According to www.foxnews.com, more than two-thirds of healthy Americans have an HPV infection on some part of the body, leading some researchers to call it a hidden epidemic. That includes 61 percent on the skin, as well as in the vagina, the mouth and the gut. The good news, according to www.cdc.gov, is that the body’s immune system clears up HPV infections on its own in 90 percent of cases. But other warts require medical attention.
DIFFERENT TYPES
A wart is a hard, rough lump that grows on the skin and is caused by infection with certain viruses. Warts typically grow on the hands or feet but can sprout just about anywhere. According to the Mayo Clinic, common warts are small, grainy growths most often found on the hands. They often feature a pattern of tiny black dots, sometimes called seeds, which are small, clotted blood vessels. Transmitted by touch, common warts usually disappear on their own.
Children and young adults, along with people who have a weakened immune system, are most susceptible. But they aren’t the only ones. The American Academy of Dermatology cites another group of people prone to warts – those who bite their fingernails or pick at their hangnails.
It is easy to get warts with a cut or scrape on the skin, which is why so many children get them. You can spread warts from one place on the body to another. Transmission can occur by touching a wart on someone’s body or even by touching something that another person’s wart has touched, like a towel. Often it takes a few months for a wart to grow large enough to see.