Causes of warts

Warts are caused by human papillomavirus (HPV) infecting the top layer of skin - nothing more exotic. The toad-and-frog stories are pure myth; the virus is the whole explanation.

The virus. Over 100 HPV types exist, and different types favour different body sites: types 2 and 4 give common hand warts, type 1 plantar warts on the soles, types 3 and 10 flat warts on the face. The types causing ordinary skin warts are different from the genital HPV types - a hand wart has nothing to do with sexual transmission.

How it spreads. Direct skin contact with a wart, or indirect contact with virus-laden surfaces - shared towels, razors, swimming-pool decks and gym floors (classic for plantar warts). The virus enters through tiny cuts and breaks: nibbled cuticles, shaving nicks, cracked heels, swimmer's softened soles. Scratching or picking a wart spreads virus to nearby skin, creating satellite warts.

Who is more susceptible. Children and teenagers (immunity not yet built), people who bite nails or pick at skin, those with sweaty feet and communal-bathing habits, eczema patients with broken skin barriers, and - importantly - people with weakened immunity (HIV, transplant medicines, chemotherapy), who develop more numerous and stubborn warts.

Why some people never get them: individual immune response varies enormously; many people clear the virus before or shortly after a wart appears, which is also why most warts eventually disappear on their own in months to a couple of years.

Genital warts are a separate matter: caused by sexually transmitted HPV types, they need medical care, partner evaluation and screening - covered in their own sections of this guide.

Ayurvedic view (interpretive): classical texts describe wart-like growths (charmakeela) as dosha-related skin excrescences - an interpretive framework of limited evidence. The viral cause and contact spread described above are the established facts.

Remember: HPV through skin contact and small breaks - not toads, not dirt, not bad blood. Nail-biting, picking, shared towels and barefoot pool decks are the practical risks.