Wart Vs Mole: 4 Most Astonishing Differences

There are different skin spots, and sometimes people find it very difficult to identify these. Wart Vs Mole is another confusing comparison between two different types of skin issues¹. No doubt, both of these problems are quite irritating but are not harmful.

This article will help you make a good comparative analysis for wart vs. mole.

1. Warts: What Are These?

These generally come up on your skin; it may be hands, feet, knees, and many other parts. Warts are normally hard to touch, and these bumps appear to be dark in color (brown or black). The top of warts are sometimes soft to touch, but underneath you will find a callus (shape) like the thing to touch.

The main source of wart warts is viruses (HPV) that are also infectious (or contagious). If you find a wart on your skin, it means you have been in contact with a person having the wart virus (human papillomavirus). It may come from hands shake or exchanging the towel with the affected person.

2. Types of Warts

Mainly you will see 4 types of warts. These are:

2.1 Common Warts

Hard bumps with brown (grayish) color are found on your knees, hands, fingers, and elbows. Common warts ²almost resemble the cauliflower’s head. It has some black dots underneath the top layer. The black dots that appear in common warts are quite visible. Also, the surface of the common warts is hard to touch.

2.2 Flat Warts

A flat wart is just like the shape of a pinhead with a common flat top. Flat warts are smoother as compared to other types of warts. The color appearance of flat warts may vary. It may be pink or yellow. Sometimes, these appear in the bunch and mainly on the face.

2.3 Plantar Warts

Plantar warts would be quite frustrating to deal with. The surface of plantar warts would be really hard and similar to a stone. The size of the wart would be small (like a small stone) with a small diameter. These types of warts could make you walking and running quite uncomfortable. Skin tags, moles, and warts are always different in their appearance.

2.4 Filiform Warts

You will find a filiform wart near your mouth, nose, and eyes with a finger shape. These are generally similar to the color of your flesh.

3. Types Of Moles:

Mainly you will see 3 types of moles.³ These are:

A serious and dangerous skin problem as compared to warts is moles. The growth of moles is quite slow, and it looks like they take some time to grow (or the skin growth is a slow process). This is another huge difference if you are talking about warts vs moles.

Once the shape comes up, the skin cells may become skin cancer (cancerous cells). You will see a visible change in their appearance and shape after the same. Warts moles both are skin problems, but moles will have repercussions that could be extremely dangerous.

In wart vs mole, the most visible difference is the hair growth and pigment in moles. Moles also contains hair in a theme that makes them quite different from warts. It’s not always true to suspect skin cancer if you have moles. The skin growths could pave towards cancerous cells.

3.1 Benign Nevi

It is the common type of mole you see the most and is not a sign of skin cancer ⁴(or melanoma). Benign nevi ⁵(or moles) have less chance of becoming a melanoma (or skin cancer).

3.2 Dysplastic Nevi

Atypical nevi (or Dysplastic nevi) are moles with not definitely edges. These moles are found in multicolor and with both raised or flat tops. The risk of Dysplastic nevi becoming a cancerous tissue is extremely less.

3.3 Congenital Nevi

Have you ever seen your child with moles before he borns or after his birth? This mole is congenital nevi (or moles). If your baby has a cluster of congenital nevi, then there is a chance of catching skin cancer in the future. Dermatology may help you in some manner at the early stage. For better dermatology treatments, you need to talk to a dermatologist or doctor. A dermatologist tells you a better suggestion about if your moles are related to cancer or not.

Read more about Moles in an article published by Mayo Clinic.

4. Wart Vs Mole

Moles warts or a skin tag are not always easy to recognize. Wart vs mole is quite a herculean thing to find out. Warts and moles have huge differences in their:

1. Appearance
2. Signs
3. symptoms
4. Risk factors

A wart is not that harmful as a mole would be. The skin cancer tissues are always related to a mole on a huge level. The chances of skin cancer are higher if you have a mole, but you have to check the kind of mole you have. Mole wart both needs to be checked for better clarity.

It would help if you did the treatment initially so that your moles would become cancerous. These could be found anywhere in your body. Typically, you have to identify wart vs mole through its appearance as appearance is the main difference if you compare art vs mole. You need to be careful if you intend to remove warts or moles.

5. Conclusion

As the doctor is the only person that could be trusted for removing a wart or mole. You can remove a wart if you feel it could spread or causes pain. The doctor will guide you on how to remove warts, considering the safety in mind. Similarly, for a mole, you need to be careful as there may be a cancerous big mole as well.

There is no way to predict a perfect time for when you may get warts or moles. You know that Benign Nevi warts are sometimes developed at the age of 40. Before trying out any experiment on wart and mole, you need to learn about both of these.

A good piece of knowledge about these both would help you find all the differences before you think of removing these. Read this article for better knowledge about the meaning and differences of wart vs mole.

Read about the causes of skin discoloration on the legs.

1. Zulkowski, Karen. “Understanding moisture-associated skin damage, medical adhesive-related skin injuries, and skin tears.” Advances in skin & wound care 30.8 (2017): 372-381. ↩︎
2. Jabłonska, Stefania, et al. “Cutaneous warts.” Clinics in dermatology 15.3 (1997): 309-319. ↩︎
3. Jauniaux, E. “Partial moles: from postnatal to prenatal diagnosis.” Placenta 20.5-6 (1999): 379-388. ↩︎
4. Jerant, Anthony F., et al. “Early detection and treatment of skin cancer.” American family physician 62.2 (2000): 357-368. ↩︎
5. Roh, M. R., Eliades, P., Gupta, S., & Tsao, H. (2015). Genetics of melanocytic nevi. Pigment cell & melanoma research, 28(6), 661-672. ↩︎

Last Updated on April 7, 2024 by ayeshayusuf