Skin tags are ugly, but harmless, growths that tend to appear on the skin as you age. Approximately 46 percent of people develop skin tags at some point during their lives, according to Medical News Today. If you hate the way your skin tags look, your doctor can remove them during a brief office visit.
Identification
Also called acrochordons or cutaneous tags, skin tags are fleshy growths attached to the skin by a peduncle, or stalk. The stalk may be short or long, depending on the size of the tag. Ducts, fibers and fat and nerve cells fill the center of the skin tag. Tags vary in size and are usually the same color as the skin, although in some cases, the skin growths may be darker than the surrounding skin. While skin tags are harmless, soreness and inflammation may occur if the tags are located in area that constantly rubs against the skin or your clothing. Skin tags may also become caught in jewelry if the tags are located on your neck.
Location
Skin tags usually grow in skin folds. They may appear on the eyelids, neck, groin, armpits, trunk or under the breasts. The most common location for skin tags is the armpit, according to Medical News Today.
Causes
The National Institutes of Health reports that skin tags are thought to occur from skin rubbing against itself in skin folds. Other potential causes include infection with the human papilloma virus, pregnancy hormones, taking illegal steroids or developing insulin resistance due to diabetes. Being overweight can cause extra skin folds that increase your risk of developing skin tags.
Treatment
It is not dangerous or harmful to have skin tags, but you may want to have the growths removed if you find them unattractive. Doctors remove skin tags by cutting them from the skin, freezing them with liquid nitrogen or burning them. Removal of small skin tags may require no anesthesia, while an injectable anesthetic may be used before removing larger tags, according to Derma Network.
Recovery
After the removal procedure, you may be given a bandage to cover the removal site. By the next day, there may be no obvious sign of the removal. If you can still see the removal site, Derma Network recommends cleaning the site with hydrogen peroxide, followed by the application of an antibiotic ointment. While it is unlikely that another skin tag will grow at the same place, new skin tags can continue to grow on other areas of your body.
