How Do You Contract Flat Warts?

A brief look at warts

Warts are unsightly little things. If you've ever been around someone picking at their wart, it's an undoubtedly disgusting experience. Although warts are, in general, painless, they can hamper cosmetic beauty and be a nuisance. Warts come from a virus called HPV, or human papillomavirus. There are more than 100 different subsets of warts, each named for its appearance and the place on the body where it shows up.

Flat warts

Flat warts, as is common, are named for their appearance. They are generally smooth with a yellowish-brown legion. They are most notably found on the face, forehead and near scratch marks. Most flat warts afflict children and young adults. They are very rare on the elderly.

Contracting flat warts

Once contracted, flat warts are hard to get rid of. But how are they contracted in the first place? Flat warts, as is the case with most warts, infect the child through what is known as autoinoculation. Essentially, autoinoculation is when the cells of the skin infect each other. The actual virus gets in through trauma to the skin and cuts. Once the infection is present, it can move around the body, mutating other cells.

Getting rid of flat warts

Flat warts are one of the more hardy subsets of HPV. They can be treated, but often treatment is ineffective and can irritate the wart, making the legion more pronounced than before treatment began. A daily cream using tretinoin is generally the accepted method of treatment.