While unsightly and never desirable, a skin wart is simply an excess growth of skin caused by a simple little virus. This virus, the human papillomavirus affects the cells in your epidermis and causes them to multiply more rapidly than is normal for this type of cell. The result is that you have too many cells for that particular area and it causes the bump, or tumor, that we know as a wart.



Now, don't be startled by the word tumor – warts are, in fact, benign but the fact remains that they are caused by skin cells dividing much more rapidly then is the norm. Benign, or not, no one wants to look at warts anywhere on their body and seeking a remedy is foremost in the minds of anyone who has them.

Warts can affect anyone, but they are typically found in younger people - children and teens as well as people with an underdeveloped immune system. Most people's immune systems will actually eradicate the virus before it causes a wart, however some people seem to be more susceptible to warts than others. If you have warts, it may be that your immune system simply doesn't have what it takes to fight off the virus or it could simply be one of those quirks of nature where you are more susceptible than the next guy. If you are prone to them, however, it doesn't hurt to eat healthy foods and live a healthy lifestyle in order to boost up your immune system – if nothing else it will help you live a healthier life and, maybe, a wart free one too!

Being caused by a virus, warts have the ability to spread and this explains that where there is one skin wart you may soon find others. Not only that, but you can "catch" warts from other people that have the virus. In other words, the virus itself can get into your skin and give you warts! This is commonly seen with plantar warts - the ones that you get at the bottom of your feet. These are actually the same as other types of warts but they appear smoother and flatter because of the pressure of walking on. These warts are commonly known to be spread by wet floors such as those you would find in a pool, public shower or locker room. That's why it is always wise to wear something on your feet when in these areas.

There are many ways to treat warts. You may try some of the over-the-counter medicines like compound W. - salicylic acid that will burn the skin and hopefully remove the layers that have the virus in them. There is another interesting method using duct tape where you "smother" the wart and this is just really killing the layers of skin and removing them in hopes that all the skin with the virus will be removed. Not everyone responds to treatment in the same way, so you may have to experiment with different treatments before you will find one that successfully gets rid of your skin wart problem.