Summary
Warts are growths on your skin caused by an infection with humanpapilloma virus, or HPV. Types of warts include :
- Common warts, which often appear on your fingers
- Plantar warts, which show up on the soles of your feet
- Genital warts, which are a sexually transmitted infection (STI)
- Flat warts, which appear in places you shave frequently
In children, warts often go away on their own. In adults, they tend to stay. If they hurt or bother you, or if they multiply, you can remove them. Chemical skin treatments usually work. If not, various freezing, surgical and laser treatments can remove warts.
Start Here
- Warts (American Academy of Dermatology)
- Warts and Wart Removal (American Academy of Family Physicians)Also in Spanish
- What to Do About Warts (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish
Specifics
- Common Warts (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)Also in Spanish
- Plantar Wart (Verruca Plantaris) (American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons)Also in Spanish
- Plantar Warts (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)Also in Spanish
Images
- Common Wart (VisualDX)
- Flat Wart (VisualDX)
- Plantar Wart (VisualDX)
Clinical Trials
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Warts
(National Institutes of Health)
Journal ArticlesReferences and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Intralesional Injection of Vitamin D3 for Treatment of Cutaneous Warts: A…
- Article: Characteristics and differential diagnosis of common verrucous proliferative skin diseases under…
- Article: Intralesional Immunotherapy for Non-Genital Viral Warts: A Review of Current Evidence…
- Warts — see more articles
Find an Expert
- American Academy of Dermatology
- Find a Dermatologist (American Academy of Dermatology)
- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

Children
- Common Wart (VisualDX)
- Flat Wart (VisualDX)
- Warts (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish
- Warts (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation)Also in Spanish
Teenagers
Patient Handouts
- Cryotherapy for the skin (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
- Warts (Medical Encyclopedia)Also in Spanish
Topic Image

MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA
National Institutes of Health
The primary NIH organization for research on Warts is the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
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