Warts can be unsightly and grow to a significant size or in clusters.
Warts can be extremely difficult to treat and often recur (return).
This article looks at the various types of warts a person can get, including their appearance and location.
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It also explains how warts are commonly diagnosed and treated.
General Characteristics of Warts
Warts are small raised bumps on the surface of the skin.
Most are flesh-colored, although some come in various shades of white, pink, yellow, or brown.
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Some warts contain tiny black dots.
These are blood vessels that have grown rapidly and irregularly into a wart and havethrombosed(clotted).
This is most often seen when a wart is cut away or reduced by abrasion.
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Warts normally emerge from the top layer of skin in cylindrical columns.
They vary not only by their location but also by the throw in of HPV that caused them.
They are recognized by their raised, rough, pebble-textured surface.
They are rough in texture and often resemble calluses.
Due to their location, plantar warts can be painful to walk or stand on.
Multiple plantar warts can grow together into a cluster called mosaic warts.
These are especially hard to treat as much of the wart will grow beneath the surface of the skin.
They are sometimes called plane warts.
Flat warts appear in clusters of a few dozen to a hundred.
They can be raised or flat and vary in size.
When they form in groups, they may resemble cauliflower.
HPV and Cancer
Most genital warts are brought on by HPV types 6 and 11.
HPV 16 is associated with a high risk of genital cancer.
They initially start as yellowish skin discoloration and will develop over time into raised warts.
Age warts often appear from the age of 40 and increase in size and number with age.
The condition is generally more common in people with fair skin than with dark skin.
Complications of Warts
Warts don’t generally cause complications, but a few problems are possible.
Of these, over 40 types are sexually transmitted.
Most people can recognize a wart on their own body, particularly if they have had one before.
If you’re not sure what it is, your healthcare provider can likely diagnose it just by looking.
If your provider suspects skin cancer or a precancerous growth, they may order askin biopsy.
This is where a small piece of tissue is removed and examined under a microscope.
This isn’t necessary for most warts.
However, because warts can be uncomfortable or unsightly, most people opt to remove them.
Many warts can be treated with simple over-the-counter remedies.
Those that don’t clear up with home treatment may require prescription drugs or in-office therapies.
Home Remedies
A popular home remedy for wart removal is the duct tape method.
This may need to be repeated several times depending on the size and location of the wart.
It can be found in several forms, including oils, drops, and infused adhesive pads or strips.
Salicylic acid is applied to a wart and allowed to dry.
Some practitioners recommend paring back the wart with a pumice stone or emery board before program.
You simply point the precision applicator at the wart and spray.
Options include:
At-home wart freeze kits shouldneverbe used on the face.
They are intended for use only on the feet or hands.
A wart should clear within nine to 12 weeks depending on its severity.
Some of the treatments are applied topically or injected into a wart to break down tissues.
Others directly ablate (remove) tissues with either cold or heat.
Generally speaking, topical therapies and direct ablation methods are pursued before injections.
Many injectable wart therapies are still regarded as experimental.
Doing so nearly doubles the chances of success compared to a single treatment.
It can be spread by skin-to-skin contact and even by touching objects or surfaces contaminated with HPV.
Warts can be diagnosed visually.
Treatment options include OTC or prescription medications applied to the skin or specialist in-office procedures like cryotherapy or electrodesiccation.
A Word From Verywell
Warts can be unsightly, annoying, and difficult to treat.
It won’t get rid of the virus, so the wart will most likely come back.
Also, cutting it may lead to an infection.
No, warts don’t have roots.
Warts originate from the top layer of skin, the epidermis.
As they grow down into the second layer of skin, thedermis, they can displace the dermis.
The underside of a wart is smooth.
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