Warts on hands are one of the most common reasons for people seeking wart treatment. Although they are usually harmless, they are a blemish on the skin that most people don\'t like to look at and, if there\'s one thing you look at a lot, it\'s your hands!

But, how do you get warts?

Warts are actually caused by a virus and you can get it by being exposed to the virus. This virus affects the skin cells and causes them to multiply faster than they normally should which results in the bumpy lump that we know of as a wart. How you catch this virus is somewhat of a mystery, but it is thought that it gets in through cracks in the skin. It may be that you have come in contact with someone that has warts, or it has been transmitted to you through a moist surface.

Warts on hands, elbows, knees, and ankles are usually the most common kind of wart - Verruca Vulgaris, or simply called the common wart. They are usually bumpy and scaly looking and may even have dark spots inside which are actually blood vessels. The virus that causes them is called the human papillomavirus and it hangs out in the bottom layer of your epidermis, causing the cells to become distorted and pushing them up which causes the skin to bump out. They actually grow in cylindrical patterns that binds together giving them the look of a mosaic.

One thing about warts is that you might try a treatment only to find warts returning. That\'s because you need to treat the virus that is causing them. You may be able to scrape off the upper layer of the wart but eventually it\'ll pop up again because the virus is still in the layers underneath. Therefore, treatment must be thoughtful and thorough.

Anyone can get warts, but warts on hands are typically seen in younger people and often affect teenagers. This can be very devastating at an age when self-esteem is low anyway. There are many treatments for warts but not everyone will react to the same treatment same way so if your friend got rid of their wart using duct tape that might not work for you. The best thing you can do is experiment and find a good solution that gets rid of warts for you.