Warts

Warts may embarrass you and spread to other parts of your body when left untreated. At Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP, located in Methuen, Massachusetts, board-certified podiatric surgeons and wound care specialists Nicholas A. Ciotola, DPM, Dennis Ryan, DPM, and the team offer highly effective wart-removal solutions. Call the office to schedule an appointment, or use the online booking feature today.

What are warts?

Warts are skin growths that often feel grainy and rough. They commonly appear on your hands, fingers, feet, and toes. 

Warts often contain tiny black dots, which are actually clotted blood vessels. When left untreated, warts can get larger or spread to other areas of your body. They can also spread from person to person because they’re caused by a virus and transmitted by touch.

What are the symptoms of warts?

The symptoms of warts include:

• Rough skin growths
• Small fleshy bumps
• Grainy bumps
• Bumps with black pinpoints 

See the Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP experts if a wart bothers you, doesn’t resolve over time, increases in size, or spreads to other areas of your body.

What are the risk factors for developing warts?

The causes and risk factors for developing warts include:

• Exposure to the human papillomavirus (HPV)
• Skin contact
• Shared objects
• Being a child
• Being a young adult
• Having HIV/AIDS
• Weakened immune system

Warts may spread through a scrape, hangnail, or other breaks in your skin.

Ways to reduce the risk of warts include avoiding direct contact with warts, not picking at warts, and not sharing personal items with someone who has warts. 

Avoid walking barefoot in community areas such as locker rooms to reduce your risk of skin contact with the HPV virus.

How are warts diagnosed?

The Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP team diagnoses warts after examining them, sometimes under a microscope, and discussing your symptoms and medical history. They may scrape off a layer of the wart to look for tiny black dots or send a shave biopsy to a lab for analysis.

How are warts treated?

Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP offers numerous treatments to eliminate warts, including:

• Salicylic acid
• Trichloroacetic acid
• Freezing
• Excision
• Laser treatment 

If warts aren’t treated, they resolve on their own over a year or two, but new warts sometimes develop.

The Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP team tailors each treatment based on the size and number of warts you have and your treatment preferences. They follow up to ensure exceptional results.

Call the Methuen Podiatry Associates LLP office or use the online booking feature today to have warts removed.