Care Manager Service Case: Contagious Warts Can Spread Over the Whole Body

Warts are a common skin disease caused by human papillomavirus (HPV, a filterable virus) infection. Warts merit extra care as they can, unless dealt with in time, develop increasingly into unsightly growths with the potential to spread to other people. From time to time, Cigna’s Care Manager receive requests from patients with warts for professional medical advice and assistance.

Body covered with over 100 warts

Misunderstandings about skin warts abound. Often mistaken as milia or lipoma, they are not given due attention until the face or the whole body of the patient is covered with skin growths. From time to time, our Care Manager receive requests for help from customers suffering from skin warts. In some cases, an exceptionally large number of warts appear on the skin, with more than 100 warts spreading over the whole body among some patients, covering the face, hands and feet.

In the beginning, warts are not often examined with care or given due attention until the number or size of warts grows to the extent that affects the patient's daily life, with the presence of unsightly or itchy growths on the face. There have also been cases of urgent medical assistance sought for bleeding caused by accidentally scratching the surface of enlarged warts when changing clothes. Some patients have to seek medical attention together with their family members after spreading the disease to them.

Care Manager proactively offers cost-effective treatment plans

For a relatively large number of patients, skin warts are annoying. However, the general public may not have enough understanding to choose among the many clinics, wart treatment centers and even beauty salons for treatment. Charges are also a concern as the medical cost incurred could be tremendous if counted the number of warts spot by spot, while the medical necessity of such treatment should also be taken into account. To address all these doubts, our Care Manager will propose treatment for skin warts in light of the customer’s condition. Under The Cigna Dermatology Program, a customer’s skin health condition will be analyzed and treatment provided with help from a Care Manager qualified as a registered nurse. The customer will receive medical care with peace of mind without having to worry about whether the treatment is covered by medical insurance. The Cigna Dermatology Program is just one of the professional care solutions offered proactively by our Care Manager. Also available are endoscopy programs, musculoskeletal physiotherapy programs and other healthcare solutions as we aim to help customers prevent, through early intervention, little noticed health issues from worsening over time to become health risks.

Contagious warts can infect family members

Warts are generally spread through direct contact such as shaking hands with a patient with warts. Indirect contact is another way of transmission. For example, a patient with warts is likely to spread the disease to his or her family members by sharing, among other things, towels, pillows, bed sheets, clothes, powder puffs and nail clippers with them. Moreover, as wet and warm places are a good breeding ground for warts, swimming pools, fitness centers and yoga studios are at high risk of transmission. A wart virus contracted will develop prolifically into skin growths as the patient’s immune system is weakened and no longer able to suppress the virus.

To prevent warts, extra caution is needed with particular attention to the following precautions suggested by dermatologists:

• Avoid sharing personal items with others
• Avoid walking barefoot in public places such as swimming pools and fitness centers
• Use your own yoga mat while practicing yoga
• If your family members have warts, clean the bathtub and the floor regularly
• If you have warts, you should receive treatment as soon as possible to reduce the risk of transmission to your family
• Do not treat warts yourself, like cutting them with a nail clipper as that may cause skin injury and spread the virus to other parts of the body

A number of common clinical treatments are in place for warts, including the use of ointment, cryotherapy, carbon dioxide laser treatment, and surgery. Even if removed, warts have a risk of relapse at a rate different from person to person. It is generally believed that there is little possibility of short-term recurrence if treatment is thorough.

Cigna’s Care Manager Provides You with Heart-warming Services

At present, Cigna’s Individual and Group customers can receive our Healthcare Concierge Service when receiving treatment, including a dedicated Care Manager for follow-up. The services are as follows:

• Staffed by registered nurses and provide customers with professional advisory if they are facing health issue. For health enquiry, Please contact Cigna Customer Service hotline
• Understands and analyzes the health condition of customers, and offers network doctor options
• Coordinates and follows up on hospital surgery or treatment arrangements and post-surgery visit
• Provides information on improving health, and post-discharge follow-up in person(for example, arranging post-discharge physiotherapy, nutrition guidance, meal delivery service, and more)
• Refers you to personalized services (for example, local limousine transportation to the hospital, nursing arrangements, virtual consultation, medication delivery, home modification, and more)
• Provides emotional support for customers and their family
• Helps arrange “Cigna Health Services At Home” – for example, arranging for cancer patients to receive chemotherapy at home which agreed by doctor to ease the burden of travelling and reduce the risk of infection

The above content is adapted from real cases. Should you have any questions regarding the above case, please contact Cigna for inquiries.

The content of the article cannot substitute for professional opinions or diagnosis of the attending doctors. Should you have any questions regarding the medical treatment plan, please consult your attending doctor.

The content of the above article is for reference only, and Cigna does not warrant or make any representation regarding the accuracy and completeness of the related content and information. Cigna shall not be liable for any damages, indemnities, costs or other expenses arising out of the related content and information.

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