Various types of warts look different.

They can also be removed with noninvasive procedures.

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Wart on the bottom of a person’s foot being treated by a medical specialist

damiangretka / Getty Images

They also haverough, pebble-textured surfaces.

Warts can appear anywhere on the body.

But they are most common on the backs of the hands and on fingers near the nails.

An adult holds the hand of a child with a macro wart

tomczykbartek / Getty Images

Common warts often grow in areas where the skin has been broken.

These actually are tinyblood clots.

tomczykbartek / Getty Images

Flat Wart

Smaller and smoother than other warts,flat wartsare slightly raised.

Plane aka Flat Warts

Reproduced with permission from © DermNetdermnetnz.org2023

They’re the color of skin or brownish-yellow in color.

These types of warts appear in clusters of a few dozen to a hundred.

They typically occur in children and young adults, on the forehead and cheeks.

verruca on the finger wart freeze concept

Roman Didkivskyi / Getty Images

Up to 78% will resolve on their own within two years, but others require treatment.

They have a rough texture that causes them to resemblecallusesor corns rather than warts.

Multiple plantar warts that grow in clusters are called mosaic warts.

Genital Warts On Vagina

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Plantar warts can be difficult to treat.

This jot down of wart also can develop on the palms of the hands.

When this occurs, they’re called palmar warts.

Genital Warts On Penis

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Pink, soft, and slightly raised, genital warts can vary in size and develop as clusters.

About one in 100 sexually active adults in the U.S. has genital warts at any given time.

Of the more than 100 HPV strains, only about 40 can be spread through sexual contact.

removing skin wart

helovi / Getty Images

Genital Wart on the Penis

Genital warts usually appear as a small bump or group of bumps.

They can be small or large, raised or flat, or shaped like a cauliflower.

The warts may go away, stay the same, or grow in size or number.

Periungual Wart

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Symptoms of genital warts in males may include itching, but most of the time they dont hurt.

Filiform Wart

Filiformwarts look unusual.

They arelong, narrow columns of flesh that stick out of the skin.

Verrucous Carcinoma AKA Carcinoma Cuniculatum

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Filiform warts most often appear on the face, especially around the eyes, nose, and lips.

They do not appear in clusters.

Despite their appearance, filiform warts are harmless.

These kinds of warts usually disappear without treatment.

helovi / Getty Images

Periungual Wart

Periungualwarts develop around fingernails and toenails.

They are accompanied by splitting of skin and roughening of the surface.

Periungual warts can affect the shape of a fingernail by pushing it up or causing partial detachment.

When this happens, they can cause pain and interfere with normal nail growth.

Prevention

All warts are highly contagious.

They can easily spread from one part of the body to another and from one person to another.

Warts are because of a virus that is spread through skin-to-skin contact, such as a handshake.

Warts can also be transmitted indirectly by touching contaminated surfaces or objects.

That doesn’t always happen, so it may be important to see a healthcare provider.

If you have a skin lesion that recently has changed, get a diagnosis.

Plantar warts are often mistaken for corns or calluses.

They’re because of human papillomavirus (HPV).

Different types of warts can grow on your skin and appear on any part of the body.

Warts are extremely contagious.

you’re free to pass warts on to other people through skin-to-skin contact.

In extremely rare cases, some warts can develop into a slow-growing cancer called verrucous carcinoma.

Click Play to Learn All About Warts

This video has been medically reviewed byCasey Gallagher, MD.

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