Can anxiety cause warts?

Video Transcript

Can anxiety cause warts?

No, anxiety doesn’t cause warts directly. Warts are caused by a viral skin infection, specifically by the human papillomavirus (HPV).

However, stress, including anxiety-caused stress, could play a role in the development of warts for some people.

When the body’s immune system is healthy and functioning normally, it generally does a good job of warding off foreign intruders that try to become established in the body, such as bacteria and viruses.

However, chronic stress can hamper the body’s immune system’s ability to successfully defend the body against these intruders since stress suppresses the body’s immune system. Consequently, bacteria and viruses can become established more easily when stress is elevated.

Furthermore, some people are more prone to developing warts due to behavior, such as nail-biting, skin-picking, or other behaviors that irritate the skin, which can increase the risk of HPV infection.

While anxiety doesn’t cause warts, anxiety-caused stress might play a role for some people. We say “some people” because some people’s immune systems are better at warding off warts than others, even when stressed.

If you are susceptible to getting warts, you may want to work at keeping your immune system healthy by practicing a regular deep relaxation technique, getting good sleep, routinely practicing healthy stress management strategies, regular exercise, eating a healthy and well-balanced diet, avoiding stimulants, avoiding alcohol, enjoying a hobby, spending more time playing, laughing more, and addressing the underlying factors associated with your anxiety. All of these strategies can help to bolster the body’s immune system.

If you are susceptible to getting warts or are concerned about them, talk with your doctor. There are many ways to eliminate warts, both medically and naturally.

You might also want to connect with an anxiety disorder therapist to help you address the behaviors that create anxiety and stress.