This BMJ Review looks at management options (BMJ 2014;348:g3339). Here we are considering skin warts not oral/genital lesions.
Key points
- Common condition, with 7-12% prevalence in general population, higher in children.
- Majority resolve spontaneously, but can take years!
- No treatments are guaranteed to work, therefore side effects and cost should be minimised.
Which warts need treatment?
Given the above, asymptomatic warts in non-cosmetically sensitive areas need not be treated; they will get better spontaneously.
Consider treatment if warts are:
- Painful.
- In cosmetically sensitive areas, e.g. face.
- In immunocompromised patients.