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Overview
Warts and verrucas are small lumps on the skin that most people have at some point in their life. They usually go away on their own but may take months or even years.
Warts are not harmful, but some people find them itchy, painful or embarrassing.
Verrucas are more likely to be painful – like standing on a needle.
You can treat warts if they bother you, keep coming back or are painful.
Symptoms
Warts feel firm and rough. They can appear on palms, knuckles, knees and fingers.
Warts are usually skin coloured but may appear darker on black or brown skin.
You can get verrucas on your feet. They have tiny black dots under the hard skin.
Some warts are round, flat and can be yellow (plane warts). You can have many of them.
Clusters of warts spread over an area of skin (mosaic warts) are common on feet and hands.
Causes
Warts and verrucas are caused by a virus. They can be spread to other people from contaminated surfaces or through close skin contact.
You're more likely to spread a wart or verruca if your skin is wet or damaged.
It can take months for a wart or verruca to appear after contact with the virus.
Treatment Options
You can buy creams, plasters and sprays from pharmacies to treat warts and verrucas in some countries.
These treatments can take up to 3 months to complete, may irritate your skin and do not always work. You should not use these treatments on your face.
A GP may be able to freeze a wart or verruca so it falls off a few weeks later. Sometimes it takes a few sessions.
If treatment has not worked or you have a wart on your face, the GP might refer you to a skin specialist (dermatologist).
If you have a large or very painful verruca, you may be referred to a foot specialist (podiatrist).
A podiatrist can provide a number of treatments including:
- stronger medicines than you can get from a pharmacist
- freezing the verruca using liquid nitrogen (cryotherapy)
- surgery to remove the verruca using a scalpel or laser
Prevention Tips
How to stop warts and verrucas spreading
There are things you can do to help stop warts or verrucas spreading to other people:
- wash your hands after touching a wart or verruca
- change your socks daily if you have a verruca
- cover warts and verrucas with a plaster when swimming
- take care not to cut a wart when shaving
- do not share towels, flannels, socks or shoes if you have a wart or verruca
- do not bite your nails or suck fingers with warts on
- do not walk barefoot in public places if you have a verruca
- do not scratch or pick a wart
When To See A Doctor
See a GP if:
- you're worried about a growth on your skin
- you have a wart or verruca that keeps coming back
- you have a very large or painful wart or verruca
- you have a wart that bleeds or changes in how it looks
- you have a wart on your face or genitals
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