Plantar Warts Symptoms

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Just as there are many different types of warts, so there are even more symptoms for these warts.  Most warts appear on the hands but they are also common on the soles of the feet and can occur all over the body.  Warts are more likely in children and young adults because firstly they have a less developed immune system and secondly they have more frequent direct contact with others, especially other children.  All warts are caused by a virus known as the human papillomavirus or HPV with over a hundred different strains.

Here are the different types of warts and their symptoms:

• Common warts are, as the name suggests, the most common strain of warts and their medical term is Verruca Vulgaris.  They are rough to look at and rough to touch, sometimes with tiny black spots that are caused by clotted blood vessels. They are gray/brown in color and dome shaped.  Many people think they look like tiny cauliflowers.  Common warts most frequently occur on the knees, elbows and hands, either singly or in groups.  However, they can grow on any part of the body.


• Periungual wart is the name given to a common wart when it grows under and around the toenails and fingernails. These type of warts can be painful and they can affect nail growth.


• Flat warts are flat topped and smooth, usually the same or close in color to your own skin. Easily spread especially when scratched or during shaving such as on men's faces or women's legs.  They are very small - often just the size of a pin head – and can appear in great numbers in one area.


• Plantar warts are the kind of warts that should be treated as early as possible.  They appear on the soles of the feet and can be very stubborn and very painful.  Easily confused with calluses or corns, their distinguishing feature is the presence of tiny black dots in the center of the plantar wart. They do tend to grow inwards because of the pressure and weight exerted on them when you stand or walk. This is also why they can be so painful.  As the plantar wart is gradually pushed further beneath the skin, a layer of thick tough skin can grow over making it more painful and more difficult to treat.  If there are several plantar warts together in a cluster, it is called a mosaic wart.


• Filiform warts can appear around the mouth, nose and beard area of the face.  This type of wart looks different with its fingerlike projections that are the same color as the surrounding skin.

If you are showing symptoms of warts, don't believe some of the stories about warts!

• It is not true that if a toad or a frog urinates on you that you will grow a wart.
• It is not true that only old women and witches have warts – they are most common on children.
• It is not true that warts have roots – they are smooth on the underneath.

Warts are not dangerous but they can be painful depending on where they appear on your body.  If you are in any doubt about diagnosis or treatment, consult your doctor with your warts symptoms.