Q: I am a 28 years old girl with some spots on my face for many years. I have been diagnosed with flat warts. Are these infectious? Also, how can I treat them completely?

A:Warts are viral infections for which there is no safe, yet highly effective systemic medication. Therefore one has to resort to external, destructive methods of treatment. This can be achieved by cauterizations ( chemical or by electrical gadgets), cryosurgery, laser etc. It is obvious that one can remove/destroy only those which are visible. You cannot find where the viral particles are seeded elsewhere (which may be destroyed). Hence they may evolve into clinical lesion at some future date, which may need to be treated. This explains the recurrences. Thus the treatment which you are undergoing may be appropriate.