Causes and appearance
Although skin warts are generally associated with Cancer in older people, by themselves they are non-cancerous. These skin growths are more common in children and are caused by a viral infection in the uppermost layer of the skin. Although warts can affect any part of the body, they are generally found on the hands and the feet. Warts are painless and are considered to be blemishes rather than contagious sores. The more common warts are rough and skin coloured although dark and smooth warts are not uncommon. The appearance of a wart largely depends on the area in which it is growing.
The common wart is usually found on the knees and elbows. This type of wart is a grayish-brown dome-shaped growth that has a rough surface and resembles a cauliflower. Flat warts are extremely small (about the size of a pinhead) and are smooth. They are skin coloured and generally occur in clusters on the face or neck. Plantar warts are among the few warts that are painful. This is because they are found on the sole of the foot. In addition to these, there are Filiform warts (finger-like shape) mosaic warts (found on the hands and feet) and genital warts (venereal warts).
answered by G M
Wart advice
It is difficult to describe how a wart looks except to say that it is similar to a blister, but is solid tissue and does not contain any fluid. If you are not sure whether you have a wart, you could simply search for images online, or better still visit your doctor and let him or her decide.
A wart is basically a small tumor, an abnormal growth of tissue. Beyond this basic description, there are many possible variations. There are several different types of warts, some large and others small, some painful while others are not, some rough and others smooth, and they can occur on almost any part of the body. Some of the viruses that cause warts are also known to affect the body internally, causing cancer.
Although mostly harmless, warts can be quite persistent, and may disappear with treatment only to develop once more in a few weeks. In many cases however, the body fights the infection on its own. There are many home remedies for warts, but the best treatment is salicylic acid, which is available over the counter as a solution or as an ingredient of a cream or lotion. You need to regularly wash the affected area, apply the solution or cream, and later use a rough surface such as a pumice stone to scrape away the dead skin.
answered by G R