Warts

• How are warts treated?

What are warts?

Warts are characterized by small rough bumps on the skin and are caused by a virus commonly referred to as HPVs or human papillomaviruses.

Warts are commonly harmless but will surely make the person having them feel uncomfortable as they look like small, dried cauliflowers on the skin. Sizes of warts range from 1mm to over 1cm.

What are the most common types of warts?

There are more than 100 types of warts. But the most common types of them are as follows:

• Dome-shaped warts - are also referred to as the common warts. They are mostly located at the back of the fingers, toes and knees. These warts are usually rough with a gray-brown color and dome-shaped growths.
  
• Plantar warts - also known as verruca (as they are caused by a virus known as verruca plantaris) are warts which are located on the sole or toes of the foot. Although these warts are harmless, they should be treated quickly as the person might develop pain while walking.
  
• Flat warts - also known as plane and verruca plana are warts which frequently emerge on the legs, face and other parts of the body. They are caused by infection on the superficial skin due to HPV .
  
• Periungual warts - is the term referred to warts which grow under or around the nails. They cause the peeling and the roughening of the skin around the nailbeds. These types of warts should be treated as quickly as possible as they may damage the nails. Untreated periungual warts could be partially detached from the skin without proper treatment.
  
• Filiform warts - commonly appear often on the face, usually on the eyelids, neck or lips. They look like a long, narrow and protruding finger-shaped warts on the skin.
  
• Genital warts - are considered to be highly contagious sexually transmitted infection. These warts are transferred from one person to another through oral, genital or anal sex with an HPV infected partner.