Warts and Verrucae

Warts are round, small, rough lumps on your child’s skin, and they are often on their hands and feet. If they are present on the sole of your child’s foot then they look different to those lumps that are on the hands as they are pushed inward due to the pressure created by walking on them. These are then called verrucae rather than warts.

The following advice will help to reduce the spread of warts and verrucae and will also prevent infection in the first instance:

• Warts and verrucae should not be touched or picked because this will spread the virus that is responsible
• Towels, socks, shoes and flannels should never be shared if your child has a wart or verruca
• If your child is going to use a communal shower or swimming pool then they should wear flip-flops or, preferably, verruca socks

You do need to be careful when using verruca/wart treatment products. Your IPSA Pharmacy team can advise you accordingly to make sure you are able to use the treatment/s effectively and safely.