Table of Contents
- Key Points
- What Causes Warts? Understanding the Root of the Problem
- Types of Warts: Identifying Different Varieties
- Risk Factors and Transmission
- Wart Prevention Strategies
- Treatment Options: From Home Remedies to Professional Care
- When to See a Dermatologist
- Schedule Wart Treatment With a Greenville Dermatologist Today
- References
Key Points
- Warts are one of the most common skin conditions throughout the world.
- While not life-threatening, warts can be a major nuisance, and are often extremely difficult to eliminate.
- Having a better understanding of what warts are, the different types, and available treatment approaches will help patients better determine the best course forward.
Warts are among the most common skin conditions, affecting approximately 10 percent of the world’s population.1 These small, often unsightly growths can appear anywhere on the body, with many people experiencing their first wart on a finger or other areas of the hand during childhood or adolescence. While generally harmless, warts can be bothersome, embarrassing, and sometimes painful, leading many to seek treatment from a qualified dermatologist.
If you are dealing with a persistent foot or hand wart, or any other type of skin growth, understanding the basics about the condition can help you make informed decisions about treatment and prevention. This comprehensive guide explores everything you need to know about these common skin lesions.
What Causes Warts? Understanding the Root of the Problem
A wart is a small, typically raised growth on the skin caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV).2 These benign tumors develop when HPV infects the top layer of skin, usually through small cuts or breaks in the skin’s surface. The virus causes rapid cell growth, resulting in the characteristic rough, bumpy texture that most people associate with warts.
Despite common misconceptions, warts are not caused by touching frogs or toads. They are purely viral infections that spread through direct contact with the virus. Also note that HPV strains that cause warts are distinct from those associated with cervical cancer and other serious health conditions, making skin warts generally harmless (from a medical standpoint).
Risk Factors and Transmission
How likely someone is to get warts requires an understanding of how the human papillomavirus infects the skin. As mentioned, the primary cause of all warts is infection with HPV, but several factors influence whether someone will develop warts after exposure to the virus. The main ones include:
- Direct contact with HPV through contaminated surfaces or infected individuals
- Weakened immune system due to illness, stress, or certain medications
- Frequent exposure to moist environments like swimming pools or locker rooms
- Having cuts, scrapes, or other breaks in the skin that provide entry points
- Sharing personal items like towels, razors, or nail files with infected individuals
- Having eczema or other skin conditions that compromise the skin barrier
- Working in environments where hands are frequently wet or damaged
- Nail biting or picking at hangnails, which can create pathways for viral infection
- Walking barefoot in public areas where the virus may be present
- Age—children and teenagers are more susceptible than adults
HPV thrives in warm, moist environments, which explains why communal areas like gym showers and swimming pools are common places for transmission. Once exposed to HPV, it can take weeks or even months for a visible wart to develop. The incubation period varies significantly between individuals, with some people showing symptoms within weeks while others may not develop warts for several months after initial exposure.
Types of Warts: Identifying Different Varieties
Understanding the various types of warts can help you identify what you are dealing with and determine the most appropriate treatment approach.3 Each type has distinct characteristics and tends to appear in specific areas of the body.
Common Warts (Verruca Vulgaris)
As the name suggests, common warts are the most frequently encountered type and typically appear as:
- Rough, raised bumps with a cauliflower-like surface
- Gray, brown, or flesh-colored growths
- Small black dots in the center (these are tiny blood vessels, not “seeds”)
- Most commonly found on fingers, hands, knees, and elbows
A wart on finger surfaces is particularly common because hands frequently come into contact with environments that may harbor the virus. These warts can be especially bothersome since they are highly visible and may interfere with daily activities.
Plantar Warts
Plantar warts develop on the soles of the feet and have unique characteristics. These include:
- Flat appearance due to pressure from walking
- Painful when pressure is applied
- May appear as a single wart or in clusters called “mosaic warts”
- Often mistaken for calluses but can be distinguished by their rough texture and black dots
- Can make walking uncomfortable or painful
Flat Warts (Plane Warts)
Flat warts are smaller and smoother than other types. Characteristics include:
- Small, slightly raised, smooth-topped lesions
- Usually appear in groups of 20 to 100
- Common on the face, neck, hands, and legs
- More prevalent in children and young adults
- Often spread through shaving or scratching
Filiform Warts
These distinctive warts have a unique appearance:
- Long, narrow projections that look like tiny fingers
- Typically appear on the face, particularly around the mouth, nose, and eyes
- Fast-growing and can be particularly bothersome due to their location
- More common in older adults
- May cause irritation when shaving
Periungual Warts
These warts appear around the fingernails and toenails:4
- Rough, irregular growths around nail beds
- Can cause nail deformities if left untreated
- Often painful and difficult to treat
- May result from nail biting or cuticle picking
- Can affect nail growth and appearance
Wart Prevention Strategies
Understanding what causes warts helps in developing effective prevention strategies. While it is impossible to completely prevent wart infections, several approaches can significantly reduce your risk:
Effective Prevention Methods:
- Keep hands clean and dry, washing frequently with soap and water
- Avoid touching or picking at warts on yourself or others
- Do not share personal items like towels, razors, or nail clippers
- Wear shoes or sandals in public areas like pools, locker rooms, and showers
- Keep feet dry and change socks regularly, especially after exercise
- Avoid biting nails or picking at cuticles, which creates entry points for HPV
- Cover cuts and scrapes with bandages until they heal completely
- Maintain a healthy immune system through proper nutrition, exercise, and adequate sleep
- Avoid walking barefoot in areas where others go barefoot
- Use your own nail care tools and avoid sharing with others
Treatment Options: From Home Remedies to Professional Care
Fortunately, many treatment options are available to eliminate warts, ranging from over-the-counter solutions to professional medical interventions. The choice of treatment often depends on the type of wart, its location, size, and how long it has been present.
Over-the-Counter Treatments
Many people successfully treat warts at home using readily available products. These include:
Salicylic Acid:
- Available as gels, pads, or liquid solutions
- Work by gradually dissolving the wart tissue layer by layer
- Require consistent daily application for several weeks or months
- Most effective on common warts and plantar warts
- Should be used according to package directions to avoid skin irritation
- Require patience, as results may take 6-12 weeks, or longer
Cryotherapy Kits:
- Over-the-counter freezing treatments using dimethyl ether5
- Work by freezing the wart tissue
- Can be more effective than over-the-counter salicylic acid treatments, but still requires multiple applications over many weeks
- Less effective than professional cryotherapy
- Can cause temporary pain and blistering
- Work best on smaller, newer warts
Professional Medical Treatments
When over-the-counter options fail on particularly stubborn warts, or for faster removal, professional treatment is the route to take. There are many approaches your dermatologist may decide upon, but these are the most common:
Professional Cryotherapy:
- Liquid nitrogen application to freeze and destroy wart tissue
- Usually requires multiple treatments spaced two to four weeks apart
- More effective than over-the-counter freezing products
- Success rates range from 50 to 70 percent, depending on wart type and location
- May cause temporary pain and blister formation
- Can cause temporary skin discoloration
Surgical Removal:
- Physical removal of the wart through cutting or scraping
- Usually performed under local anesthesia
- May leave a scar, especially on visible areas
- Reserved for large or particularly resistant warts
- Quick procedure, but requires proper wound care afterward
- High success rate, but invasive nature makes it a last resort
Immunotherapy:
- Treatments designed to stimulate the immune system to fight the virus
- May include topical medications like imiquimod cream6
- Injection of antigens to boost the immune response to HPV
- Useful for multiple warts or treatment-resistant cases
- Can be effective when other treatments have failed
When to See a Dermatologist
While many warts can be successfully treated at home, certain situations warrant professional medical attention. Consider scheduling an appointment with your Greenville dermatologist if you experience any of the following:
- Warts that are painful, bleeding, or showing signs of infection
- Multiple warts or warts that continue to spread despite treatment
- Warts on the face or genital area
- Warts that interfere with daily activities or cause significant embarrassment
- Uncertainty about whether a growth is actually a wart or another skin condition
- You have warts and a compromised immune system
- Lack of improvement after several months of consistent home treatment
- Warts that change in appearance, color, or size rapidly
A qualified dermatologist can provide an accurate diagnosis, discuss treatment options, and create a personalized treatment plan based on your specific situation. They can also help distinguish warts from other skin conditions like seborrheic keratoses, skin tags, or even skin cancers that may appear similar.7
Keep in mind that, even with professional treatment, complete removal of warts may take multiple treatment cycles. Also, recurrence rates vary but can be as high as 20 to 30 percent in some cases.8
Schedule Wart Treatment With a Greenville Dermatologist Today
Understanding warts, their causes, and available treatment options empowers patients to make informed decisions about managing these common skin growths. Whether you’re dealing with a stubborn hand wart, a painful plantar wart, or multiple warts that won’t respond to over-the-counter treatments, remember that effective solutions are available. The various types of warts each respond differently to treatment, and what works for one person may not work for another.
At Rogers Dermatology, our team leverages decades of experience diagnosing and treating warts, to get the best results for each patient. We can recommend a plan of attack based on your unique circumstances and goals, balancing a suitable level of invasiveness with efficient, effective elimination of warts. Contact our office today to set up an appointment.
References
- “Warts,” Cleveland Clinic, February 2024, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15045-warts.
- Lynette Luria and Gabriella Cardoza-Favarato, “Human Papillomavirus,” National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, January 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448132/.
- “Overview: Warts,” Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, January 2023, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279586/.
- Marjorie Hecht, “Everything You Should Know About Periungual Warts,” Healthline.com, May 2023, https://www.healthline.com/health/skin-disorders/periungual-warts.
- “Dimethyl Ether,” National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, August 2025, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Dimethyl-Ether.
- “Imiquimod Topical,” MedlinePlus.gov, April 2025, https://medlineplus.gov/druginfo/meds/a698010.html.
- “Seborrheic Keratosis: Overview,” American Academy of Dermatology Association, retrieved on August 4, 2025, from: https://www.aad.org/public/diseases/a-z/seborrheic-keratoses-overview.
- “Vinod K. Dhawan, MD, “Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Treatment & Management,” Medscape.com, August 2024, https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/219110-treatment.