quick clicks

preschoolers today articles

preschoolers today q&a

children today articles

children today q&a

community & groups

research baby names

prepare a birth plan

content channels

ip channel rss feeds

read birth stories

read parenting stories

recommended books

e-newsletters

safety recalls

ip diaries

ip store

mom of the month

dad of the month

editor's letter

letters to the editor

Potatoes, Bananas and Duct Tape

Uncovering the Facts on Childhood Warts

By Crystal Patriarche

When I was younger, I had this pesky wart on my hand that would not go away no matter what I tried. One day, my aunt told me to cut a potato in half, rub one of the potato halves on the wart and then throw that potato over my shoulder. She claimed the wart would go away if I did this. It was just an old wives' tale I now know, but the funny thing was – it worked! I just wish I had the same luck with the wart on my ring finger, which was quite the ugly sight when my husband proposed to me.

Although anyone at any age can develop warts, they seem to strike more often during childhood and adolescence. Warts are caused by a host of viruses and can spread to other parts of the body or to other people through direct contact, according to Mark Stengler, N.D., author of Your Vital Child: A Natural Healing Guide for Parents and whose practice is based in La Jolla, Calif.

"Warts are harmless, small, bumpy mounds of overgrown skin that usually appear on fingers, hands, knees, elbows or toes," says Stengler. "Warts are usually brown or flesh-colored and have rough, dry surfaces."

According to Stengler, experts have identified at least 70 different types of the human papillomavirus (HPV) known to infect the skin and leave warts.

People can get warts depending on how often they are exposed to the virus, according to the America Academy of Dermatology (AAD). There are some people who are more likely to catch the wart virus than others, just like some people catch colds more easily. Those with a weakened immune system also are more prone to a wart virus infection.

Warts can be passed from person to person, sometimes indirectly. But it is hard to say where and how one gets a wart, as the time from the first contact to the time the warts have grown large enough to be seen is often several months. The risk of catching hand, foot or flat warts from another person is small, according to AAD.

There are many kinds of warts but a few of the more prominent types are:

Want to see more?

• Boo-Boos, Bruises and Bumps: Common Skin Problems in Children
• Leaves of Three: Dealing with Poison Ivy
• Cat Scratch Disease: Is Your Child at Risk?
• Talk about it!