A skin tag is also termed as an acrochordon, soft fibroma, fibroma pendulum, fibroepithelial polyp, papilloma colli, cutaneous tag, cutaneous papilloma, Templeton skin tag, is a small tag that looks like a small piece of soft, hanging skin. Skin tags could appear on any surface of the body, however the most typically areas where they exist is where the skin rubs against the skin, like the:
- Axilae (armpits)
- Eyelids
- Groin
- Under the breasts
- Upper chest
- Neck
- And more
Skin tags are invariably mild – non cancerous – tumors on the skin that cause no symptoms, unless it is repeatedly rubbed or scratched, as it also may happen with jewelry, clothing, shaving, and more. Under pressure, very large skin tags may also result into bursting. Skin tags are composed of a base of fibers and ducts, fat cells, nerve cells, and a covering known as the epidermis.
Some people are prone to tags because of being overweight, due to heredity or for other unknown reasons. Those with diabetes and pregnant women are most susceptible to skin tags. According to dermatologists, there is an equal number of men and women being affected by skin tags.
Some people might have been affected by skin tags, but would have never noticed them – they would have rubbed it off or the skin tags would have fallen off painlessly. However, in most of the cases they do not fall off. The surface of the skin tags may be smooth or irregular in appearance, however, they are often raised from the surface of the skin on the fleshy peduncles. They are usually same as flesh in colour or are slightly brownish.
At the initial stages they are quite small and flattened like the pinhead bump. Skin tags could range in diameter from 2mm to 1 cm, some may even reach 5 cm.
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How To Treat The Skin Tags?
It is very important to know that skin tags usually are not required to be treated, unless and until the growth doesn’t become bothersome. If they seem to be a trouble, you could go with several home and medical treatment options that are easily available with a professional skin doctor.
Medical ways of removing skin tags are also popular, including the removal with scissors, freezing and burning.
In some of the cases, small tags could be removed without the help of an anesthesia, while larger growths may require some local anesthesia before the removal process is carried out. It could be decided by the doctor to use a topical anesthesia in the required areas where there are a large number of tags.
Your family physician, dermatologists, internal medicine physicians are the doctors who treat skin tags most often. Occasionally, an eye specialist is required to remove the tags that exist near the eyelid margin. There are also home remedies and self treatment that includes tying off the small tag stalk with a piece of thread or dental floss and over a few days it could result into the tag falling off.
If you want the tags to be immediately removed, it is advisable to go for a scissor removal. The potential disadvantage of any kind of scissor or minor surgical procedure to remove the tags is minor bleeding.
Conclusion
So you could see that there are numerous ways in which you could treat tags. It is a good option to go with the medical ways rather than doing it all by yourself. The main benefit of clinical help is that you get special attention from the specialists, and secondly they know very well how to take care of the skin post the removal of the tag.
