Warts: When to Be Concerned About a Wart

A wart is generally just a benign cyst on the skin and require little to no attention. However, warts can often be spread to other people, so if you have one that is not bothersome to you (aesthetically) you should input some proper preventive measures for your wart as to not spread it to other people. Most warts are common and some can not. Some warts could be indicative of cancer, become infected, or be part of an underlying medical issue that needs to be addressed by a trained medical professional. Sometimes home treatments are not enough to get rid of a wart and medical intervention by a doctor or dermatologist is necessary.

When a Wart Requires Medical Attention

Oftentimes a wart will not require a trip to the doctor or dermatologist unless for cosmetic reasons. There are; however, times when a wart should not be treated at home with standard over-the-counter wart removal treatments.

Young children should not have at home wart treatments and should be seen by a doctor for either wart treatment specifically for pediatric patients or the doctor should evaluate the wart and determine if necessary medical interventions are necessary or not. Usually the pediatrician will suggest keeping an eye on the wart and if it has not vanished over the next several months or new symptoms reoccur, to come back.

Also, any person over the age of 60 that develops something on their skin that appears to be a wart should see a physician because the growth could actually be a cancerous growth and not just a simple wart.

Danger Signs and Symptoms of Warts that Require Medical Attention

If you have a wart on your body that has become red, swollen, and very painful when touched-you should seek the advice of a medical professional. Most likely the wart has become infected and the doctor will need to make a plan of care in order to treat the infection. Once the infection has cleared the doctor will likely suggest removing the wart to avoid future incidences of infection to the wart.

A wart that is bleeding without any cause is something that should most definitely be seen by a doctor. A bleeding wart or a bleeding growth on the skin could be indicative of a greater underlying condition that requires medical interventions.

When a wart has discharge is another reason that you should seek the aid of a medical health professional. Discharge from a wart could mean that the growth is in fact not a wart or could be a sign of infection to the site or other medical cause that needs to be addressed by your doctor.

Usually, when left alone, most warts will go away within a couple months to a year. However, if the warts are on your genitalia it is likely that you have HPV and should be seen by a doctor right away to begin treatment and to be educated about HPV and how you can best help with prevention of spreading the virus to other partners.

If you have a wart on your body that has any of the above symptoms OR you have tried to treat the wart at home with home remedies or with over-the-counter aids and the wart will just not go away, you may need to seek help from a dermatologist who can either treat the wart and get rid of the wart or who can diagnose the growth as something more complex than just a common wart. It is important for you to be educated about warts so that you know when it is time you should seek the help from a doctor and when you should just use an over-the-counter wart removal treatment or just leave the wart alone and let it get rid of itself on its own.

Source:
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/tc/warts-and-plantar-warts-symptoms
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000885.htm
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/common/skin/disorders/209.html