Warts on hands and feet - Remove & Prevent

Warts on hands and feet - Remove & Prevent

Warts on hands and feet are something that many people have had. Warts can be painful, for example if they are right next to a nail. But warts are usually completely harmless. Warts are easily contagious in changing rooms and swimming pools, and other public places where you walk barefoot.

What are warts?

Warts are small growths on the skin. In the technical language, warts are called verruca. A common wart is skin colored, hard and has an uneven surface. Warts can appear singly or in groups. Often the skin around the wart itself can be slightly thickened as well. Warts often appear on the feet and hands, but can also appear elsewhere on the body. A wart on the hands or feet will sooner or later disappear by itself, but it can take a long time. Many therefore prefer to speed up this process.

Cause of warts

Warts are caused by a viral infection of the skin. In the area of the skin where the virus is located, the skin becomes thick and rough, and you get a wart. The virus that causes warts belongs to the papillomavirus group of viruses. Warts are most common in school-aged children.

Do warts go away by themselves?

Warts are something our immune system is able to take care of in most cases, and then the warts disappear by themselves. Warts can take a long time to disappear, ranging from a few months to several years. If the wart doesn't bother you, there's no point in not doing anything about it. However, remember that if you have warts you can infect others.

How to prevent warts

• Wear sandals or swimming shoes instead of going barefoot in swimming pools and similar places

• Do not share towels

• Do not share nail clippers

Are warts contagious?

Yes, warts are contagious. The virus that causes warts can be transmitted by direct contact with others who have warts or via objects. A classic example is that you can get foot warts after walking barefoot in public places where many people go without shoes or socks, for example in the swimming pool.

How to remove warts?

You can remove warts yourself, there are mainly two different forms of treatment for warts. If you want help to remove a wart, a doctor can do this for you.

Dissolving treatment

Dissolving treatment involves applying an agent to the wart that "dissolves/drys out" the wart. You must apply the remedy either daily or weekly until the wart is gone. Make sure you don't apply the wart remedy on fresh skin.

Wartfree (formic acid) is applied to the wart once a week until the wart is gone

Freezing treatment

Freezing treatment involves freezing the warts away with a cold spray. As a rule, one treatment is sufficient. Be careful not to apply the cold spray to fresh skin.