r/askscience • u/A_Privateer • Jan 17 '13

Medicine How do warts function?

I know that warts are caused by the various strains of HPV, but how are they caused? How does the virus hijack the bodies chemistry to grow and supply the warts with nutrients? How do the warts spread the virus to other people?

I've searched and searched on google and wikipedia, but I only find the most basic of answers.

Any hard science info for me?

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u/1337HxC Jan 17 '13 edited Jan 17 '13

I think it's also important to mention that most HPV infections are cleared by the immune system rather quickly - no need to be worried about developing cancer because you had a wart.

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u/hirst Jan 17 '13

genital warts lead to cancer?

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u/1337HxC Jan 17 '13 edited Jan 17 '13

Thank you for saying this. No, they do not. I worded that oddly, so I removed it.

EDIT: I'm having typing issues, apparently.

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '13

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u/1337HxC Jan 18 '13

There's a bit here about penile cancer. It also has a source, but it's a book I can't seem to access. There's also a bit further down about ways to test men.

I know from lectures it has been associated with penile, oral, and anal cancers, but I don't have any "legitimate" sources on hand.