DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I’ve been plagued by recurrent, common, garden-variety warts for many years. Although I know they’re not a serious health problem, they’re a nuisance. I also know they’re caused by papillomaviruses. Once I treat with OTC preparations, they disappear, but why do they come back in a matter of months or years? I am unaware of any direct contact. Where is the reservoir? — M.B.

ANSWER: You’re right about the wart cause — the human papillomavirus. The teaching is that close contact with another’s wart transfers the virus to a new host. That information has never been definitely proven. Whether people pick them up by touching objects a warty person has handled is another issue that’s uncertain.

Both meat handlers and people who must immerse their hands in water many times during the day are prone to come down with warts. It might be that trauma to the skin of these peoples’ hands give warts an open invitation to become a permanent guest.

Wart recurrence has a number of possible explanations. One is that although treatment gets rid of the visible wart, it doesn’t always get rid of the virus, which often remains in the skin. A person with a permanent wart still living in the skin touches other body sites, and a new wart emerges. Sometimes the papillomavirus is latent in the skin, living undercover, and pops up at a later date. Or it is possible that you happen to come in contact with a person who has a visible wart, but you fail to see it.

Prevention? I haven’t any good information. You can consider yourself blessed by your success with over-the-counter wart preparations. Salicylic acid, often combined with lactic acid, is a reliable treatment. Doctors have many more, like freezing.

An interesting piece of information is that 23 percent of children with warts see them disappear in two months; 30 percent in three months; 65 percent to 70 percent in two years; and 90 percent in five years.

None of this applies to genital warts, and often not to warts on the soles of the feet.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I was diagnosed with a prolapsed bladder almost two years ago. I am 66 and have had a hysterectomy because of large fibroid. I have been fitted with a pessary, which I take out biweekly for cleaning. I am not incontinent. Do you recommend surgery for the prolapsed bladder? — J.D.

ANSWER: “Prolapse” indicates that one of the pelvic organs — the urinary bladder, the uterus, the rectum, one or all three — has fallen down into the vagina. Pelvic pain, difficulty urinating or holding urine and trouble eliminating stool are the signs of prolapse. Laxity of the ligaments holding these structures in place is the cause. Childbearing and age create that laxity.

Pessaries come in many shapes and sizes. They’re designed to fit over the vagina and prop up the fallen organ.

If you have any symptoms from your bladder prolapse or if the pessary isn’t doing its job, then you should consider surgery, a permanent answer to prolapse.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My wife, 37 years old, sometimes goes off her rocker. One minute she’s fine and happy. Then, suddenly, she’ll accuse me of saying or doing something that I have not said or done. About a month ago, she did this to her aunt.

Friends tell me that she’s going through the change of life. I don’t have a clue about what to do. — J.F.

ANSWER: Menopause usually occurs at age 51. Thirty-seven is unusually young for menopause. Personality changes do occur during menopause, but the changes you describe don’t sound like the kinds that happen with the change of life.

Your wife needs to see the family doctor for help finding any physical conditions that could prompt her to act the way she is. If the doctor can’t detect any physical reason, he or she can refer your wife to a mental health professional.

Dr. Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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