Skin Tags

The medical name of Skin Tags is acrochordons. Cutaneous skin tags is a skin condition involving small, generally benign skin growths. A skin tags is a common, benign condition which consists of a bit of skin that projects from the surrounding skin and may appear attached to the skin. Skin tags can vary quite a bit in appearance. A skin tags is a soft, skin-colored growth that hangs from the surface of the skin on a thin piece of tissue called a stalk. Its medical name is acrochordon. Skin tags are not skin cancer and cannot turn into skin cancer. Skin tags appear most often in skin folds of the neck, armpits, torso, beneath the breasts or in the genital region. They can become irritated if they are in an area where clothing or jewelry rubs against them, and they may be unsightly. Skin tags are very common soft harmless lesions that appear to hang off the skin. They are also described as:

• Acrochordons
• Papillomas
• Soft fibromas
• Pedunculated (this means they are on a stalk)
• Filiform (this means they are thread-like)

Symptoms of Skin Tags

The only symptom is a growth on the skin. The growth (tag) is usually small, although some may be up to a half-inch long. A skin tags at first may appear as a tiny soft bump on the skin. Skin tags develop in both men and women as they grow older. They are skin coloured or darker and range in size from 1mm to 5cm. Other characteristics are as follows:

• Located on the neck, armpits, trunk, body folds, or other areas
• May have a narrow stalk
• Usually skin-colored, occasionally darker

Causes of Skin Tags

It is not know what causes skin tags. However, the following factors may play a role:

• Chaffing and irritation from skin rubbing together
• High levels of growth factors, particularly during pregnancy or in acrogmegaly (gigantism)
• Insulin resistance (syndrome X)
• Human papilloma virus (wart virus)

Treatment of Skin Tags

Skin tags can be Treatment for cosmetic reasons by the following methods:

• Cryotherapy (freezing)
• Surgical excision (often with scissors)
• Electrosurgery (diathermy)
• Ligation (a suture is tied around the neck of the skin tag)
• Skin tag can easily remove by burning it off with an electric needle or by cutting it off with a scalpel or scissors.