At Dermatology Associates of Atlanta, our vision is not only to be your first call for any skin care and cosmetic skin treatment needs but also to be your ultimate source of skin health knowledge. As part of this mission, we’re proud to launch a new educational blog series: our Skin Health Highlight of the Month. Each month, we’ll shine the spotlight on a particular skin health condition and give you all the basics you need to know to protect and enhance your skin. This month, we’re featuring a skin condition that is highly common but rarely discussed: warts.

What Are Warts?

Warts are small growths on your skin that can vary in size, appearance, and location. They often look rough and grainy, like a bump on your skin made up of many little dots. Warts can appear anywhere on your body, although genital warts are considered to be in a different category than warts elsewhere on your body. Regardless, though, warts are benign: they aren’t cancerous.

What Causes Warts?

Warts are caused by certain strains of human papillomavirus or HPV. You may have heard of HPV as a sexually transmitted infection, and some strains of HPV are. However, there are over 100 strains of HPV, and many are not sexually transmitted. They can be on nearly any surface, and if certain strains get into your skin, often through a cut or scrape, they can form warts.

Warts are particularly common in kids and teens because they get cuts and scrapes so often while playing. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, studies have found that as many as 33% of kids and teens have warts.

Why Are Warts a Problem?

Some people think of warts as a purely cosmetic issue, and if you have a wart, you may want to remove it for that reason alone. There are other reasons, though, that it’s best to get treatment for either genital warts or non-genital warts.

First, warts are contagious. The HPV that caused the wart can spread to other people or to other parts of your body that touch the wart. For non-genital warts, you can resolve this by getting treatment for your warts. For genital warts, however, it’s important to note that you may be able to sexually transmit the HPV even if your genital warts have cleared, so practicing safe sex is crucial.

Second, genital warts can be physically uncomfortable for anyone. They’re particularly problematic in women if and when they give birth, however. Genital warts can lead to complications during childbirth, so it’s important that you seek treatment if you have genital warts and are pregnant or may become pregnant.

Non-genital warts can also be physically uncomfortable. This is especially true if you have a wart in a highly mobile area like the bottom of your foot.

What to Do if You Have Warts

Fortunately, if you or your child has a wart, there are treatment options available. At Dermatology Associates of Atlanta, we can assess both genital warts and non-genital warts to determine the best treatment option. This may include topical medications, laser procedures, treatments with advanced technology like CellFX Nano-Pulse Stimulation, cryotherapy, and more.

If you or a loved one has warts, call Dermatology Associates of Atlanta today to schedule your appointment. In the meantime, follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more skin health tips, and subscribe to our email newsletter.