In the children's book "The Witch With a Wart," an old hag discovers she has a wart on her nose (of course!). Eager to have it disappear, she brews up a magic potion, but gets the ingredients wrong, tripling her wart problems. If she'd just known about duct tape!

Warts are caused by a human papilloma virus (different from the strain that causes genital warts or triggers cervical cancer) and come in four varieties: The common wart appears mostly around fingers and hands on kids (and goes away by itself); the plantar wart is on the bottom of your feet; the flat wart, which kids get on the face, men on the beard area, women on their legs; and the fast-growing filiform wart that usually appears on the face.

Warts can spread from one body part to another or from person to person. So don't pick or scratch a wart or touch someone else's.

At-home remedies for warts include soaking in warm water then sanding down with an emery board (wear a mask and gloves, then throw away the board, gloves and mask when done).

Next, apply an OTC treatment with salicylic acid or, advises the American Academy of Dermatology, cover the wart with duct tape! Change it after 5-6 days and repeat until the wart is gone. And check out the AAD's YouTube channel for the video "Home Treatment for Warts."

Nothing working? See your dermatologist for treatment options that include cryotherapy (freezing), excision, lasers, chemical peels and even immunotherapy.