Warts are often flesh-colored and feel rough. Sometimes they can be dark (brown or gray-black), flat, and smooth.

Types of warts are based on the body part involved and how the warts look like.

• Common warts (also called vurruca vulgaris)
  
  Very often they grow on the fingers, around the nails, and on the back of the hands
  Can have black dots that look like seeds (often called "seed" warts).
  Most often they feel like rough bumps.
   
• Foot warts (also called plantar warts) 
  
  Grow most often on the soles of the feet.
  Can grow in clusters (mosaic warts).Often are flat or grow inward (walking creates pressure, which causes the warts to grow inward).They may be painful and feel as if one has pebbles in one’s shoes.
   
• Flat warts
  
  They can occur anywhere. Children usually get them on the face. In men these warts are mostly seen in the beard area, and women tend to have them on their legs. In  comparison to other warts, they are  smaller and smoother but they have a tendency to grow in large numbers — 20 to 100 at a time.
   
• Filiform warts
  
  They look similar to long threads or thin fingers that stick out. Most of the times they are found to grow on the face-    around the mouth, eyes, and nose. They grow very quickly and are highly contagious.

Anyone can get warts. Children and teenagers or those who bite their nails or pick at hand nails or persons with a weakened immune system (the body’s defense system) are more prone to getting a wart virus (HPV) than others.

After having a look and examining, a dermatologist  can diagnose if the patient has warts or not .
The dermatologist may need to perform a skin biopsy in rare cases  to ascertain that it is a wart.  In case a biopsy is required, the dermatologist will remove the wart and send it to a lab for further investigation. At the lab, a small piece of the wart will be looked at under a microscope for diagnosis.

Most of the warts in children do not require treatment. They often go away without treatment. But in adults, warts may not disappear as easily or as quickly as they do in children.  Most warts are found to be harmless,but the dermatologists do treat them. The treatment method depends on the patient’s age and health as well as the type of wart. Various methods used are:

• Cantharidin: The wart is painted with cantharidin. Because of Cantharidin a blister  forms under the wart. In a week or so, the patient can return to the dermatologist who would clip away the dead wart.
   
• Cryotherapy: (freezing) is the most common treatment deployed but it may require repeated attempts.
   
• Electrosurgery and curettage: Electrosurgery (burning) is a good treatment for common warts, filiform warts, and foot warts.  In Curettage, the wart is scrapped off with a sharp knife or small, spoon-shaped tool. These two procedures often are used together.
   
• Excision: The doctor may cut out the wart (excision).
   
• Laser treatment: Laser treatment is an option, mainly for warts that have not responded to other therapies.
   
• Chemical peels: When flat warts appear, they are usually many in number. Because they are many in numbers, dermatologists often prescribe "peeling" methods for treating them.  Peeling medicines include salicylic acid (stronger than one can buy at the store) and glycolic acid.

It is important to remember that there is no cure for the wart virus. This means that warts can reappear at the same site or appear in a new spot. At times, one gets a feel that new warts appear as fast as old ones go away. This happens because before the warts are treated, the old warts shed virus cells into the skin. As such, new warts  grow around the first warts. The best way to prevent this is to treat the new warts as soon as they appear.

One should consult a dermatogologist as soon as they appear but in the following conditions one should seek immediate help from our dermatologist.

• A suspicion that the growth is not a wart.
   
• A wart on the face or genitals.
   
• Many warts.
   
• Warts that hurt, itch, burn, or bleed.
   
• A weakened immune system.
   
• Diabetes .Diabetic patients should try not to remove any wart that is on the foot. In diabetic patients, if the skin gets cut or damaged, it could cause a long lasting damage to the nerves of the feet.

• Do not pick or scratch at warts.
   
• Wear flip-flops or pool shoes in public showers, locker rooms, and pool areas.
   
• Do not touch someone’s wart.
   
• Keep foot warts dry, as moisture tends to allow warts to spread.