Warts

What warts and verrucas look like

Source: NHS

In this topic (6)

Warts and verrucas come in all shapes and sizes. They can affect any part of the body, but are more common on the hands and feet.

Warts :

  • tendto be round or oval-shaped(although some are long and thin)
  • are usually firm and raised
  • have a rough, irregular surface similar to a cauliflower(although some are smooth)
  • vary in size, from less than 1mm to more than 1cm across
  • can appear on their own or in a group

Verrucas :

  • develop on the soles of the feet
  • arewhite, often with a black dot in the centre
  • tend to beflat rather than raised
  • can bepainful if they'reon a weight-bearingpart of the foot

It can be difficult to tell warts apart from other skin conditions, such as skin tags , moles or actinic keratosis . See your GP if you're not sure.

Articles for Warts

Causes of warts and verrucas

Warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV) . This causes an excess ofa substance called keratin to developin the toplayer of skin, resulting ina hard, rough lump. Warts don't spread easily,

Introduction

Find out what warts and verrucas are, including what they look like and how you can get rid of them.

Preventing warts and verrucas

It's difficult to prevent warts and verrucas completely, but the following measures can help stop them spreading: avoidtouching other people's warts wash your hands after touching your own wart avo

Treatments for warts and verrucas

Most warts and verrucas will eventually clear up without treatment. They can be removed with over-the-counter treatments, but these can be time consuming, painful and don't always work. Pharmacy tre

What warts and verrucas look like

Warts and verrucas come in all shapes and sizes. They can affect any part of the body, but are more common on the hands and feet. Warts : tendto be round or oval-shaped(although some are long an

When to see your GP

See your GP for advice if: you're not sure whether a lump is a wart your GP can usually identify a wart by looking at it pharmacy treatments haven't worked you have a wart on your face don't treat