ABC Medical Center > Diseases > Common warts

What is common warts?

4 December 2023

These are small granular skin lumps caused by a viral infection, which, although they can appear anywhere on the body, do so more frequently on the hands.

Common warts’ texture is rough with a series of dark spots formed from clotted blood in tiny blood vessels.
The human papillomavirus (HPV) in some of its variants is the cause of common warts, the infection of which is spread by touch, contact with contaminated objects, skin lesions, and sexual activity.

If your immune system is depressed, it is more likely that you will develop warts in the presence of the virus. On the contrary, if you have a strong immune system, warts will not appear despite viral exposure.

Potential risks:

  • Infants and young people who have not generated immunity to HPV.
  • Patients with a depressed immune system, such as:
    • Those who suffer from HIV/AIDS.
    • Those who have received an organ transplant.
    • Those under treatment against autoimmune diseases.

Signs and symptoms Common warts

Common warts usually appear on the hands with the following morphology:

  • Skin lumps:
    • Small in size.
    • Fleshy looking.
    • Granular.
    • Painful.
  • Texture:
    • Rough.
  • They have dark spots on the surface.

It is important to see your doctor if your common warts:

  • Change color and appearance.
  • Return once removed.
  • They expand.
  • They become aesthetically and functionally annoying.
  • You’re not sure if it’s a wart.
  • The number of warts increases in a short time.

Diagnosis and treatment Common warts

It is often easy to diagnose a wart because it can be identified with the naked eye, although to confirm the diagnosis, you will have various tests done, such as a scraping biopsy of the wart.

Normally, common warts do not require treatment and disappear on their own, but other times they will require treatment with salicylic acid, laser therapy, cryotherapy, and surgery.

In ABC Medical Center Internal Medicine Department, we provide you with health care services with the highest quality and safety, from prevention, diagnosis, timely treatment, and follow-up of infectious, respiratory, endocrinological, dermatological, rheumatic, nephrological, gastrointestinal, and hematological conditions, both chronic-degenerative and acute, through a comprehensive and multidisciplinary model.

Related centers and departments Common warts

Internal Medicine
Radiology and Molecular Imaging
Clinical Laboratory

Fuentes:

  • cun.es
  • topdoctors.es
  • cigna.com
  • mayoclinic.org
  • medlineplus.gov
  • msdmanuals.com
  • middlesexhealth.org
  • medigraphic.com
  • Alfaro CA, Fournier PM. Virus del papiloma humano. Rev Med Cos Cen. 2013;70(606):211-217.
  • López NGE. Infección por virus de papiloma humano. Rev Fac Med UNAM. 2008;51(6):243-244.
  • Tarango-Martínez VM, Valderrama VC, Romo SC. Tratamiento tópico de verrugas filiformes múltiples en cara con 5-fluorouracilo más ácido retinoico. Comunicación de un caso. Med Cutan Iber Lat Am. 2008;36(3):137-141.
  • Rosas MA, Díaz GJM, Mancheno VA, et al. Estudio clínico-patológico retrospectivo en el Hospital General «Dr. Manuel Gea González» en México y en el Instituto de Dermatología y Cirugía de Piel en Guatemala. Med Cutan Iber Lat Am. 2014;42(4-6):104-108.

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    The dissemination of the content of this material is for informational purposes only and does not replace, under any circumstance or condition, a consultation with a specialist doctor, for which the ABC Medical Center is not responsible for the different use that may be given to it. If you require more information related to the subject, we suggest you contact the specialist doctor you trust directly.