Skin tags are small protruding lumps which commonly appear on the under armpits, neck, groin area, eyelids and other areas of the body where the skin is frequently rub. They are medically referred to as acrochordons. These are benign skin growths that look like a small piece of cloth hanging on your skin. Skin tags are harmless but are considered unsightly. Some individuals maybe prone to skin tags either because of hereditary features increase in weight or other unknown causes. Obese or moderately overweight person are more likely to develop. It dramatically increases the chances for women with larger breast size to have skin tags. There are tags that are small and when spontaneously rub, they fall off painlessly by themselves a person may not even know that they have it. Large skin tags may not fall off on their own but persist once formed.

The Causes of Skin Tags

A skin tag that normally occurs during midlife, are said to be caused by blood vessel and bunches of collagen which are trapped inside the thicker part of the skin. They said to be the result of rubbing against skin. This is the reason why they normally grow in the skin folds and creases.

Skin tags are most in common on individuals who are obese and overweight this is because they have more creases and folds in their skin, individuals with diabetes, people with papilloma virus, pregnant woman who secretes hormones and illegal steroid use that interferes with muscles and body allowing the fibers of the skin to connect and tags will be formed.

What are the Different Types of Skin Tags?

All skin tags are the same, they only differ on the area where they grow.

Cutaneous Skin Tags are very common skin growths which usually noncancerous and harmless. This stag sticks out of the skin that may appear narrow or short that connects to the surface of the skin. They normally don’t grow or change and are usually painless. Cutaneous skin tags are common to people who have diabetes or overweight. They are commonly formed in the skin fold where the skins are rubbing together.

Some people can have one or more skin tags usually grow in the neck, armpit and eyelids. Home remedies with contain acids are not a good option for tags around the eyes as they may cause blindness and eye irritation.  Approximately 46% of people in the USA have skin tags; this is according to the National Institute of Health.

Genital Skin Tags appears on the penis, vagina, or around the groin area. Skin tag causes for women generally appears as they give birth.  For men, actually, the causes where never clear although penile skin tags are generally because of the friction during sex most especially when the lubrication is not adequate. Obesity generates the occurrence of genital skin tags because more pressures that occurred as the genitals rub frequently against the surrounding fats. Wearing inappropriate underwear that causes rubbing with the genitals would also cause the development of genital skin tags.

There are different kinds of method to choose to cure skin tags. Some of them involve heating to kill cell tissues on the tags. To make the sperms to remain healthy, they have to be stored at two degrees lower than the normal room temperature 37 degree centigrade. If there is a higher temperature within the groin, it would kill them that are why the process like diathermy is not recommended. Cryotheraphy is among the best method to use in remove genital skin tags.

Anal Skin Tags are shapeless tags or flesh and flesh found in the anal verge. These tags are common condition and are mostly harmless. The soft skin which is usually flesh in color or sometimes darker in the surrounding area and it hangs on the opening of the anus like a stem or stalk that supplies the blood from the skin to the tag.

However you need to know that anal skin tags are normally associated with other anorectal conditions which may come about as result of injury called a hemorrhoid or anal fissure. They could be an indicator for a more serious rectal ailment that needs medical attention.

Treatments for Skin Tags

Skin tags are generally small although it may sometimes half an inch in diameter and even more in diameter. It maybe has a long stalk which is found in the creases and fold of the skin such as;

• Eyelids
• Groin
• Armpits
• Upper chest
• Under the breast

The skin tags may appear smooth, irregular, and slightly brownish or flesh in color. Some large tags where they are mostly rub with materials such as jewelry; clothing or skin can be removed because this is where it usually gets irritated. Harmless scars on the face and eyelids are usually removed for cosmetic purposes. Individuals who have it in their under arms remove it to make shaving easy.

The following procedures are used to remove skin tags:

1. Cauterization

Cauterization is an ancient medical process which is still currently used. It is done by creating burns on the tissue on a close wounds, stop bleeding, or to remove the tags. It seems that doctor’s long time ago was practicing this by applying hot metal after amputation. It’s one way the bleeding skin tags will ease and the wounds close because the heat would make the blood clot.

In modern ways, it is used with more frequency but now the method was changed. Now they are using either electricity or chemicals to burn the tissues. Mastectomy was one of the surgeries that use this method. A common electrocauterization is by using cardiac ablation which can remove damage tissues from the heart and retain a regular heartbeat.

Chemical cauterization is also use, but there is a doubt that it might be absorbed in the skin. However chemicals as silver nitrate are still widely used. Small growth like warts and moles can be burned off using a certain chemical. One effective chemical is cantharidin which is formulated from blister beetles.

Another method which is very popular nowadays is the use of lasers to remove tissues. Most of the doctors prefer this process to electric cauterization, since tissue removal is extremely precise and localized. Improvement of this technology means that chemical and electronic cauterization for removing and sealing tissue is also very effective.

2. Cryosurgery

Currently there are no known medical causes of skin tags, but most medical experts believe that skin tags are created in the combination of rubbing, aging skin or friction on the skin area. Up to now, there are variety of methods have been developed in removing skin tags. One known technique that doctor commonly use is to freeze the skin growth. In medical society it is known as cryotherapy or cryosurgery. Physicians use extremely cold substance like argon, dry ice and liquid nitrogen to freeze warts. The process has a minimal risk and it is very simple and easy. Most people don’t really understand the risk they take when they try removing their warts at home. Some examples are duct tapes and home surgery which can be painful, dangerous and will leave a scar after.

Cryotheraphy is done in a dermatologist or therapist clinic to perform wart freezing. This type of skin tag removal could be done without giving the patient a local anesthesia. Therefore; there maybe slight pain during the process which is just quite brief. There are three techniques in freezing skin tags. The commonest one, which can also be used in benign skin tags, you need to dip a cotton buds into the extremely cold substance, cryogen which is normally liquid nitrogen at temperature of-196 C. It must be then applied to the skin tags quickly to freeze it while killing the cells of the tags. The tags may require another second round of application to freeze larger tags. Another way of treating tag using cryotherapy is by spraying cryogen directly into the growth. The procedure would take about 15-20 seconds and a bit longer on larger tags. Then another method of freezing tags is by using pre-cooled probe, frozen with cryogen to destroy the growth cells in the skin. This will take a minute or longer, depending on the size of the skin tag.

Eliminating skin tags by freezing are beneficial to both the patient and the therapist. First, the process takes only a few minutes; simple and easy. It has fewer risks than using surgical incisions. Another good thing about cryotherapy is that it stimulates the body’s immune system of the patient and increases the body’s resistance to fight against cancerous skin tags. Patients who will use freezing procedure are guaranteed that the surrounding skin will never be injured during medication. Those who are not tolerant to invasive procedures like the elderly persons responded more to cryotherapy.

3. Ligation

Skin tags are totally harmless, but they affect a lot of people physically and psychologically. One of the traditional home remedies used in getting rid of skin tags is called ligation or tying. It is best performed by doctors but it’s an open option for you to do it by yourself at home. Tie the skin tag using a small thread. This will break its tendency in getting supply of blood and oxygen from your body. This can be after cut with a scissor; however this wouldn’t be a good option if you will consider hygiene. But if you chose this procedure anyway, it is important that you make sure that the area around the tag has been properly disinfected to avoid infection.

4. Surgical Excision

This is another way of removing the skin tag done a practitioner which is normally used for larger tags though smaller ones can also be treated with this. It is mandatory for a patient to go for a consultation before having a surgical excision. During you consultation your doctor will be able to know if the surgery is the right procedure to be done and he will be able to determine whether the method will not put you at risk  or the process will develop complications like other process do. During the consultation he will ask you about;

• the nature of your skin tag, if it is painful and if it continue to grow
• your medical history whether you have previous cancerous growth or any skin problems
• tell about your lifestyle, if you are smoking as it will deprive the healing process or if you taking some herbal supplements that needs to be stop before the surgery
• to talk about any problems you have regarding the procedure

Your skin tag will  have to undergo a process known as biopsy wherein your doctor will take a sample of your skin tag to make sure that it is a tag not a mole or any other growth. The cost of your consultation would depend on who will be performing the surgery. If you want to have it on the NHS then this will not charge you anything because you’re GP or dermatologist will perform the initial consultation and examination. If you have more skin tags to be treated, it is normal for clinics will give a free consultation or they will take charges off your procedure.

During the surgery, your skin tag will be cut off using a razor, sharp knife, scissors or scalpel. After removing the skin tag, more pressure will be placed on the previous area to stop the bleeding. Antiseptic is used to prevent infection and will not make the skin surface get irritated. Surgical excision provides instant result by removing the skin tags completely. Shave excision is similar to excision, the only difference is that the process is done by shaving off the skin tag using a tool called Dermablade and leave the  surface smooth. This is commonly done on small skin growth because larger growth tends to bleed more.

During the procedure the surrounding area is likely to be numbed using a local anaesthetic or a cream. This is to make sure that the patient will experience less pain when the skin tag is removed. Other people are given sedative; however they are most likely to stay awake during the procedure. If you have a sedative you will be unable to drive home, but after the surgery patients would be allowed to go after one hour.

Prevention of Skin Tags

Since there is no typical reason why skin tags occur, there is no way to prevent them from forming. These conditions are not cancerous. When you have skin tags, you can just cover them with a bandage until you are able to visit a doctor to prevent irritation.