Quoting Salad Fingers:" Thank you! I've had this one for a few months and it's really starting to irritate me. Are they contagious?"
Here is what I have found... I saw a lot of them when I was doing nails... Yes, they are contagious, so just keep soft socks on, and wash them separately with bleach.
The Mayo Clinic has the best description...
Plantar warts are noncancerous skin growths on the soles of your feet caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV), which enters your body through tiny cuts, breaks or other vulnerable sites on the skin of your feet.
Plantar warts often develop beneath pressure points in your feet, such as the heels or balls of your feet. This pressure also may cause a plantar wart to grow inward beneath a hard, thick layer of skin (callus).
Most plantar warts aren't a serious health concern and may not require treatment. However, plantar warts can be bothersome or painful. If self-care treatments for plantar warts don't work, you may need to see your doctor to have them removed.
See your doctor if:
- The lesions are painful or change in appearance or color
- The warts persist, multiply or recur, despite home treatment
- The warts interfere with your activities
- You have diabetes or nerve damage (neuropathy) in your feet — in which case, you should not use at-home treatments
- You have a weakened immune system because of HIV/AIDS, immune-suppressing drugs or other immune system disorders
- You have any doubt that the lesion is a wart
In these cases, your doctor may prescribe a closely monitored treatment plan or consider a different diagnosis.
Plantar warts are caused by an infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV) in the outer layer of skin on the sole of your feet.
There are more than 100 types of HPV, but only a few types are known to cause warts on your feet. Other types of HPV are more likely to cause warts on other areas of your skin or on mucous membranes.
Transmission of the virus
Each person's immune system responds differently to HPV, so not everyone who comes in contact with the virus develops warts. Even people in the same family react to the virus differently.
The HPV strains that cause plantar warts aren't highly contagious. Therefore, it isn't easily transmitted by direct contact from one person to another. However, the virus does thrive in warm, moist environments — such as shower floors, locker rooms and public swimming areas. Consequently, you may contract the virus by walking barefoot around pools or gyms.
The virus also needs to have a point of entry into the skin:
- Cracks in dry skin
- Cuts or scrapes
- Wet, softened, fragile skin from prolonged water exposure (macerated skin)
Multiple warts
If the virus spreads from the original site of infection, multiple warts may appear. These may include:
- Several individual warts at different sites on the foot
- "Kissing warts," a pair of warts that appear where two parts of the foot touch, such as a point of contact between two toes or between a toe and the ball of foot
- Mosaics, clusters of warts that essentially form a large, single lesion
Here is another really good site with a little more info...
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/plantar_warts/article_em.htm