How do you get warts?

Hi!

Viruses cause warts. They’re called human papilloma viruses, or HPV for short.

If you’re talking about warts on your fingers, this can be caught by touching things that the virus is living on. If you touch a towel, surface, or anything else someone with a wart has used, you can pick up HPV. People who bite their fingernails or pick at hangnails get warts more often than people who don’t. That’s why it’s important to avoid picking, rubbing, or scratching a wart.

In terms of Genital Warts, they are caught in much the same fashion. Many people carry the wart virus on their penis, in and around the vagina, or in and around the anus/rectum. Only a small number of these people develop warts that can be seen. It is passed with skin to skin contact during an*l or vaginal sex.

Hope this helps.