Skin tags are apparently a small and benign growth (papilloma colli) on the skin that are hung from the body by a narrow stalk or peduncle. They appear in the creases of the body ( for example neck) where friction appears. Usually small (about 3-5 mm in size), skin tags are formed in clusters and further grow in size.

 

How Dangerous are Skin Tags?

While they are not a sign of cancer and does not require medical concern, having skin tags around the neck certainly affects your appearance and self-confidence. Moreover, skin tags, when start forming clusters become itchy and may cause several skin infection. So, skin tags need to be removed. In fact, the infected ones need to be healed first before getting removed.

How The Skin Tags Are Removed?

Depending on your condition, you can either go for home remedies or medical solutions. Also keep in mind that medical intervention in case of bigger clusters might need a biopsy test in order to rule out the cancer concern.

The Home Remedies

Various natural ingredients r often used to get rid of skin tags. Some of these are mentioned here.

Tea Tree Oil

Tea tree oil offers wonderful cure to various skin disorders like skin tags in the neck and armpits. But, before applying it, it’s important to clean the skin tag with a wet cotton ball. You can also splash plain water for cleaning the area. Then add few drops of tea tree oil in a water soaked cotton ball and apply it onto the skin tag. With regular application, the lesion is supposed to be vanished within a week.

Castor Oil

Castor oil is considered one of the best remedies for skin tag removal. Use it by mixing it with baking soda to create an ointment. Add a little amount of citrus oil to the paste to avoid the bad stink. Apply this paste on the affected area and cover it with band aid. The remedy is supposed to show results within 2 to 4 weeks.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Soak your cotton ball in apple cider vinegar and place it on the skin tag. Initially there will be an itchy sensation but you will soon get used to it. Regular application of Apple cider vinegar will make the lesion vanish by 2 to 4 weeks.

Lemon Juice

The citric acid of lemon juice is an effective solution as they decompose the cells of skin tags. Soak a cotton ball in lemon juice and apply it directly on the skin tag. Let it sit and dry. Daily application will remove the skin tags over a period of time.

 

The Medical Procedures

When it comes to medical intervention, doctors initially suggest OTC ( over the counter) products for topical application. In case, the size of the tags are not that big, the OTC products offer great solution. But when it comes to skin tags, removal procedure, doctors usually suggest the following process.

• Cauterization
• Cryotherapy
• Surgical excision

In spite of being outpatient procedures, all these have varying levels of invasiveness. But they do not have any potential health risk.

Cauterization

The process is nothing but actually burning off a skin tag. During the process, the dermatologist will remove the skin tag right from its stalk. For this process, an electric heating device is used and before using it, the area around the skin tag is numbed with a local anesthetic. The process takes only a few minutes, but the worst part is, this procedure often leaves long time scars on your face. People will sensitive skin will have small burn marks for an extended period of time. However, with the usage of creams and natural treatments the scars can be healed.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy is a quick and painless procedure. It involves freezing skin tags with liquid nitrogen. Freezing the area stops blood circulation, thus impeding the growth of skin tags in the area . The greatest benefit of cryotherapy is that, there’s no risk of scarring in the affected area.

Surgical Excision

This is one of the widely followed methods used for removing skin tags. This is also an outpatient surgery, where the dermatologist remove skin tags with a scalpel. Localised anaesthesia is used to numb the area. However, surgical excision is essentially performed on larger skin tags and biopsy is mandatory in such cases,

Like cauterization, surgical excision also results in skin scarring as the doctors need to make a small incision at the stalk in order to wipe it off right from the root.

 

 

Final Word…

There’s no specific reason of growing skin tags. Hormonal elevations during pregnancy ca also cause the formation of skin tags and these are harmless. Such lesions tend to disappear just after pregnancy. Skin tags are not generally not associated with any other diseases, but obese people tend to get it more due to the presence of creases in their body.