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Posted by on Apr 28, 2016 in TellMeWhy |

Can You Get Warts from a Toad?

Can You Get Warts from a Toad?

Can You Get Warts from a Toad? No. Touching a toad has nothing to do whatsoever with the cause of warts. This belief is just superstition. The rough skin of a toad looks as if it is covered with warts, and that is probably how the story started. Although some skin secretions of some amphibians may irritate your skin and cause a rash.

But the wart like bumps behind a toad’s ears can be dangerous. These parotoid glands contain a nasty poison that irritates the mouths of some predators and often the skin of humans.

Ordinary warts are caused by tiny germs called viruses. These viruses live in the cells on the outer layer of the skin. The infected skin thickens and forms a small hard growth. If a wart is scratched open, the wart viruses inside may spread to other parts of the body. Warts usually go away by themselves after several months.

Content for this question contributed by Karen Sarvak, resident of Milford, Clermont and Hamilton counties, Ohio, USA