Wart treatments at the Laser + Skin Institute
What is a wart?
Warts are benign (not cancerous) skin growths that appear when a virus infects the top layer of the skin. Viruses that cause warts are called human papillomavirus (HPV).
You are more likely to get one of these viruses if you cut or damage your skin in some way. Wart viruses are contagious. Warts can spread by contact with the wart or something that touched the wart.
Warts are often skin-colored and feel rough, but they can be dark (brown or gray-black), flat, and smooth.
Who Gets warts?
Anyone can get warts. Some people are more prone to getting a wart virus (HPV) than others. These people are:
- Children and teens.
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People who bite their nails or pick at hangnails.
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People with a weakened immune system (the body’s defense system).
In children, warts often go away without treatment. A dermatologist should treat warts that hurt, bother the child, or quickly multiply.

What are the causes of warts?
Viruses called human papillomavirus (HPV) cause warts. It is easier to catch a virus that causes warts when you have a cut or scrape on your skin. This explains why so many children get warts.
Warts also are more common on parts of the body that people shave such as the beard area in men and the legs in women. You can spread warts from one place on your body to another.
Warts can spread from person to person. You can get warts from touching a wart on someone’s body. Some people get a wart after touching something that another person’s wart touched, such as a towel. It often takes a few months for warts to grow large enough to see.

Diagnosis, Treatment and Outcome
How do dermatologists diagnose warts?
A dermatologist can tell whether you have a wart by looking at it. In rare cases, a dermatologist may need to perform a skin biopsy to be certain. If a dermatologist needs to perform a biopsy, the doctor will remove the wart and send it to a lab. At the lab, a small piece of the wart will be looked at under a microscope. A biopsy is a safe and quick procedure for a dermatologist to perform. It should not cause any anxiety.
How do dermatologists treat warts?
Warts often go away without treatment. This is especially true when children get warts. In adults, warts may not disappear as easily or as quickly as they do in children. Although most warts are harmless, dermatologists do treat them.
You should see a dermatologist if you cannot get rid of the warts, the warts hurt, or you have many warts. Dermatologists have many treatments for warts. The treatment used depends on the patient’s age and health as well as the type of wart.
Outcome
There is no cure for the wart virus. This means that warts can return at the same site or appear in a new spot. Sometimes, it seems that new warts appear as fast as old ones go away. This happens when the old warts shed virus cells into the skin before the warts are treated. This allows new warts to grow around the first warts. The best way to prevent this is to have your dermatologist treat new warts as soon as they appear.

Tips for managing warts
Warts can often be treated at home. The following explains when you can safely treat warts at home and when you should see a dermatologist.
Self-treatment
You can get some wart remedies without a prescription and treat the warts yourself. This may be enough to get rid of the warts. The only problem with self-treatment is that you might mistake another kind of skin growth for a wart. Some skin cancers look like warts.
Ask your dermatologist if you are unsure about the best way to treat a wart.
Prevention
What should I do if I suspect I may have warts?
To schedule an appointment with our Physicians, Call our scheduling staff at: 973-635-5050