What Causes Warts - Contributing Factors and Triggers

Are you wondering what causes warts?

Warts are small, non-cancerous lesions that grow on the surface of the skin. They are the result of a virus called the human papilloma virus (HPV) and spread through direct or indirect contact.

Although they can appear anywhere on the body, they are most common on the hands and feet. There are many different kinds of warts, and some of them include:

• Plantar warts - these appear on the soles of the feet
• Genital warts - found in the pubic area, between the thighs or in the vagina or anal canal
• Subungual and periungual warts - these appear around and under the fingernails and toenails. They are normally light in color but can be dark and at times even black, but this is rare. They are rough in texture, taking on a sandpaper-like quality.

A raised round or oval growth, warts are usually harmless but they can be unsightly and disfiguring, especially when they are in high visibility areas such as the face or forehead - this is part of what causes warts to be highly undesirable. This type of wart is known as a flat wart and is most common in children but rare in adults. They seldom cause discomfort outside of some itching, which in more severe cases can be quite annoying but hardly life threatening.

What causes warts to be painful or uncomfortable? Plantar warts can become the source of pain due to the pressure of walking on them, and cushions may need to be used to alleviate the discomfort.

Although warts are contagious, transmission from person to person is not normally the major concern that transmission to different places on the same body are.

Warts are generally diagnosed by sight as there are few symptoms to warn of their coming, but your doctor may choose to biopsy it to confirm its status and make sure that it is not some other type of skin growth.

The virus tends to enter the body through open wounds and individuals with a weakened immune system are more susceptible to infection. Thus, poor immunity is an important factor in what causes warts to appear.

What causes warts to be more common in children? Children get warts more often than adults do due to hygiene issues, but they also seem to be able to shed them more quickly as well. Contrary to popular belief, the papilloma virus is not transmitted by touching frogs or toads. It is difficult to pinpoint where the virus is contracted because the appearance of warts can take up to eight months after contact with the source.

In learning about what causes warts, it would also be worthwhile to pick up some pointers on how to get rid of warts.

Many warts spontaneously remiss, but this typically takes from six month to two years, and warts that are allowed to go away on their own often reappear. There are numerous methods for removing warts, none of which include picking, tearing or cutting it off with a razor blade yourself. There are over the counter medications that remove warts, such as salicylic acid.

Your doctor has a few options that are effective methods of wart removal. Some of these methods include vaccine, immunotherapy or prescription topical creams, and other such applications. They can also be surgically removed or burned off. Freezing (cryotherapy) is the most common method as it rarely leaves scaring.

Of course, there are also natural treatments and home remedies for removing warts, which you can read about on the rest of this website after having read about what causes warts.

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