What happens if you cut off a wart

If someone in your family gets a wart, you can help it go away more quickly and prevent new warts from developing.

Treat the wart. When someone has a healthy immune system, a wart will often go away on its own. This can take a long time, though. In the meantime, the virus that causes warts can spread to other parts of the body, which may lead to more warts. Treatment can help a wart clear more quickly. You can buy effective wart treatment without a prescription. When treating a wart, dermatologists recommend that you: Cover your wart. This helps prevent the virus from spreading to other parts of the body, and to other people.

Wash your hands immediately after touching the wart. This also helps to prevent spreading the virus to other parts of the body and to other people. Avoid shaving over a wart. When you shave, you create microtears in your skin. Through these microtears, you can spread the virus that causes warts from the wart to any skin that you shave.

For example, a man can get new warts in his beard area if he shaves over a wart and then shaves his face. When a woman shaves over a wart and then shaves her legs, she may develop several warts on her legs. If you shave over a wart and then shave your pubic hair, you can develop warts in your pubic area.

For these reasons, it can be difficult to prevent warts completely. Cause of Warts Warts are caused by several human papilloma viruses Different types of warts are caused by different papilloma viruses Prevention of Spread to Others Avoid baths or hot tubs with other children.

Reason: Warts can spread in warm water. Also, avoid sharing washcloths or towels. Contact sports: Warts can spread to other team members. Warts should be covered or treated. Warts are often skin-colored and feel rough, but they can be dark brown or gray-black , flat, and smooth. There are a few different types of warts. The type is generally determined by where it grows on the body and what it looks like.

Common warts include:. 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. Cantharidin : A dermatologist may treat a wart in the office by "painting" it with cantharidin.

Cantharidin causes a blister to form under the wart. In a week or so, you can return to the office and the dermatologist will clip away the dead wart. Cryotherapy : For common warts in adults and older children, cryotherapy freezing is the most common treatment. This treatment is not too painful. It can cause dark spots in people who have dark skin. But it's always a good idea to wash your skin regularly and well.

If you cut or scratch your skin, be sure to use soap and water because open wounds are more at risk for warts and other infections. It's also a good idea to wear waterproof sandals or flip-flops in public showers, locker rooms, and around public pools this also can help protect against other infections, like athlete's foot. If you do have a wart, don't rub, scratch, or pick at it or you may spread the virus to another part of your body or cause the wart to become infected. Although many warts disappear on their own with time, it's a good idea to show your wart to a doctor, who can recommend a treatment method if you need one.

If you discover a wart on your face or on your genital area, call your doctor. He or she can determine the best treatment for those areas, which are very sensitive. Reviewed by: Larissa Hirsch, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Are Warts? What Are the Kinds of Warts? Types of warts include: Common warts. What Causes Warts? How Long Before Symptoms Appear? How Long Do Warts Last?