What is a Wart?
Warts are caused by an infection of the human papillomavirus (HPV), which alters the growth of skin cells on the body. The HPV virus responsible for common warts is different than the HPV virus responsible for genital warts or cervical cancer, and are more of a nuisance than harmful, according to the Mayo Clinic. Warts typically occur on the hands and feet where exposure to the virus is more likely from touching an object, or walking barefoot on an infected floor. After exposure, it can take up to six months for a wart to develop. When warts occur, one of the first lines of treatment is salicylic acid.
How Warts Form
Skin is largely made up of a protein called keratin. As the HPV virus infects an area of the skin, the keratin containing skin cells begin to multiply at an accelerated rate. This results in the formation of a wart. Keratin is a strong substance due to its fibrous matrix, which makes it extremely hard to dissolve. One of the main ways to break this matrix is through the use of a keratolytic agent, such as salicylic acid.
Salicylic Acid
Salicylic acid is an over the counter product that breaks down warts until they are no longer visible on the skin. Salicylic acid is typically applied directly to the wart, after which the wart is covered with a bandage. As the salicylic acid absorbs into the outer layer of the wart, the keratolytic properties of the substance begin breaking down the keratin in the wart tissue. This causes the outermost layer of the wart to be easily sloughed off when removing the bandage. Once the outer layer has been removed, salicylic acid can be applied again, reacting with the next layer of the wart. This process continues until the wart has completely been sloughed away from the skin.
