Warts

Skin | Dermatology | Warts (Disease)


Description

Common warts are small, grainy skin growths that occur most often on your fingers or hands. Rough to the touch, common warts also often feature a pattern of tiny black dots — sometimes called seeds — which are small, clotted blood vessels. Common warts usually occur on your fingers and hands. They may occur singly or in multiples. Warts may bleed if picked or cut. They often contain tiny black dots, which are small, clotted blood vessels.

Causes and Risk factors

Common warts are caused by a virus and are transmitted by touch. Children and young adults are more likely to develop common warts, as are people who have weakened immune systems. Common warts usually disappear on their own, but many people choose to remove them because they find them bothersome or embarrassing.

Warts are caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). There are more than 100 types of HPV, and different types of the virus cause different types of warts. Most types of HPV cause relatively harmless conditions such as common warts, while others may cause serious disease such as cancer of the cervix. Wart viruses pass from person to person.

Diagnosis and Treatment

Sometimes, the doctor may scrape off the top layer of the wart to look for the clotted blood vessels that are common with warts. If the diagnosis is still in doubt, the doctor may take a small sample to be analyzed in order to rule out other types of skin growths.

Many common warts dont require treatment. They usually disappear within two years, though new ones may develop nearby. Its possible to treat them for cosmetic purposes, if theyre causing discomfort or to prevent their spread. Home treatment is often effective in curing common warts. ...