Flat warts, or juvenile warts, as they are also known, are a widespread type of warts in children and young people.
Like the other types of warts, flat warts are caused by the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). However, this typology has different characteristics regarding its appearance.
If you suspect you have flat warts but don’t know how to confirm them, stay tuned to learn how they look and how to identify and treat them in the best way!
What are flat warts?
Like other types of warts, flat warts are skin growths caused by HPV. They are contagious and can be transmitted in several ways. However, it is possible to prevent them by following some guidelines.
This kind of wart is known for being very common in children. Because of that, people also call them juvenile warts.
How to identify flat warts: diagnose and appearance
Usually, it’s possible to diagnose flat warts just by visual examination. However, in some rare cases, a biopsy or skin inspection may be needed to confirm it.
Regarding their appearance, juvenile warts are usually small, rounded, and skin-colored, brown or pink. In addition, these warts are not supposed to cause pain.
Moreover, their texture, different from common warts, for example, is not of rough bumps.
Instead, they look smooth on the surface and can appear in common areas of the body, like the hands or the face. They can also occur on the arms, the top of the feet, and the legs.
This wart typology usually develops in groups that can go from up to 200 small bumps.
Although they are not painful, there’s still a lot of stigma regarding this infection.
People can be really embarrassed when getting warts. Especially flat warts, because they appear in places like the face or the hands, which are very apparent areas.
However, they are not a huge problem and can be handled easily with the proper treatment.
Who is more prone to get flat warts?
As mentioned, children and young people are the groups of people more likely to get this type of wart. Both females and males can get it, and the age group more prone to this infection are between 12 and 16 years old.
However, people with weak immune systems may also easily get warts.
The risk is more considerable for children and adolescents because they are more prone to damage their skin, giving HPV an entrance point to the body.
For example, children usually get cuts and scratches. On the other hand, adolescents start to shave, use razor blades or like to pick their faces, damaging them. These are very easy entrances for the HPV virus.
However, the contamination can also happen in adults. For example, sharing personal objects, and going to public areas with a high risk of infection, like swimming pools or locker rooms, can end up being a point of contamination.
Moreover, people who have had warts are more likely to develop new ones.
Best treatments for flat warts
Although it seems scary and an annoyance, flat warts are not severe infections and will probably disappear on their own eventually. They can disappear in a couple of months or resist for up to two years.
A study shows that 30% will regress within three months. At the same time, 65 to 78% can take up to two years to go away.
However, there are treatments to accelerate this process and eliminate warts if you want.
In any case, consulting a doctor to indicate the proper treatment is crucial. But if you’re curious about the options, here are some of the most common treatments for warts:
- Topical creams usually with high concentrations of salicylic acid, which can irritate the skin in the process of removing warts;
- Cryotherapy performed by a care provider, which consists of liquid nitrogen applied to warts to freeze them;
- Over-the-counter freezing treatments prescribed by your doctor;
Now you’ve learned everything you need to know to deal with flat warts. Remember to seek professional guidance to check the proper treatment for your case.
And if you need more information on other wart types, keep navigating our blog to check valuable content!