If you possess a skin bump or growth on your body, you might think whether it is a blister or a wart. Both may look-alike like a number of ways but sometimes leads to some problems in recognition and diagnosis. But despite the similarities, blisters and warts differ in several aspects.
Blister vs Wart
The main difference between blister and wart is that a blister is a liquid-filled small sac created between the upper skin layers mainly because of friction. Whereas a wart is like a cauliflower-like outgrowth on the skin and other parts of the body because of a viral infection.
Blisters always influence the superficial layers of skin and protrude in particular places like hands, feet, face, etc. Fluid accumulation occurs between the upper and lower skin layers to enhance healing and give cushioning effect. Blisters occur reluctantly to people who involve themselves in ill-wearing of stuff.
On the other hand, warts are hard rough growth that typically doesn’t result in many symptoms except when located on the bottom side of the feet. Though they generally protrude on feet and hands, but can also be seen in other parts of the body. They are not cancerous, and one or many warts can appear at a time.
Comparison Table Between a Blister and a Wart
| Parameters of Comparison | Blister | Wart |
| Cause of occurrence | Allergies, irritation, etc. | Human papillomavirus (HMV) |
| Color | May or may not match skin color | Have the color of the skin |
| Recognition symptoms | Painful and annoying | Non-painful and itchy |
| Fall-off time | After 4-7 days | Approximately two years or maybe more |
| Nature | Infectious | Non-infectious |
What is a Blister?
A blister can be spotted as a bubble of liquid under the skin. This fluid is watery and clear and is known as serum. It exudes in from bordering tissues, which is a response to wounded skin. If a blister stays unopened, serum can give a natural defense for the skin below it.
The small ones are known as vesicles, while those bigger than half an inch are known as bullae. If a blister is with blood instead of serum is known as a blood blister. There could be many reasons for a blister, but two main ones are allergies and irritation.
Allergic contact dermatitis, which is a form of eczema, may result in forming a blister. Blisters may occur because of physical agents that peeve the skin, like skin rubbing, irritating chemicals, or maximal heat or cold. On the feet, maybe because of tight shoes or skin rub in the area. With that, any sorts of smoldering, like sunburn, can also lead to blisters.
If the reason for the blister isn’t evident, you must seek a doctor. To diagnose, he could ask you for your medical history regarding allergies and irritations or previous medications. Then treatment or medicines will be given accordingly.
What is a Wart?
A wart is broadly a small-sized development appearing on someone’s feet or hand. It looks like a small cauliflower or solid blister. They aren’t usually smooth and have a rough appearance.
It is principally because of Human papillomaviruses (HPV). HPV causes keratin to expand too fast, making a layer on top of the skin. There are usually five types of warts that a person can possess:
- Common Warts: They are not just seen on your toes and fingers but in other places as well. They are grainy, rough, and round from top in appearance. Color-wise, they appear grayish to surrounding skin.
- Plantar Warts: These grow on feet soles and usually stay on your skin. These can lead to uncomfortable walking.
- Flat Warts: These can be seen on thighs, arms, or face. With being small in size, they are flat from the top.
- Filiform Warts: These protrude around the nose, mouth, neck, or under the chin. With being small and flappy in appearance, these have the color of your skin.
- Periungual Warts: It grows around and under fingernails and toenails. These might affect the growth of nails and might pain a bit.
Warts can become hard to eliminate completely. Experts say that many a time, more than a single treatment is required for better warts management.
Main Differences Between a Blister and a Wart
- A blister is a tiny patch of body liquid caused by rubbing, freezing, or chemical exposure. On the other hand, a wart is grainy, small growth that is a viral infection in nature.
- Mostly a blister has clear fluid-filled in it like plasma, serum, or pus. Whereas a wart usually is composed of toughened, enlarged cells of the skin.
- Blisters usually heal on their own and could be prevented beforehand. However, warts can only be treated via local applications, oral medications, and surgical procedures.
- Blisters pain a lot if in the deeper coverage of the skin. On the other hand, warts are painless in nature.
- Blisters occur in specific areas like on the face area or on the toes area, while warts can occur anywhere in your body.
Conclusion
Let’s face it, both blisters and warts are very irritating. In addition to that, they seem to be very confusing. The relieving part is that both the protrusions are not harmful in any manner. They are itchy and annoying in nature and make life uncomfortable with their presence.
While blisters usually are painless, but breaking may lead to the spread of a wart virus. Thus, avoiding contact with the liquid/fluid in the bubble must be done as it may contain the wart virus. With a simple treatment of hours, both blister and wart could be eliminated. It is advisable to get purged of them before either of them turns into a problem.
It could be intriguing to remove these protrusions, and these might not be as dangerous as they seem, yet lead to an infection if not treated carefully or on its own. Mostly, with time blister and warts fall off on their own, but if creating a perplexing spot on your skin, you must seek an expert.
References
- http://www.koreamed.org/SearchBasic.php?RID=2086713
- https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/526040