How Does a Skin Tag Develop?
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Description of Skin Tags
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The scientific name for skin tags is acrochordons. Skin tags are small benign (not cancerous) skin colored growths that can occur anywhere on the skin. They are actually a harmless type of tumors. The growths look like little flaps of skin. They can be same color as the surrounding skin or they can be darker than the surrounding skin. Skin tags can appear as a single growth or multiple skin tags can appear at around the same time. Skin tags are common. Almost fifty percent of people get at least one in their lifetime.
What Causes Skin Tags?
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The exact cause of skin tags is not known. Skin tags do tend to appear in areas that undergo a lot of friction, such as in skin folds. While there is no known cause, there do seem to be risk factors that make a person more prone to skin tags.
People who are obese seem to get skin tags more often than thinner people. The probable reason is that obese people have more skin folds.
Pregnant women seem to be more prone to skin tags than other people. The most likely explanation is that the higher hormone levels in pregnant women increases the risk of skin tags.
People with type 2 diabetes seem to have an increased incidence of skin tags. Researchers think it might be due to glucose intolerance and insulin levels in diabetic patients.
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Where do Skin Tags Grow?
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Skin tags can grow anywhere on the body, but most commonly grow on the eyelids, neck, under the breasts, the groin area and the armpits.
Problems Associated with Skin Tags
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Skin tags generally do not cause any symptoms. They usually do not cause any pain or irritation. Skin tags are more of a nuisance than anything. On a rare occasion they can get irritated due to friction, but generally the only problem with skin tags is cosmetic.
Removing Skin Tags
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Sometimes skin tags eventually fall off on their own without any treatment.
A dermatologist or a general doctor can remove skin tags. A doctor might refer a patient to an eye doctor to have skin tags that are on the eyelid removed.
Doctors can remove skin tags by cutting them off with a knife or scissors. Often the process of cutting them off is so quick and painless that anesthesia is not needed. Alternatively, a doctor may freeze of a skin tag using nitrogen.
Some people remove skin tags at home by themselves. A popular at home removal method is to tightly tie a piece of dental floss around the skin tag. The dental floss is left on the skin tag until it falls off, usually in a few days. The home method works by cutting off blood supply to the skin tag, causing it to fall off.
Warning
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This article is for informational purposes only and is not meant to act as or replace medical advice. There are other types of growths that can grow on the skin that may look similar to skin tags. All growths should be checked out by a medical professional.
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