Warts are
small, skin-coloured, rough lumps on the skin. They often
appear on the hands and feet and look different depending on
where they are on the body and how thick the skin is. A wart
on the sole of the foot is called a verruca. Genital warts are
warts found on the genitals and around the
rectum.
Warts are
caused by infection with a virus called human papilloma virus
(HPV). The virus causes a hard protein called keratin in the
top layer of the skin (the epidermis) to grow too much,
producing the rough, hard texture of a
wart.
Warts are
usually harmless, but they can look unattractive. They often
clear up by themselves, although treatment can help to get rid
of them more quickly. Warts aren't normally painful, although
verrucas can sometimes hurt.
Warts are
very contagious. The skin cells in warts release thousands of
viruses, so close skin-to-skin contact can pass on the
infection. However, it can take weeks or even months for a
wart, verruca, or genital wart to appear after you've caught
the infection.
People with
weak immune systems (which fight infection) are more likely to
get warts. This is because the body is less able to fight off
HPV.
Most people
develop warts at some point in their life, usually before the
age of 20. About 1 person in 10 in the UK has warts at any one
time. Genital warts are the most common sexually transmitted
infection in the UK.
