Warts and verrucas

Warts are small lumps that often grow on the skin of your hands and feet. They don't all look the same, and they can appear on their own or in clusters.

Most people will get warts at some point in their lives. Children and teenagers are affected more often than adults.

Warts come in several different types, and they vary in size and shape.

A common wart (verruca vulgaris) usually looks like this:

• it is round or oval-shaped
• it feels firm and raised
• the surface is rough and irregular
• it often appears on the knuckles, fingers and knees
• it can be anything from less than 1mm to more than 10mm (1cm) across

You may get just one common wart, or several.

Verrucas usually grow on the soles of the feet. The skin in the affected area will be:

• white, often with a black dot (a blood vessel) in the centre
• flat rather than raised

A verruca can sometimes be painful if it's on a part of the foot that carries your weight.

Mosaic warts grow in clusters and form a pattern that looks like tiles laid side by side. They often develop on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet.

Periungual warts grow under and around the fingernails or toenails. They:

• have a rough surface
• can change the shape of the nail
• can be painful

Filiform warts are long and thin, and they tend to grow on the neck or face.

Plane warts can show up in any number, from just one to several hundred, and they often grow in clusters. Here is what they usually look like:

• a yellowish colour
• smooth, round and flat-topped
• 2 to 4mm in diameter
• common in young children, mainly on the hands, face and legs

Plane warts can sometimes appear on the lower legs of women. The reason is that the human papilloma virus (HPV) can spread through shaving.

Warts usually clear up on their own, without any treatment.

How long that takes differs from person to person. It can be up to 2 years before the virus leaves your system and the warts disappear. Warts tend to last longer in older children and adults.

Leaving a wart to go away by itself is one option. But you may want to think about treatment if your wart is:

• painful
• in an awkward position
• causing you distress or embarrassment

A wart will sometimes come back after treatment.

There are a few common ways to treat warts and verrucas:

• salicylic acid, which you can buy from a pharmacy as creams, gels, paints and medicated plasters
• cryotherapy, where liquid nitrogen is put on the wart to freeze and destroy the affected skin cells
• chemical treatments, where chemicals are put on the wart to kill the affected skin cells

Surgery is not usually recommended for warts.

Warts are caused by certain strains of the human papilloma virus (HPV). There are lots of different strains, and each one causes a different type of wart.

The virus makes the top layer of your skin (the epidermis) produce too much keratin, which is a hard protein. This extra keratin is what gives a wart its rough, hard feel.

HPV, the virus that causes warts and verrucas, is passed on through close skin-to-skin contact. It can also spread indirectly, when you touch objects that carry the virus, such as:

• towels
• shoes
• areas surrounding swimming pools
• the floors of communal changing areas

You're more likely to get infected if your skin is wet or damaged.

Warts can spread to other parts of your own body too. You can pass the virus on if you:

• scratch, knock or bite a wart
• bite your nails or suck your fingers (if they have warts on them)
• shave your face or legs

After you become infected, it can take weeks or even months for a wart or verruca to appear.

Warts and verrucas aren't usually serious, and a pharmacist can treat them. Your pharmacist will advise you on which treatment is best for you.

See a doctor if you have a:

• growth on your skin that you're worried about
• wart or verruca that keeps coming back
• wart or verruca that's very large or painful
• wart that bleeds
• wart that changes in how it looks
• wart on your face or genitals

There are some simple steps you can take to lower your chances of getting warts or verrucas, and to stop them spreading to other people.

• keep your feet dry
• change your socks every day
• take care when shaving, because the virus can spread easily if you cut yourself
• wear gloves when using shared gym equipment if you have a wart on your hand
• wear pool slippers or flip flops in communal changing rooms and showers
• cover the wart or verruca with a waterproof plaster or a verruca sock when swimming or while doing PE at school

• Do not touch other people's warts.
• Towels, face cloths or other personal items should not be shared with someone who has a wart.
• Shoes or socks should not be shared with someone who has a verruca.
• Do not scratch or pick a wart or verruca, because it'll encourage the HPV to spread to other parts of your body.

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