Examining the common misconception that toads can give you warts.

"Why would you ever want a frog or toad as a pet? All they will do is give you warts on your hands," was always the response I received from my mother when I was a young child and asked to get a toad or frog every time she dared to take a child into a pet store. In time I came to understand that this was not true but I still wonder if she believed this or was she just saying this because she simply did not want me to have one?

For a long time now toads have been given a bad reputation for the way they look. Appearance wise they are not that much different looking than the always accepted frogs, besides the bumps and warts but so what? Humans and other animals can develop warts and we do not think poorly of them or avoid touching them. Whether we believe it or not, everyone has heard the common herpetological myth that toads can pass warts to people. The origin of this common misconception is not really known. It could be just the fact that toads have warts and some people assume that "like causes like" or that possibly there have been cases of people who have had allergic reactions to some of the secretions from a toad's parotoid glands which may have caused bumps. 

Image shows a picture of the cane toad (Bufo marinus)
secreting it's poison from one of it's parotoid glands.

The American toad (Bufo americanus) shows numerous warts on it's back.

Even though to anyone who has learned anything about herpetology this myth seems ridiculous and very unbelievable, this common misperception still persists. This could be due to numerous things such as it is something commonly said to children to prevent them from touching something a parent finds repulsive or to prevent them from wanting a frog or toad as a pet. In my opinion and from doing research on this, I believe the reason why the myth has been around so long and is so commonly heard is because people simply do not know. It just could be that people have heard the myth so frequently and over time that they may blindly believe it and pass it on.

It is a fact that toads do not pass warts to people. There have been numerous articles written about the subject and numerous research in the world of dermatology has given physicians a very in-depth understanding of what causes warts in humans. According to dermatologist Dr. Natasha Cook, "Basically warts are a virus that human skin can pick up. And wart viruses are ubiquitous, that means it's everywhere in the community … it's the Human Papilloma Virus, which we basically call HPV." Warts are caused by a virus that enters any surface of our skin and causes cells to rapidly multiply. In a study done by National Geographic, dermatologist Jerry Litt was interviewed about this topic in which he said, "warts are caused by a human virus, not carried by frogs or toads." While researching this topic, I was able to find many examples of dermatologists and other experts who said toads do not cause warts in humans, but I was not able to find a single source that claimed that toads did. A simple search on any internet search engine or a quick read of a herpetological book will show anyone interested that there is overwelming support from experts that prove that toads do not carry the human virus that causes people to get warts and that the myth about toads is completely false. 

 Today resources for looking information up are readily available and should be taken advantage of, especially by the people who continue to perpetuate this myth without any background knowledge. This myth only spreads nonsense, and going back to the example of the parent who says it in order to have their child avoid contact with or wanting a toad, telling a child something false does not help with anything. Simply tell them no or to stay away, that right there is not spreading false information and not continuing a common misconception. Hopefully one day this common misconception can be eliminated and people will have a somewhat better understanding about toads and even the causes of warts. Something that could help is those who have been informed, such as students of herpetology class, should make an effort to correct people when we hear it. Though it is not too important for someone to know the truth about this myth, having a little more knowledge never hurt anyone. From everything we know about warts, they can appear anywhere on our bodies and are spread to us from viruses found all over. It is not certain how one's body will react when the virus is contracted, they may grow warts or their immune system might fight the virus away but one thing's for sure - you will never, ever get a wart from a toad. 

Now that all of the readers of this post are educated and know the truth behind this common herpetological myth....