Warts are known as one of the most embarrassing skin growths, and they’ve unfortunately gotten a bad reputation with their association to witches, ugliness or old people. The truth is, anyone is susceptible to getting a wart, even a sweet, innocent child. They certainly don’t mean you are ugly, mean or don’t take care of yourself. However, warts should always be treated.
Warts can develop anywhere on the body. They are often caused by tiny cuts in the skin that become infected by a certain strain of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). Since children tend to have a weaker immune system and get more scrapes and cuts compared to adults, it is more common to see warts on kids. Once a wart appears, it continues to grow until it is properly treated. You may have a wart so small that it grows for up to a year until you actually notice it.
Stubborn Warts
Warts can be treated in a variety of ways, ranging from topical creams at home to surgical excision or cryotherapy at a dermatologist’s office. A common area of concern surrounding warts, however, is that they can often reappear after treatment. This can be especially frustrating to deal with, and many patients want an explanation as to why this happens.
Some warts respond very well to treatment and go away almost instantly. Others, however, are more stubborn. While your wart may look to disappear completely after treatment, you may find that it shows up weeks or monthly later in the same spot. There are two common reasons that wart regrowth occurs:
- It was never completely removed. Warts can be very tiny. Therefore, you may have thought your wart shrank enough to dissipate entirely, but you stopped treatment a little too early. Thus, the wart will start growing again.
- It was re-infected. This is more likely to occur when you had a wart cut off. If the incision is not properly cared for, it may provide another opening for HPV to re-infect the area and produce a new wart.
If you feel like you are battling the same wart over and over, it is time to schedule an appointment with a skin care expert. At Olansky Dermatology Associates, we offer the most proven and conservative treatment options for wart removal. We can instruct you on the proper ways to care for your incision, so that you are not plagued with a new wart in the same area. Most importantly, don’t be ashamed of your wart or avoid getting treatment due to embarrassment. We treat countless patients with these common types of skin growths. We can also tell you how to prevent future warts – remember warts are highly contagious.
