WARTS

[BJs4SJ]

I've been wondering about this too - have a couple on my big toe.  Don't think that they are catchy 'cos my partner of 12 years hasn't got any, but I do feel self conscious about the if I receive a massage. I guess as a MT I'd like to know if someone has warts or not so that I can either avoid the area or wear gloves during the massage - at least for that part of the body that has the warts ....

 

[DANC3R]

I completely avoid the area.  I would know in advance since Coneforum.xxxious Skin Conditions is one of the items on my intake form. If it's not on yours, you may want to ask your clients if they have any.  If you get one on your hand and use that hand on your clients, you have a good chance of passing it on to them.

 

[Black Delilah]

WARTS

I wear gloves; if I had a wart or if my client does.Maybe you could put it on the client intake form (Do you have any warts?) ???

 

[kouneli]

Massagengel, have you explained to a client why you are wearing gloves?  Does that change the feel of the massage?  

 

[irenaaneri1980]

WARTS

I just had this woman come in and she had several warts on both of her arms. I told her I would not massage those areas. She had no problem with that. I was taught in school to avoid warts, leasions, scale, and any other skin disorder. I have never had a client get upset when I avoided these areas. Emily

 

[dheyenne]

I think that Psoriasis is different to warts...?  I'm pretty sure that Psoriasis is not transferrable, but rather a physical reaction to something occurring in that particular person's body that results in the body overproducing (or producing too rapidly) skin cells.But, absolutely, if the skin is broken avoiding the area or wearing gloves would be appropriate.

 

[kdj]

you should wear gloves even if you have an open wound...Acually no it doesn't change the "feel" of the massage. Just make sure you have gloves that fit... and remember some people are allergic to latex. In school we had gloves avalible. I gave and received a massage with gloves on. you might need to put a touch more lube on though.And yes you explain "I have a cut on my hand." (I've accually only worn one glove) The client always has the right to refuse service from you, though I have never had a problem. I found the clients are more appreciative. Would you want someone with a cut/wart on their hand touching you without protection? yuck! good point mimi... didn't know quite how to word it! lol.  

 

[theymademedoit]

WARTS

I guess I should clarify, our instructor actually discussed in class that we should never apply oils or massage any skin that appears to be open leasions, warts and when he said scale he was refering to flaking or peeling skin and rashes. We were also told to ask the customer if we noticed any skin discoloration if they were burned or had psoriasis. He did not say specifically that we should not massage a person with psoriasis, but it is my position to simply avoid these areas. I suppose I could use gloves but would want to practice with another therapist first to get the feel for that . Any way that is my two cents worth. Emily

 

[the boss]

Do we all know that a wart is a virus, and that virus is cruising around inside of you, waiting for an appropriate time to take hold and grow?  I used to have quite a few warts on my hands.  They went away.  I knew a guy that had one frozen off his nose several times.  Finally it went away.  No big deal.  mick

 

[M C]

WARTS

so Mick does that mean you cannot "get" warts from contact with someone who has them?

 

[Gtrgtrvtr]

dayum gina, that is nasty!   I have never had warts so am not clear on what causes them. But if I had a client that had warts and didn't tell me I would be pissed.

 

[darkchild]

WARTS

Thanks BJB-LMP that clears it up for me.

 

[Jeep]

WARTS

Here is a thread that had some things about warts and was an interesting read.  Maybe it helps someone else somehow. (From: http://www.massageplanet.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=mass_tech;action=display;num=1036252424)

Class #15 Well we finally got back from our break. We did a guided full body massage. We listened to a CD while we followed along. It was pretty fun. I received first, then I gave. While I was massaging my partners hands, I noticed she had warts. I was like "uh oh..." I know those are coneforum.xxxious so as soon as I was done I went and washed my hands. I'm not sure if that really did anything. But then I realized that she basically massaged my whole body!!! I wonder what the chances are that I get a wart from her.....I used to get warts on my hands but not anymore. I really hope I don't get anymore. I even asked her if she had any contraindications. She said no! Correct me if I'm wrong but aren't warts a contraindication?? What are my chances of getting a wart from this?? - Chris~~~Hi Chris, I looked warts up online, and sice they are a virus, you are right they are coneforum.xxxious. However, it depends on the type of wart, and how strong your immune system is, if you had any open sores that were vulnerable to the virus entering (small cut etc). Why oh why is this person massaging others w/ warts on her hand? She has massaged several people?? - Deb~~~Yes I read up on warts too. I think my immune system is pretty good. I also read the chances of getting a wart from someone else is small. But I also read in my massage therapy book that with the moist environment that the lubrication provides, it may be easier to get warts. I also read that it's possible adults build up an immunity to warts since they are usually seen in children and young adults. But I may have had a hangnail or two that I had pulled off recently, so who knows......... And yes this girl has been massaging basically everyone else in the class. I am sure someone else has noticed. You'd think she would try and get them removed, huh? Well, it said the time between contraction and actual signs of warts is 2-3 months, so I will let you all know how things turn out. I could get them anywhere on my body!!! I better not or I will be mad!  - Chris~~~Hey Chris, Any warts yet?-Betti ~~~Not yet! From what I understand it takes about 2 months before any appear, if they do....so I am keeping my fingers crossed! -Chris~~~I have to ask........ Have you formally complained about the wart girl? I would think any respectable school would address this problem and stop her immediately from performing any hands on. I find myself almost furious for you. I would think that if she cares so little for the health and hygiene of herself, and obviously not much of her fellow classmates, then she will be just as bad with her clients. This bothers me for several reasons.......thinking about your classmates, her future clients, and for the reputation of Massage Therapy in general. I think someone should make her come up with some good reason that she should not be barred from getting her license. ok, I am done on the soap box. but how tacky and careless can one be? I am assuming that you take general pathology classes, and that it would be easy for her to look up her wart and find out about the contraindications. (assuming she has no common sense). Ok, I really am done. I just know that I would formally complain. (then send her a bill for my doctors visit). - Mickey~~~Hmmm the wart girl.....haven't complained about her. I am thinking I should though. I mean, she could have given everyone she touched warts by now, right?? Maybe I could set up an anonymous email address and send it to the admissions people at school? Or send an anonymous email to everyone in our class addressing this issue? I think something should be done alright, but I would feel really uncomfortable just going up to her in class and talking to her about it. What does everyone else think. -Chris~~~

 

[starsky_1212]

WARTS

continued:

~~~Hi Chris. I wouldn't be shy about bringing up the subject with your instructor (the warts issue). Believe me, if nobody else has noticed, they aren't paying attention to what they're doing! It's probably on lots of people's minds. Having warts is not (I'm speaking of the girl in class) her fault. In fact, many people have been exposed to the virus that causes warts.... probably even you, before coming into contact with her! It is an excellent opportunity to open up a very important line of discussion. Here's my thoughts about working on her in class again as a class partner: do not ostracize (sp?) her. When it comes time to work on her hands, mention that you are going to skip working that area today, as you notice that there may be a local contra-indication. You could even call the instructor over to confirm or dissuade you from your thinking. I wouldn't bring it up anonomously. As a massage therapist, you are going to come across many different conditions. Learn to talk and act in a professional and straight forward manner about your concerns. Believe me, it's only difficult to bring the subject up the first time. It will help you (and everyone else in your class) come up with a successful dialogue to address this kind of stuff. Use this as a really great opportunity to learn more than just the introductory bodywork. When you're in practice, you can refer to your pathology texts or med reference books to address such issues, or even ask a client to get an okay from their physician, etc, before working on such areas. While in school, you are in a safe environment to address these things frankly & to learn what to do in such cases right there in class. - sagetherapist~~~WARTS: Yes it needs to be addressed but also be aware of the political/emotional dynamics of your class- I imagine you are going to be stuck with these people for a while and you want to have a good learning experience. I would first approach the instructor to develop a game plan on how this can most sensitively be addressed- imagine how mortified the student will be when you go out of your way to point our her warts and how they are a contraindication! The instructor can give you the benefit of their experience in dealing with these types of situations and can help find the most appropriate and tactful way to address it. Warts happen, so do farts, tears, and other odd things when dealing with massage clients. Yes it needs to be addressed, but this is not quite life or death yet. -vancisin~~~As for the warts issue, I sent an anonymous email to the administration and it looks like it will be taken care of. I really would not have felt comfortable at all telling her directly that she had warts, or even the teacher for that matter. I wasn't even very comfortable sending the anonymous email, but I knew it had to be done. Warts (and I'm pretty sure that's what they were since I have had them before) are coneforum.xxxious and I think I did the right thing. What do you all think? - Chris~~~Hi Chris, If you had known his person longer, and had a relationship you probably would of handled that differently, but who knows. You certainly were struggling with what to do for awhile. It will hopefully be a relief when your instructor handles this matter in a professional and tactful way. Take Care, Deb ~~~Chris, as long as you are comfortable with your actions, that's all that matters. The job got done. But the bigger question still remains, how would you handle a client in the real world who has the same wart problem? Everything you confront in school will only be ten-fold in the real world. I'm not really looking for an actual answer from you but for you to think about this kind of uncomfortable scenario that will come your way as a therapist. Just food for thought! - Joe E. ~~~Hey Joe. Yeah I understand what you are saying. But I mean, this girl enrolled in massage school with a coneforum.xxxious virus on her hand. And she didn't even let anybody know about it. As far as with my future clients, at least I will be the ones touching them, and not vide versa. I will be able to see, or briefly feel if they have anything coneforum.xxxious on them. And this is only after they lie on theie intake form, where they will hopefully divulge any necessary info about their health I should know about. -Chris

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