Let’s face it -- skin tags are meddling little buggers that can ruin the perfect strapless dress. Lift your arms to take in the summer breeze and there they are, dangling in a way that is anything but sexy. Yuck!
Skin tags are common. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) report that nearly half of people (46 percent) have skin tags, and about 59 percent will develop them by age 70.
However, skin tags are often confused with other blemishes. When it comes to skin tags, it’s important to know that they are not moles. They are growths on the skin that usually occur in areas of the body that get stifled by clothing or skin.
This is why lots of women find them under their breasts and below their abdomen. But you can also get them in other areas like eyelids. You can even get them on your neck, bottom and thighs.
Sports can fuel skin tags. Skin that is constantly rubbed in sporting activities can result in skin tags. This is one of the reasons why many women take steps to prevent chafing.
Skin tags also might be genetic, but they’re not more common in one sex than the other. Both men and women are said to get them equally.
So are skin tags dangerous?
According to MedicineNet, skin tags are benign. In other words, they won’t hurt you. They just look odd, and you may have just one or lots of them. Plus, they can be either the color of your skin or darker. They can also start off as tiny protruding areas and then grow to a larger size. (Some are said to have gotten as big as a grape.)
According to Medical News Today, some people have a higher risk of developing skin tags than others. One major factor in this regard is weight. Those who are overweight and have overlapping skin may experience skin tags more frequently than those of average weight.
Plus, pregnant women often develop skin tags. What to Expect says that this is most likely a result of the hormonal changes that occur during pregnancy and whenever fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone occur.
Further, health issues can play a role. Diabetes and human papillomavirus (HPV) increase the incidence of skin tags.
That said, get skin tags checked out to make sure you’re not misdiagnosing yourself. According to Healthline, skin tags can be another type of growth, though whatever growth it is also may be harmless. As a result, a dermatologist may want to do a biopsy to rule out cancer. This involves removing the growth and sending it to a lab to find out exactly what it is.
The good news is that skin tags can be removed. However, you don’t want to try doing this on your own by pulling off a skin tag. You could cause an infection, or the area could start to bleed.
Your best bet is to go to a dermatologist. Dermatologists can remove a skin tag easily by cauterizing the area in which a skin tag is present. This burns the skin tag, causing it to fall off later. The dermatologist may choose to freeze or cut off the skin tag, and a process called litigation can be performed in which blood is cut off from the skin tag, causing it to fall off.
When these procedures are performed, you won’t need to be anesthetized. But a doctor may use a cream or injection to numb the area so that you don’t feel any pain. These tend to be low-risk procedures.
However, the area may bleed if the doctor actually cuts the skin tag. Healthline says that in this instance, doctors may use silver nitrate or electrocautery to stop bleeding. This is why you’ll want to tell your doctor which medications you take regularly, including herbal supplements. Some medications and supplements can increase the risk of bleeding.
Do exactly what your doctor tells you to do after the procedure is performed. It’s easy not to follow doctors’ orders, but it may increase the risk of infection.
Further, be careful of skin tags around the eye area. If a skin tag is near the eye, you won’t want to take your choice of doctor lightly. Consult a dermatologist who regularly removes skin tags from the eye area. Or consider talking to an ophthalmologist, which is a medical doctor who specializes in the eyes.
And if you don’t want to go to the doctor, you can obtain medication at a pharmacy that will freeze skin tags. Medical News Today says that the skin tag will then fall off in a week to 10 days.
Plus, you can try natural remedies. According to Natural News, a few things can slowly cause changes to occur in skin tags. For example, castor oil can be applied five times or more a day. And apple cider vinegar, dandelion juice and lemon juice are said to treat skin tags naturally. You can even use garlic, oil of oregano mixed with coconut oil, or tea tree oil. Some even say that banana peels can be effective. However, these methods take much longer than a simple visit to the doctor.
Take steps to reduce your risk of developing skin tags. Exercise regularly and eat right to maintain a normal weight. Further, try not to overeat. While losing weight won’t always help, it can decrease the amount of covered skin folds on the body.