• Question: How is a verruca formed?

    Asked by InxAlfa to Eoin, Ester, Natasha, Paul, Tom on 15 Nov 2017.
    • Photo: Natasha Myhill

      Natasha Myhill answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      Verrucas and warts are caused by the skin coming into direct contact with the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). They are just like hard little lumps of skin – they can go away on their own over time or be treated by methods including cryofreezing.

    • Photo: Eoin McKinney

      Eoin McKinney answered on 15 Nov 2017:

      its a type of viral infection – the virus gets into the top layer of skin cells and causes them to divide a bit more, producing a bump, usually on your foot (its also called a ‘plantar wart’). The virus gets shed, too, and that lets it spread from one persons foot to another. The virus prefers wet places like swimming pools as it finds it easier to spread and there are lots of bare feet around. The virus can be treated with cream or can sometimes be frozen off – very cold liquid is used to literally freeze and kill the cells the virus is living in. They can then just break off and the virus can’t survive if the cells its hiding in die.

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