Warts?!? What now?
Warts?!? What now?
Almost every child has a wart at some point...consider it a parenting right of passage. Warts are common on the soles of the feet and on the fingers, but can be found anywhere. When warts are on the bottom of the feet, they are often flat and grow inward. They can be mistaken for a callous, but if you look closely you will see small black dots (these are small capillary blood vessels). They can be painful when a child steps on them. Warts on other parts of the body are often dome shaped and feel rough. These often look like cauliflower.
Parents often worry that their child has a wart because of poor hygiene. However, the virus that causes warts (human papillomavirus or HPV), is very common. If you have a disruption in your skin and your immune system conditions are just right, you get a wart. Kids with eczema are more likely to get warts.
Although warts are pesky, they are not dangerous. In children they will typically go away without any treatment after 2 years. However, they can be bothersome to kids--they don't love the way they look and sometimes can be uncomfortable. The good news is that most warts can be treated at home. Here is what I recommend:
The wart virus lives underneath a callous. So, a key part of treatment involves removing the callous. After a bath or shower you can take an emery board or pumice stone and gently rub the wart to try and get the dead skin off. Just be sure you label the emery board or pumice stone for warts only!
After paring the wart, you can apply salicylic acid. This will help irritate the skin to cause more rapid skin turnover and activate your child's immune system. I like a Wart Stick. This is like chapstick that you can easily apply.
After applying the salicylic acid, cover the wart with a bandaid or even duct tape. Keep this on until it falls off or your child takes another bath or shower.
You can repeat this process every time your child takes a bath or a shower for up to 12 weeks. If the area gets too irritated, try to do it 2-3 times a week.
Tell your child to name their wart and ask it to go away every night. Sound crazy? Maybe. But, when I was in my pediatrics residency training there was a behavioral pediatrician who treated warts with hypnosis. He told us to tell all kids, especially pre-adolescents, to wish away their warts. It certainly can't hurt!
If your child's wart is not gone after 12 weeks, and is bothersome to them, I would recommend you make an appointment with your pediatric provider. Also, if there are signs of infection (increased pain, pus draining, spreading redness from the wart), get them checked out.
