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When to Seek Medical Care

When to call the doctor

• Call the doctor if the wart continues to worsen despite home therapy. If you see no improvement in the wart using salicylic acid after 12 weeks, call the doctor for an appointment to discuss other methods of wart removal.

• Call the doctor if the wart changes shape or color. There is the possibility that you are not treating a wart.

• Call the doctor if the wart starts bleeding after only a slight brush or bump or if you have difficulty stopping the bleeding while trimming the wart.

• Anyone with genital warts should see a doctor. The treatments described here are not appropriate for genital warts and should not be used.

Aside from pain from plantar warts that cannot be controlled with over-the-counter medication, there is no need to visit a hospital's emergency department for wart treatment.