Warts

Warts are called by a virus called human papillomavirus (HPV). Infection with this virus causes a reaction in the skin and this is why a wart develops. 

Genital warts are also caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) but they they tend to be a different type of HPV.

Treatment

It is not always necessary to treat warts - if they are not causing any problems they will mostly clear up in a year or two. 

If you do wish to have treatment for warts there are 2 main ways of treating them:

1. With salicylic acid which can be applied as a cream that burns the top layer of the wart. You often need to continue the treatment for months and it also involves regular soaking to soften the area and filling with an emery board. This treatment cannot be used on the face. 

2. Cryotherapy - this is freezing the wart often using liquid nitrogen. You may need 4-6 treatments to completely get rid of the wart virus. 

Genital warts can also be treated with a range of creams or cyrotherapy but it depends on the exact location of the warts. 

Prevention

Warts are contagious but if you follow simple hygiene methods you can avoid spreading them. These include:

• Avoid sharing towels
• Don't share shoes or socks
• Cover any warts or veruccas when swimming
• Avoid touching/scratching them and if you do touch the wart make sure you wash your hands as you could transmit the virus to another part of your body or to someone else. 

There are several strains of HPV, known as high risk strains, that are associated with cervical cancer. There is now an HPV vaccine that is given to 12 and 13 year old girls which protects against either 2 (Cervarix) or 4 (Gardasil) different strains of HPV. Cervarix protects against two of the cancer associated strains while Gardasil also protects against two low risk strains which cause genital warts.