clean and damp to help remove dead tissue.

-- Apply the medicine to the wart every day for several weeks or months. Be sure to follow the instructions on the label.

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Treatment**How to safely remove a wart**

-- Cover the wart with a bandage to prevent spreading it.

Other treatment depends on the type of wart you have.

-- Special foot cushions can help ease the pain caused by plantars warts. These cushions can be bought at drug stores without a prescription. Wear socks and shoes with plenty of room in them. Avoid high heels.

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Treatment**How to safely remove a wart**

-- A medical professional may need to trim away thickened skin or calluses that form over warts on the foot or around nails.

Your health care provider may recommend the following treatments if your warts do not go away:

-- Stronger medications, like podophyllin or salicylic acid

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Treatment**How to safely remove a wart**

-- A blistering solution

-- Freezing the wart (cryotherapy)

-- Burning the wart (electrocautery)

-- Laser treatment for hard-to-remove warts

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Treatment**How to safely remove a wart**

-- Immunotherapy, where a patient is given a shot of a substance that causes an allergic reaction and helps the wart go away

-- Skin medicine called imiquimod

A new medicine called veregen may be used on genital warts. Two vaccines are available to prevent infection against the strains of viruses that cause genital warts and cervical cancer in women.

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Causes

All warts can be spread from one part of your body to another. They can also be spread from one person to another through skin-to-skin contact, but this is less common.

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Prevention

-- After touching any of your warts, be sure to wash your hands thoroughly

-- After filing your wart, wash the file carefully. If the file is not washed carefully, you may spread the virus to other parts of your body

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Prevention

-- Avoid making skin-to-skin contact with someone else's wart