How to Treat and Avoid Common Childhood Warts

Even if your little princess avoids frogs like the plague, your child could still be a victim of childhood warts. Whether your child is a back-yard adventurer hands and feet bared to all kinds of bacteria, or a more introverted child who stays indoors with the computer and books, warts can affect any child at any time.

Common warts look like small hard bumps of skin with a bumpy texture. They are usually raised and can be painful and ugly. These common warts have nothing to do with cleanliness or frogs. Instead they are caused by a viral skin infection which is an effect of the human papillomavirus (HPV). Yes, that means warts are caused by the same HPV you have seen recent vaccine advertisements geared toward young girls and women.

Currently, no studies or research can shed light on how children get HPV, and their counterpart the common wart. Usually common warts will shrink and disappear from your child's hand or foot without treatment.

But other warts are painful and can become more painful when they are touched, scratched or get hung on things like pants pockets and school bags. Common warts also raise concerns from parents about teasing from other children.

For the average common wart, an over-the-counter wart remover is the best treatment. But be careful, because wart removers use very strong chemicals. Do not let your child apply the wart remover on their own. Always read the directions completely and follow the wart remover instructions exactly.

Treating childhood warts or common warts can take a lot of time. It may take several weeks of treatment with over-the-counter wart medication before the diseased skin peels away from the healthy skin. It is essential to keep this area clean and safe while treating the wart.

If your child picks at the wart it can become infected or more painful. To prevent your child picking at his or her wart, keep the wart covered with a fresh bandage. Small band-aids are usually large enough to cover the wart. If your child's wart is large, or in an awkward place and a regular band-aid is difficult to use, purchase specially shaped bandages in larger squares or circles. Almost all shapes of band-aids can be found in bright colors and themed child character designs. Keeping a fresh band-aid with your child's favorite cartoon character takes their mind off the wart and keeps the bump clean and free of picking hands.

If your child begins to have numerous warts, especially if they have more than one wart on their hands or face, contact your pediatrician. Also, during bathing times, check your child for warts on his or her genitals, rectum and other sensitive areas. Report these warts, even if they are not painful or large, immediately to your pediatrician.

Although research is still determining the cause of HPV, which has traditionally been considered a sexually transmitted disease since it is usually found in the genital areas, it is known that HPV can be transmitted through direct skin contact and contact with surfaces an infected person has touched with infected skin. Avoid situations that may place your child in danger of contacting HPV. Do not let them touch or lie in public tanning beds, beware of benches in dressing rooms at departments stores, and use anti-bacterial wipes on doorknobs and toilet seats and handles.