Warts

Background

Warts are caused by viruses. There are 2 main types of warts that infect children. Common warts are caused by human papilloma virus. They usually infect the hands and feet. Warts on the feet are called plantar warts. The other type of warts that infect children are called molluscum contagiosum. They are caused by a different virus, from the family poxvirus. They can occur anywhere on the body and often occur in clusters. Many times they are spread by scratching or sharing towels. Molluscum are easily identified because they have a little dent in the centre that looks like a belly button.

 

What To Do

Often warts will go away on their own. However, that may take a few years and they are contagious. They spread both on the person and between people. For that reason, they are usually treated.

 

NOTE: Treatment of plantar warts is covered by OHIP. Treatment of warts on the hands is not covered by OHIP and requires payment.

 

Typically in the office we treat them with liquid nitrogen that freezes the top layer of the wart, causing it to recede. The wart usually needs ongoing treatment in order to kill and remove all of the wart tissue. We recommend that after the wart is treated in clinic, you buy some Compound W freeze off and a pair of the sideways cuticle scissors like this.

 

 

48 hours after the treatment in the office, use the cuticle scissors, to scrape off all of the treated now dead wart tissue. It won't hurt as you are not actually removing any of your child's tissue, just the wart. Once you have scraped off the layer of wart tissue, then treat again with the Compound W freeze off. You should do this every 48 hours until there is no wart tissue left. You can tell that you've got all of the wart if there is nothing to scrape without causing bleeding or pain. That means that there is no wart left, just your child. Often you will see some little black dots at the base of the wart, which are its roots and can tell you that you've gotten to the bottom.

 

Whether you keep the wart covered or open to the air depends on what is more comfortable for your child.

 

Molluscum are harder to treat and require a different treatment than common warts. As they usually go away on their own within months to years, we don't usually treat them unless they are really bothering the child either physically or cosmetically as it can cause scarring. For molluscum that are bothering your child, the child has to be able to cooperate with the treatment as it can hurt. Treatment of molluscum is covered by OHIP.

 

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