Risk of warts from elderly mum...

[MacarenaMacarena]

My 81 year old mum has a lot of warts on her back and tummy. I feel like washing my hands every time I touch her clothes or pillows... How careful would you be? What measures should I have in place to protect my children? I don't want to be unreasonable, but I recall it took me 15 years to get rid of a verucca so don't want to start with big warts...

What type of warts are they? Seborrheic keratosis are common on the trunk and not contagious.

Highly unlikely I would imagine. DS had a whole handful of warts at one point and they just went. None of the rest of us got them. Have you asked anyone medical?

My DD used to get the odd wart on her hands when she was little, none of us ever caught them.

Worts aren't usually contagious.

I had really bad warts on my feet as a child and never passed them on to anyone else. They just disappeared eventually.

Proper warts or seborrhoeic keratosis? The latter are totally normal as you get older and are neither warts nor contagious.

As you get older most people get skin changes. I suspect these are not warts but possible some form of pedunculated skin tags that are normal in an older persons skin. If you are still worried why not get her permission to take photos and show to GP who can probably reassure you.

I am old and warty, have never given them to DH or DC, but I am careful not to share towels.

Unlikely to be warts, sounds like SK as others have said. You can’t catch or pass on SK.

Thank you everyone! Googled seborrhoeic keratosis and I think that's what it is. Not so worried now xx