Verrucas

So they have to be pulled or dug out.

Yup.  Ick Ick Ick.

How contagious are they? Will we all get them now? 

From WebMD:

Protect yourself against exposure to the virus that causes plantar warts by wearing shower shoes, thongs, or rubber swimming shoes whenever you visit a public pool or use a communal shower. Be sure to wash your feet thoroughly with a disinfectant soap after being in an area where the virus can spread.

So is the virus only spread through wet or damp surfaces? If my son walks around barefoot on the carpet or on the tiled kitchen floor is that different from the bathroom and shower?

I thought it was only in damp surfaces/areas (like a pool, a shower, etc). I don't remember spreading mine to my sister, but mine was on my hand so wouldn't have touched carpet or shower bottom. I have no idea how my cousins got them though.. it's possible that one got them and somehow spread to the others, or possibly they all went to a community pool or something. I would be sure to clean the shower well when he's done though.

ETA: I went to ask.com and looked up "prevent veruccas" and the entry for "Sock" in wikipedia came up.

A sock is a knitted garment for enclosing the human foot. Socks are designed to:

    * ease chafing between the foot and footwear,
    * keep the feet warm
    * absorb moisture
    * prevent verrucas

Also, this looks like a really informative page here:

http://www.thefamilygp.com/verrucas.htm

My parents didn't.  I think the trick is like with athlete's foot, keep your feet dry.

Thanks for the link and info SomedayInTheUK. He has verruca socks he wears for swimming now. ALL the kid should be wearing them!!
God this is all so GROSS! <goes off to bleach the bathroom now>

Thanks for the link and info SomedayInTheUK. He has verruca socks he wears for swimming now. ALL the kid should be wearing them!!
God this is all so GROSS! <goes off to bleach the bathroom now>

Haha! You're welcome. Warts and the concept of warts (having a root and all that) really gross me out! Good luck with getting rid of them! Just remember that sometimes it takes some time! I would make sure he wears socks inside because the link I posted says they're spread by skin flakes coming off and getting into small cuts or wet feet.

He's probably got it because some little git in his class has one and didn't bother with the sock!

English kids get them in the same way they get nits.  Gross, but it happens.  I think I had a couple when I was a kid, though not on my hands.  The chemist will be able to sort you out, he won't need a doctor, I don't think they do the freezing thing anymore.

Vicky

I went to a chiropodist last year about one and she said there's no prescription you can get for them, just the OTC stuff and that they can take a long time to go away and may have to tried different topical stuff.  I'll have to try the Wartners everyone mentioned, is that something you can buy at the chemist?  It's more annoying than anything else, doesn't hurt or bother me too much as it's on a toe but occassionally I think that it really needs to go!

Matt get the Wartners. I got it from Tesco. It's about £11 but worth it. My son had a really really bad one on the side of his foot. It was protruding and causing him to walk funny. We zapped it about a week ago and today it's nearly gone. Some of the other less deep ones cleared in a few days. But it does burn. He's nearly hysterical everytime we have to do it. (typical man!) 

Was reading about apple cider vinegar and bandaids, will be trying that with my daughter this week.

Dh got some a couple months ago and they were disgusting.  We did loads of research on them because I wanted to know if I was going to get them since we share the same bathtub.  After a few weeks nothing was happening to me.  Some of the research stated that some people will actually have an immunity against them and that is why not everyone in a same family household will get them if one of them has it.   Not sure if it was Wartners we got but what we ended up getting DH was a little aerosal bottle that looked like you were attaching a Q-tip to the end.  It froze them off.  It did work but took some time.  If you have several, you have to find the "mother" wart (this is how they explain it) and kill her off first because she can continue to have "babies" if she isn't killed off first. THe mother wart is usually the biggest one and has a deep black spot in the middle.

Dh got some a couple months ago and they were disgusting.  We did loads of research on them because I wanted to know if I was going to get them since we share the same bathtub.  After a few weeks nothing was happening to me.  Some of the research stated that some people will actually have an immunity against them and that is why not everyone in a same family household will get them if one of them has it.   Not sure if it was Wartners we got but what we ended up getting DH was a little aerosal bottle that looked like you were attaching a Q-tip to the end.  It froze them off.  It did work but took some time.  If you have several, you have to find the "mother" wart (this is how they explain it) and kill her off first because she can continue to have "babies" if she isn't killed off first. THe mother wart is usually the biggest one and has a deep black spot in the middle.

God Sarah that sounds so gross. The mother of all warts! lol  It sounds like what he used was Wartner. Did he shriek and cry like my 9 year old did? lol

He's a man. Of course he shrieked and whined!  lol   

He's a man. Of course he shrieked and whined!  lol   

Yay! I'm glad your son is clearing up, Pebbles!

If you have several, you have to find the "mother" wart (this is how they explain it) and kill her off first because she can continue to have "babies" if she isn't killed off first. THe mother wart is usually the biggest one and has a deep black spot in the middle.

OMG that's so gross! It's funny how something so gross can grow on someone who is otherwise clean. I seriously doubt your DH or Pebbles's son are gross, never-showering individuals. It seems like something that just bizarrely happens to some and not others.