Warts Health Video

Video Transcript

DR. LORETTA CIRALDO: Hi, I'm Dr. Loretta Ciraldo, a board certified dermatologist since 1982 and author of "6 Weeks to Sensational Skin." Now, one problem that's very common place is warts, and so many people have heard so much about warts. Sometimes, the connection of warts to all sort of things is it a contagious disease, could be a precursor to more serious things. So we're here to give you a little bit of background and education about warts; and basically, what you need to know is that the wart virus is actually a huge family of viruses called HPV or human papillomavirus, and there are actually hundreds of subtypes of the HPV. First thing you should know is that some of them are indeed associated with an increased risk for squamous cell carcinoma, which is a potentially dangerous health hazard, a superficial kind of carcinoma. So we, dermatologists, when we see warts, we typically will say: Let's get rid of this wart. Let's rid you off it, so that you'll have no increased risk of getting a cancer in years to come from the wart. So that's the first good health reason to rid yourself off the wart you might say. The second thing you should know about warts is that they spread very easily from person to person and also on the surface of our own skin by a process we call autoinoculation. So if you have a wart, seek medical attention to rid yourself off it to eliminate any risks of squamous cell carcinoma. Do not pick at it or you'll spread the wart. And third, if a wart should bleed, please seek medical attention because something that you think may be a wart may be something more serious, and the best of luck to you.