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Warts are benign (not cancerous) skin growths that appear when a virus infects the top layer of the skin. Warts can grow on any part of your body and are often skin-colored and feel rough, but they can be dark (brown or gray-black), flat, and smooth. Most warts are raised with a rough surface.

Different types of warts include:

• Common warts – often appear on the hands, but can grow anywhere. Flat warts are generally found on the face and forehead. They are common in children. They are less common in teens, and rare in adults.
• Genital warts (condyloma) – usually found on the genitals, in the pubic area, and in the area between the thighs. They can also appear inside the vagina and anal canal.
• Plantar warts – found on the soles of the feet. They can be painful.
• Subungual and periungual warts – appear under and around the fingernails or toenails.

Wart viruses are contagious. Warts can spread by contact with the wart or something that touched the wart.

Wart Treatments or to prevent warts from spreading, our Dermatologists recommend the following:

• Do not pick, scratch, or shave over warts.
• Wear flip-flops or pool shoes in public showers, locker rooms, and pool areas.
• Do not touch someone’s wart.
• Keep foot warts dry, as moisture tends to allow warts to spread.

Do you need a Wart Treatment?

Warts can go away without treatment. This is especially true when children get warts. Although most warts are harmless, dermatologists treat them because they can be symptomatic, embarrassing, or spread. Sometimes we biopsy a wart to make sure it is a wart and not a skin cancer like squamous cell carcinoma.

Call for a consultation if you cannot get rid of your warts with over the counter medications, the warts hurt, you have many warts, or the “wart” is rapidly growing (this may not be a wart). At Dermatology San Antonio we have many wart treatments, most of which can be administered during your office visit.