Warts Specialist
-
- Tweet
David E. Auer, MD
Board Certified Family Medicine Physician & Aesthetics located in Westchase, Houston, TX
Warts are extremely common. They can be embarrassing, but they’re not permanent. David E. Auer, MD, offers fast, effective treatment for them at his office in the Westchase area of Houston, Texas. If you are living with warts, don’t hesitate to call the office, or you can schedule your wart removal online.
Warts Q & A
What are warts?
Warts are growths on your skin. They’re very common, enough so that the vast majority of people will experience a wart at some point during their lives. It’s most common for warts to affect children and teenagers, but you can have one develop at any point.
Common warts have a few distinguishing characteristics, including:
- A raised, grainy-feeling bump on the skin
- Coloring that’s flesh-colored, pink, or white, sometimes with small black spots
- Roughness to the touch
Warts can appear anywhere on your body, but they’re most common on your hands (palmar warts) and feet (plantar warts).
While warts aren’t dangerous to your health and will usually go away within a few months, they can be a source of embarrassment. This is especially true of school-aged kids and teens. If your son or daughter is dealing with warts that make them feel less comfortable around their peers, don’t hesitate to contact Dr. Auer.
Are warts contagious?
Yes. Warts develop from certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) that are spread by skin-to-skin contact (e.g., when you shake hands) or by using a shared object (e.g., a hand towel).
It’s most common to get a wart when you have a break in your skin. As a result, biting your nails or picking at hangnails increases the likelihood of contracting the type of HPV that causes warts.
How are warts treated?
Here is the good news. Treating your or your child’s warts is a quick and highly effective process. Dr. Auer uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the wart. Also called cryotherapy, this treatment causes the wart to blister. This way, your body’s natural healing process causes the growth to slough off in about a week.
Some warts will completely slough off with one cryotherapy treatment, while others require multiple treatments. Dr. Auer lets you know what to expect from the treatment before he starts.
Cryotherapy uses extreme cold that can be uncomfortable. A local anesthetic isn’t needed in most cases, but if you or your child is feeling anxious about getting a wart removed, don’t hesitate to talk to Dr. Auer about your local anesthetic options.
To schedule a wart removal appointment, call David E. Auer, MD, or book it online.
