No one really wants warts, but do you really know how they are caused? While your mother might have told you that warts are caused by toads, this is not the case.

Warts are not just growths, they are caused by the human papillomavirus which affects the cells of your epidermis. The virus causes your cells to reproduce faster than they should resulting in a wart. This rapid growth causes the skin to bump up in a mosaic, wart like appearance. Warts have blood vessels just like other parts of your skin and these are the dark dots that you might see if you look at them closely. Warts do not have roots and are only in the epidermis or upper layers of your skin.

What happens is the virus invades the skin cells and causes the cells to reproduce at a faster rate than normal. This is what causes the “bump” of the wart – which is simply too many skin cells trying to fit into a compressed space. Warts can appear at any time, and they can also disappear on their own without any treatment.

There are different types of warts, all caused by the same virus. Plantar warts are found on the bottom of the feet and can be very painful. They appear to be flatter and smoother due to the pressure applied by walking. Flat warts can be found on the face and look a little different than warts on other parts of your body simply because your facial skin grows differently.

Here are some details of each type of wart:

Flat Warts

These warts are flat topped and smoother than other types of warts. You often see them on the face because the wart grows a little differently on facial skin giving a different appearance.

Common Wart

The common wart or Verruca Vulgaris are those thick bumps with the rough surface that we often think of when we hear the word “wart”. These are usually found on the hands, space needs an elbow.

Plantar Warts

These are the wart you get on the bottom of your feet and they can be really painful because they can grow into the skin rather than out. Depending on where they are located on your foot, just walking can put enough pressure on them to make them really hurt.

So, how do you get rid of warts? You can use corrosive chemicals, freezing and even the duct tape! Try one method if that doesn’t work choose something else – eventually you’ll find something that does get rid of your warts.