Warts

Toads cannot give you warts. That story was probably made up during the Middle Ages, when toads were viewed as mysterious, supernatural creatures. Some people even believed that toads had a jewel inside their head that could help people find poison!

Some people think that if you touch a toad you get warts. That isn’t true. Warts are caused by a virus called HPV (human papilloma virus). Warts are usually the color of your skin and are rough to the touch, but they also can be dark instead of skin colored and flat and smooth instead of rough.

There are three different kinds of warts. There’s the common wart, the planter wart, and flat warts. Usually common warts grow on your fingers near your fingernails and on the backs of your hands. Common warts are most common where skin has broken or cracked, where you bite your fingernails, or pick your hangnails. Planter warts are usually on the heels of your feet. When these warts grow in groups or clusters they are known as mosaic warts. The last type of wart is the flat wart. Flat warts are smaller, smoother, and flatter than other warts. They grow in huge groups usually 20-100 all at one time! They can pop up just about anywhere. In kids, they are most common on the face but in adults they are most likely to be found in the beard area in men and in women they are most likely to appear on their legs.

Warts are practically impossible to prevent in kids. To prevent warts you should never wear another person’s shoes or clothes who has warts. Don’t chew on your pencil or your eraser and just don’t put those types of things in your mouth, period! Any person who bites their nails, picks their nails or hangnails is just opening themselves up to the possibilities of getting infected by the wart virus.

So now you know most of the facts about warts. You know that you can’t get warts from a toad, but I still wouldn’t suggest going out and kissing every single toad you meet.

Credits

Yahoolagans. "Ask Earl." <http://yahoolagans.yahoo.com/content/ask_earl/20001123.htm> (12/18/03).

Family Doctor. "Warts."
<http://familydoctor.org/209.xml> (12/18/03).

Family Doctor. "Warts." <http://www.aad.org/pamphlets/warts.html> (12/18/03).

Images

Image of frog "Microsoft ClipArt Online"
<http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?cag+1> Images free for non-profit and personal use. (January, 2004).