According to The Home Remedies Handbook, warts are caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV). Because they are brought on by a virus, they are contagious. That’s why an initial wart can create a host of other ones. Common warts are the rough-looking lesions most often found on the hands and fingers.  The much smaller, smoother flat wart can also be found on the hand but may show up on the face, too. Warts that occur on the soles of the feet are called plantar warts and can sometimes be as large as a quarter. Genital warts, which have become a growing problem, develop in the genital and anal area. If you suspect you have a genital wart, see your doctor; do not try the remedies suggested here.

No one knows why warts occur and disappear and later recur in what appears to be a spontaneous fashion. Andrew Lazar, M.D., professor of Clinical Dermatology at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University in Chicago, tells a story to typify how warts remain a medical mystery. A woman came to him about warts on her feet. As common practice, he asked her if she was on any medications or pregnant. She said she and her husband were trying to have a baby. Soon after, the woman found out she was pregnant. After she had the baby, the warts disappeared. About two years later, the woman came back to Lazar again with warts on her feet. Later she got the news she was pregnant the second time. A few years after that, the woman called one day and told the doctor she had warts on her feet for the third time. “Doctor” she asked, “Do you think I’m pregnant?” Sure enough, she was. (Of course, not all pregnant women get warts, nor are pregnant women the only people plagued by warts.)

A medical mystery also surrounds the fact that researchers have yet to find a way to get rid of warts for good. The solution may lie in developing a wart vaccine, but an approved, safe vaccine has yet to be developed. That leaves the wart sufferer with two options: Having a dermatological or podiatrist treat the warts or trying a few methods on their own. As for home remedies, some people swear by certain tactics, while others will never have any success with them. This has led Jerome Z. Litt, M.D., a dermatologist in private practice in Beachwood, Ohio, and an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, to observe: “Everything works and nothing works.” And it seems that in some cases, prevention may be the best medicine.