Signs & Symptoms
The symptoms of warts vary depending on their location on the body.
Non-cancerous wart caused by low-risk HPV
Common Warts (hands/knees)
- Skin-coloured lumps of 1 mm to over 10 mm in diameter with a rough, irregular surface
Common Wart
Filiform Warts (nose/mouth/beard area)
- Skin-coloured bumps with growths that look like threads sticking out of them
Flat Warts (face/hands/shins/knees)
- Fairly smooth individual bumps of 1 mm to 5 mm in diameter
- Can form groups of hundreds of bumps
- Can spread rapidly as a result of everyday activities, such as shaving
Flat warts on the skin caused by the HPV virus
Plantar Warts (sole of foot)
- Thick, scaly lesions or rough, spongy lesions with tiny dark spots inside
- Smooth, brown or yellow-grey surface that is often flattened
- On areas of pressure, such as the heel or ball
- Can fuse together to form larger mosaic warts
- Occasionally accompanied by foot pain
Plantar Wart
Periungual Warts (nails)
- Rough bumps with an uneven surface and border
- Under and around toenails and fingernails
- Can affect nail growth
Genital Warts
- Soft, moist, flesh-coloured bumps
- On the vagina (inside and outside), cervix or anus in women; on the tip or shaft of the penis, on the scrotum or around the anus in men
- Symptoms are often absent, but the condition is still contagious and can lead to complications
