Warts

Overview

Warts are benign skin growths caused by a viral infection in the top layer of the skin or mucous membranes. They are more common in children than in adults. About 10 per cent of teenagers have warts. There are different types of warts. Warts that appear on your skin are usually called flat warts and they pose no real health risk. Other warts such as genital warts can have health consequences especially for women. Warts can be annoying even embarrassing because they are often highly visible. However they are easy to treat.

Causes

Forget what you might have heard as a child. You can't get warts from touching a toad! Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus that enters the body through a break in the skin. The virus grows in warm moist environments such as those created in a locker room or in your shoes when your feet perspire and the moisture is trapped. Warts are passed from person to person sometimes indirectly. Several months may pass between the first contact and the time when the warts can actually be seen.

Symptoms

There are a variety of warts each with their own distinct look.

Common warts

Usually found on fingers hands knees and elbows a common wart is a small hard bump that is usually grayish-brown in colour. It has a rough surface that may look like cauliflower with black dots inside.

Flat warts also called juvenile warts

These are about the size of a pinhead are smoother than other kinds of warts and have flat tops. Flat warts may be pink light brown or yellow. They can occur anywhere but in children they are most common on the face. In adults they are often found in the beard area in men and on the legs of women. Flat warts can also grow on arms knees or hands and can appear in clusters 20 to 100 at a time.

Plantar warts

Found on the soles of the foot plantar warts can be very uncomfortable - like walking with a stone in your shoe. Using a public shower or walking around the locker room in your bare feet after a workout increases your risk for developing plantar warts. This type of wart can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from calluses. However you may be able to see tiny black dots on the top layer. They are always located over weight bearing areas.

Filiform warts

These have a finger-like shape are usually flesh-coloured and often grow on or around the mouth eyes or nose.

Genital warts (also called condyloma)

Can occur on the genitalia within the vagina on the cervix on the penis and around the anus or within the rectum. They may occur singly or in groups. Sometimes they itch or burn but often they have no symptoms at all. Genital warts can raise the risk of cancer especially of the cervix and so they need to be diagnosed and treated.

Always see your doctor if a wart or surrounding skin is:

  • painful
  • red
  • bleeding
  • swollen
  • oozing pus

Treatment

Warts don't generally cause any problems and eventually will just go away on their own. However they are unsightly can spread to other parts of the body and can be passed on to someone else. Therefore treatment should be considered.

There are a variety of ways to treat warts including over-the-counter remedies that contain mild acids and even "duct tape". With self-treatment it could take several weeks or even months before the wart falls off. If you want quicker results a doctor can:

  • prescribe stronger medications that are applied directly on the wart
  • burn the wart off with a light electrical current
  • freeze the wart with liquid nitrogen
  • use laser treatment

With professional treatment the wart may fall off within a few days. However several treatments are usually necessary.

Prevention

It is always a good idea to wash your hands and skin regularly especially areas where there are cuts or scratches. To avoid plantar warts wear sandals or flip-flops in public showers around public pools and in locker rooms. Genital warts can be passed through sexual contact. Condoms prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections.