|
It's one of the first things people ask when they notice a wart on the hand of a person with whom they just exchanged a handshake. They ask when a child comes home with a wart on their hand. It's a valid question that has many people concerned. However, the real question is not are warts contagious; it's which warts are contagious and how are warts contagious? Warts, in short, are contagious. Now, you might be under the misconception that they're easily avoidable so long as you stay away from playing with slimy frogs on rainy days - and your kids manage to do the same - but that's not how it works. Most warts are highly contagious in many different manners. Most warts are caused by the HPV virus. With more than 100 different versions of this virus running around the planet, it might seem amazing to you that more people don't actually suffer from warts. However, some are just not that easily spread to others. Plantar warts, for example, are warts that are only found on the bottom of your feet. They are not easily spread from person to person. In fact, you can touch a person with plantar warts all you want but you will not catch the virus that causes these warts unless you are exposed to the virus in its natural habitat, which is a warm and wet location. Now, if you walk around public pools, gym bathrooms and showers, and other warm, wet places with open cuts on the bottom of your feet, you will more than likely catch the virus that causes plantar warts. Other warts are spread very easily through person to person contact. Another form of the HPV virus, genital warts, are spread through sexual contact with another person. This includes any act of intimacy with a person who is infected with this virus. For this reason, protection is always recommended and being regularly tested for the virus is also a good idea. Other warts, such as the kind you might find on your hands, legs and arms and face are spread by using the same items as infected people. For example, if you use the same raze your husband uses to shave his face to shave your legs, a virus that causes him to have a wart near his nose or mouth might cause you to have one on your leg. You will become infected if the virus lives on this razor and you knick yourself shaving, allowing the infected virus to enter your bloodstream. Still, other warts are spread in other ways. Did you know the viruses that cause many forms of warts can live on your towel? If you share your towel with an infected person and rub over a freshly opened wound, you'll end up sharing more than just your towel; you'll share your warts. Another way in which warts spread is from one of your own body parts to another. For example, say you have a wart near your mouth and you decide to bite off a hangnail. If you open up a wound on your finger when you bite that nail off, you could cause the infection from the wart near your mouth to enter the blood in your finger and cause warts on your fingers. Most warts, however, are not dangerous. Genital warts are dangerous to your health and the health of your sexual partners. Always seek medical treatment for this type of wart. However, other warts, such as plantar and palmers and other common warts are not a danger to your health. In fact, your immune system works hard to get rid of the viruses that cause these warts so that they go away on their own. They are not cancerous and they are not even very painful for most people. Doctors don't even recommend surgery or other medical treatment for most warts as they will go away on their own. However, if you have a weakened immune system thanks to some other health issues, you will want to talk to your doctor about wart removal. Additionally, if you are experiencing pain from any of your warts, you will want to talk to your doctor about wart removal. Most removal treatments are fairly painful for as long as a week following surgery, but that time frame is much shorter than the time frame in which you would otherwise suffer from the pain caused by your warts. Talk to your doctor about the available treatment methods before you make any big decisions regarding the health of your body as it pertains to your warts. You might be surprised at what he recommends to help you prevent your warts from spreading to other members of your family. So, are warts contagious? I hope this article helped answer your question. For more information and resources visit: Contagious Warts
Related Articles -
are wart contagious, warts contagious,
| 
