The idea that warts are contracted from public places has long been considered a general truth, but a new study reveals that kids are actually more likely to get infected with the virus that causes warts from close contact with family members or classmates.
And researchers from the new Dutch study say that the common practice of encouraging children to bandage warts and wear flip-flops when swimming or using public showers are not the most effective preventative measures in regard to controlling the primary source of wart infection.
"Current recommendations on wart prevention focus primarily on public places such as swimming pools," said Dr. Sjoerd Bruggink, the study's lead author from the department of public health and primary care at Leiden University Medical Center.
"[But] children often get warts from family members of classmates rather than from public spaces, [suggesting that] covering warts at home or at school could maybe be more helpful in preventing warts."
The findings, published in the journal Pediatrics, were based on data collected from 1,100 Dutch children from ages 4 to 12 enrolled in grades 1 through 7. Researchers followed the subjects for 18 months and recorded wart occurrences during that timeframe.
Bruggink and fellow researchers concluded that wart exposure risk stemmed more from the home or school and not from public spaces.
Warts result from the human papilloma virus, or HPV, but are not the same strain as genital warts.
Obstetrician and gynecologist at Scott and White Healthcare in Round Rock, Texas, Dr. Jocelyn Glassberg, says that the findings from this study are sensible.
"The study findings make sense since HPV is a contact-borne virus, and children have the most contact with their household members and school friends," she said as quoted by U.S. News and World Report.
"It is a great reminder that if anyone has a wart [they should] cover it to prevent spreading the virus."
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