Military Officer - September 2007 - (Page 50)

askthedoctor Warts and All Warts are not a serious health problem, but they are a cosmetic concern. Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O., reviews wart treatment options — and tells you when to call your doctor. arts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). When cells on the surface of the skin are infected with the virus, it causes the skin to grow faster than the surrounding skin. This results in the raised area that we know as a wart. Different subtypes of HPV cause different types of warts. Common warts (verruca vulgaris) occur on ﬁngers (especially nailbeds), hands, and knees, frequently among children who bite their nails or pick at their cuticles. Flat warts (verruca plana) are tiny ﬂattened areas that occur in groups, often on the face, neck, hands, wrists, or knees. Filiform warts are tentacle-shaped warts found on the face near the eyes and lips. (These are the warts associated with witches in storybook pictures.) Plantar warts (verruca pedis) occur on the bottom of the feet. Mosaic warts are plantar-like warts in clusters on the feet or hands. Genital warts (also known as venereal warts, condyloma acuminatum, or verruca acuminata) are transmitted sexually. These warts are easily visible on male patients. However, women may have them deep in the vagina and not even know they’re there. HPV can be transmitted person-to-person or via warm, moist surfaces (such as wet towels). Because the skin usually provides an effective barrier, most exposures to HPV don’t result in a wart. However, skin exposed to the virus can take weeks or longer to grow a wart, so it is difﬁcult to trace a speciﬁc wart to a speciﬁc exposure. SEPTEMBER 2007 W Wart Removal Is Not Permanent ■ Once someone has been infected with the human papillomavirus, the virus remains in the body even after a specific wart has been removed, so warts often recur. Venereal warts are more easily transmitted than are most other warts because the mucous membranes and skin of the genitalia are thin and fragile; either partner can transmit venereal warts to the other. If you have a venereal wart, see your doctor; home treatments for common warts are dangerous for venereal warts. If you have a genital wart, you also should ask your doctor to check for other venereal diseases. Common warts can go away on their own after months to a year or more. Many treatments for common warts are available: Some people cover warts with duct tape, while over-the-counter medications such as salicylic acid and silver nitrate chemically burn off a wart. If you are diabetic, prone to infections, or have any type of immune disorder (such as from cancer chemotherapy), see a doctor before treating a common wart yourself. Treatments can result in serious secondary infections and other complications. Never self-treat a wart on your face, because scarring is common. Physicians have a range of options to treat common warts, including cryosurgery, which uses liquid nitrogen to freeze warts; electro-cautery to burn warts; and surgical or laser treatments for recurrent, stubborn warts. Immune therapies also are occasionally used with certain patients. MO — Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS-Ret., D.O., M.A., is vice president, Health Sciences, Battelle Memorial Institute, Arlington, Va. Find more health and wellness resources at www .moaa.org/wellness. For submission information, see page 24. PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT 50 MILITARY OFFICER http://www.moaa.org/wellness http://www.moaa.org/wellness

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Military Officer - September 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Plan for Your Future At Home in a High-Rise Lone Star Living Common Ground Insert: Community Source Cover Story: Waging War on Disease More Than Beaches MOAA Scholarship Donors Pages of History Faces of MOAA Information Exchange Advertising Index MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps MOAA Member Services Encore

Military Officer - September 2007

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