Wart blisters are small, usually round, raised areas on the skin. They are abnormal growths and typically result from an infection. Although they can be found on nearly any part of the body, the most likely locations for this type of lesion are the feet and the hands. Treatments range from freezing to the application of wart ointments. A more specific definition of wart blister might refer to a blister-like area that forms around a wart during a certain type of wart treatment.
The virus that causes wart blisters, human papilloma virus (HPV), infects individuals through tears in the skin. Specifically, the virus burrows itself in the squamous epithelium layer of the skin and causes rapid cellular growth. Different strains of the virus cause the blisters on different areas of the body. Common sites for infection include the extremities, the face and the genitals. Touching the afflicted area or exposing it to moisture might cause the virus to spread to other areas of the body.
Other types of blisters are different from a wart blister. For one, most typical blisters are not caused by an infection but rather by excessive rubbing of the skin against a surface. These types of blisters also tend to be filled with fluid and can be painful, whereas warts generally are solid and painless.
Depending on their location and appearance, warts might fall into various categories. The common wart is a raised blister on the skin with a rough texture, and it can appear on many areas of the body. Some types are classified by their location, such as genital warts and plantar warts, which attack the foot soles. Warts also can be smooth or have a thread-like appearance, such as the flat wart and the filifate wart. In addition, varieties such as mosaic warts and periungual warts occur in clusters.
Wart treatments are diverse, and their effectiveness is variable. Usually, a wart will disappear on its own after a period of time. For more short-term solutions, the salicylic acid found in many pharmaceutical treatments has proved to be effective in many cases. Non-traditional options include laser therapy, placing duct tape over the wart or freezing the wart.
Sometimes, a wart blister might occur during a specific wart removal technique in which physicians apply a mixture of certain chemicals and a substance called cantharadin to a wart-containing patch of skin. This mixture surrounds the wart with a traditional blister. Physicians are then able to use this blister to remove the wart, which they accomplish by bandaging the area and then removing the bandage after a period of time. Following this process, a part of the wart comes loose from the skin, and the physician can then get rid of other wart portions.