Hand warts are also known as common warts. Hand warts are benign but cosmetically unappealing skin growths that grow on the palms, the backs of the hands, or the fingers. They occur on kids' hands more than on adults'. There is not really a hand warts cure, since they're caused by a virus that lingers in the body even after the warts disappear, and therefore warts can recur. You can treat hand warts or leave them alone. They're harmless, they don't usually hurt, and they usually go away on their own within a couple of years. Still, you may want to learn how to get rid of warts on the hands, particularly to keep them from spreading. Common wart removal can be as non-invasive as a topical solution or as invasive as surgery.

The virus that causes hand warts is one version out of nearly a hundred of the human papilloma virus (HPV).  Some permutations of HPV can cause cervical cancer, plantar warts and other types of warts.  Yet hand warts are, as mentioned earlier, benign, if contagious.  Common warts are spread easily, either by skin-to-skin contact or by skin-to-object contact.  Different people's immune systems vary in their defenses against developing hand warts.  Hand warts are fortunately less contagious than warts on other parts of the body.

Hand warts appear on the fingers and by the fingernails as well as on the palms and the back of your hands.  They have a rough appearance, are small, and show small bumps. Their color may be flesh colored, white or pink.  You may see just a single wart or you may see a cluster...or, because warts spread easily, you may see them in several places on your hands.  The black specks that appear on common warts are actually blood vessels.

Prevent hand warts from spreading by drying your hands when they get wet.  Keep warts covered with bandages if they're likely to come in contact with other objects.  If you touch combs, nail clippers, or other personal items with the common warts, then take the time after use to disinfect them.  Keep hand warts away from the mouth or other parts of the body.  Any skin that comes in contact with a common wart should be washed and dried.

As stated above, it's not necessary to treat your hand warts, since they generally disappear over time.  But if you want to get rid of them now, check with your doctor or dermatologist about the following hand wart treatments:

• Salicylic acid, applied topically every day after soaking the common wart in warm water.  (For kids and if you're pregnant, check first with your doctor.  Always follow the label's instructions.)
• Cryotherapy:  A dermatologist freezes the wart with liquid nitrogen.
• Surgery performed by your doctor or a dermatologist to "burn" the wart.  This can hurt a lot--not the burning, but the application of local anesthesia.
  
• Cantharidin
• Laser Surgery