When many people first spot warts on their bodies, they get extremely worried. Their worry is quite justified, because the appearance of the warts (especially for a person who has never had one) can be quite disconcerting at first. Such people, on rushing to their doctors as soon as they can, are often startled by the 'casual way' in which the doctors seem to treat warts. Clearly, while the patients are extremely worried about the warts, to the doctors, they are an everyday phenomenon.

Nonetheless, since warts are such a common phenomenon, it might help for you - even as a layman - to know a number of basic things about them.

1) One thing you need to know about warts is as to what exactly they are. Many medical texts describe a wart as a small and typically rough tumor growing on the skin - and it can occur on a great variety of locations on the body. They are not exactly blisters, though they look very much alike. The difference between them and blisters is because blisters can be attributed to a number of very clear causes - maybe a burn or something - whereas warts occur for no apparent cause. Warts are also typically bigger, and they stay on the skin for longer; unlike blisters which tend to be transient, normally ending up 'bursting' after a few days. So warts are small roughish tumors on the skin.

2) The second thing you need to know about warts is with regard to what causes them. As it turns out, warts are normally causes by viral infections. A common culprit behind many wart incidences is the Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV). This is a virus that occurs in many forms, with one form of it being also to blame for cervical cancer, for instance. But it is a different variety of the Human PappilomaVirus (HPV) which causes warts in people. Understanding the fact that warts are caused by a viral infection is important in later understanding why they are often so hard - if at all possible - to cure completely.

3) The third thing you need to know about warts is that they are common. Many people, when afflicted of warts, tend to imagine that it is a 'rare condition' that has befallen them. It is these people who tend to get most startled when they notice that their doctors are not as alarmed about their warts. Thus understanding that warts are common is important in lessening the worry associated with them, about which we talked in our introduction.

4) The fourth thing you need to know about warts is that they normally disappear on their own, after just a few months. This takes place when the body's immune system asserts itself over the virus causing them. Where this fails to take place, there are a number of treatments that can be employed to force the virus into remission. But then again, it is worth noting that thanks to their viral origins, warts are hard to completely cure: and there is always a chance that the will recur at some point.