Warts and HPV

Warts are small growths on the skin caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are over 100 different strains of HPV. This virus is everywhere and can spread from person to person through direct contact. It usually enters the skin through a cut or scratch, incubates for a few months and then develops a wart in that area. If you pick at the wart and then touch broken skin elsewhere on your body, the virus may be transferred to the new site. That’s how you get multiple warts.

Warts are usually painless and appear as greyish, cauliflower-like growths. Or, they can be as tiny as a pinhead or slightly larger.

Types of warts include:

• Common warts, which show up just about anywhere, particularly on the hands and feet.
• Plantar warts, which grow inward on the soles of the feet and often cause pain on pressure.
• Flat warts, which are often found on the arms or face.
• "Mosaic" warts, which appear as many tiny warts all over the sole of the feet.
• Genital warts, which can appear in tiny clusters or spread into a large area in the genital or anal area.

Some HPV strains (dubbed “high-risk” HPV strains) don’t cause warts, but rather cause cervical cancer, penile cancer, vulvar cancer and anal cancer. HPV is among the most prevalent sexually transmitted infection or disease. In women, we know that persistent HPV infections (commonly HPV types 16 and 18) are responsible for causing changes in the cervix, which often leads to cervical dysplasia or cervical cancer.

There is currently no “cure” for HPV, but if your immune system is working properly, the warts often go away on their own. However, it may take time- sometimes months or even years. There are treatments available for visible warts, including liquid nitrogen cryosurgery, products containing salicylic acid and/or podophyllotoxin (found naturally in a medicinal herb called Podophyllum peltatum). Two vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, are available as a prevention against infections from a few “high-risk” HPV strains that cause cervical/ genital cancers and genital warts. These are targeted at young women and men before they become sexually active. All sexually-active women should get a PAP smear done annually to detect for any abnormal changes in the cervix.

Do you suffer from warts? Or do you want to prevent warts from coming back? Do you want a strong immune system?

The IMI Approach

IMI can help to:

• Strengthen your immune system to reduce risk of infection
• Support your immune system to shorten the duration of warts 
• Treat cervical dysplasia (abnormal changes in the cervix) using natural medicines
• Provide integrative therapies in cancer care

Practitioners focusing on treatment of Warts and HPV at IMI:

As a starting point we recommend you see one of the following IMI practitioners. They will give you an initial individualized treatment plan and will refer to other specialists in the team where beneficial.

Dr Ardyce Yik (Naturopathic Doctor)

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