Warts, Types, Causes, Incubation Period, Symptoms And Treatment

In warts, small, non-cancerous and self-limited benign skin growths appear. They may disappear spontaneously. The warts can grow inwards or outwards. These growths are of the same skin color, rough and small in size but they may vary depending upon the type and severity of disease. In some cases, they can be greyish black and dark brown and smooth in texture. They can appear anywhere on the body. They appear when the virus infects the top most layers of your skin and keratins in the top most layers grow too fast. A wart is a contagious disease. It can spread from one person to another by direct contact or indirectly by touching anything in contact with the warts.

Types

There are different types of warts discussed below,

1. The common warts

The common warts appear either alone or in the form of groups. They can form anywhere on the body but most commonly hands. The skin growths in common warts are of dome shaped, greyish black/dark brown and rough in texture.

2. Plantar warts

In plantar warts, the skin growths develop in an inward direction. They can occur on any part of your foot. When pressure is applied during standing or walking, a thick layer is formed on the wart. It is very painful when walking or standing.

3. Flat warts

In flat warts, the skin growths are very small in size and occur mostly on skin of  arms and legs. They develop in the form of groups. They may differ in color such as pink, light yellow and light brown and they have flat tops.

4. Filiform warts

It is a subtype of flat warts. In this type, skin growths develop around the nose, mouth and beard area. These warts are of finger shaped and flesh colored. 

5. Periungual warts

In this type, the skin growths occur on the fingernails and toenails. They are of irregular shapes and rough in texture. It can severely affect the nails and in some cases nails have to be removed.

6. Genital warts

In genital warts, the skin growths are of minute size and they are very difficult to diagnose. They only develop on the genital parts.

Causes

Warts are caused by a virus, particularly human papillomavirus (HPV). There are 100 subtypes of human papilloma virus that can cause warts. Virus enters the body after direct contact with the infected person or recently shed viruses.

Incubation period

The incubation period of the virus is 1-8 months.

Symptoms

The most common symptom of warts is the appearance of skin growths. These growths are small, non-cancerous and benign. They are mostly skin colored, dark brown, pink, greyish black and fleshy colored. They are either rough or smooth in appearance. They are either flat or finger shaped. They take months to two years to disappear.

Treatment

Warts can be cured without any treatment. It takes time depending upon the location and number of warts. If you have diabetes, then you should immediately consult with your dermatologist. They disappear rapidly in children than adults. Most warts do not cause any harm. Your skin specialists may freeze your warts using liquid nitrogen. It is a painful procedure but effective one.  This procedure removes warts within a week.  Another effective procedure is covering the warts by using duct tape.  After several days, soaking and rubbing of skin is done to remove the dead skin. Over the counter sprays with cold air concentrated in it can kill the warts and remove the dead skin. This is not an effective procedure. Another procedure is by using salicylic acid patches. First, you have to soak your warts in warm water for 15 minutes. Then apply these patches for a few weeks for better results.