I think I had a wart... but I ripped it off.

[peggster46]

I don't have health insurance and I started growing a small lump on my arm years ago. It would grow and shrink from time to time and about three years ago I ripped it off. It seemed to be okay but very slowly came back. Recently It got bigger again (1/8th in cound and) and I pulled it off again... I know; gross... This time I got it better, and there were root-like tendrils that came up with it. Does this sound like a common wart or something worse?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
It can be a mole, seborrheic keratosis which is a benign skin growth resembling a wart or a wart. Only a biopsy can confirm the diagnosis. Do not rip it apart as it may cause secondary infection and consult a dermatologist to get it evaluated.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.

[baltazar06]

I had something like this a couple of years ago.  A plantar wart. It would get really sore but i would try to shave as much skin off of it as I could after I would get out of the shower.  When the skin would grow back and get hard again I would do the same thing.

I went to the doctor and he froze it and told me to go back in a couple of months for another freezing, but one day I was just picking at it and I tore the whole thing out!  It left a little whole in my skin, but it didnt come back.  And the whole went away :)

Hope this helped.