By Terrie Johnson| Intern and UAB Community Health and Human Services Student

Skin tags are non-cancerous growths that appear like clusters on the skin. Most adults, especially older ones, develop them as they age. The tags are harmless, painless, and do not result in medical complications. Nevertheless, they are unsightly, especially in visible areas like the face and neck. Consequently, an individual may become self-conscious. Although skin tags are harmless, they may affect someone’s self-esteem.

Although skin tags are often small, usually between 1-5 mm, they can become larger (figure 1). They appear as parts of the skin tissue extending outwards, held by a thin stalk (Tripathy et al., 2019). They occur when the extra cells on the top layer of the skin are released. Subsequently, the additional cells in skin folds form harmless growths as the skin rubs against itself. In most cases, skin tags grow in the armpits, eyelids, genitals, neck, and beneath the breasts. In general, skin tags are non-harmful growths that form on the skin due to the production of extra cells.

 An individual should contact a dermatologist for removal procedures. The skin specialist may typically remove the skin tags by freezing them with liquid nitrogen, cutting them off using sharp instruments like a scalpel, and cauterization (Syed et al., 2021). Ideally, a person may try to remove the tags at home; however, dermatologist caution against this idea because one may bleed excessively or become infected. Thus, the recommended skin tag removal procedures include freezing, cutting, and heating them.

In summary, skin tags are common in aging adults. The growths are harmless, but unsightly when they occur in visible body parts like the face and neck. They result from excess cells released by the body. The primary strategies for removing skin tags include freezing, burning, and cutting them. One should not attempt to remove them at home due to the risks of bleeding and infection.

References

Healthdirect. (2022). Skin tags (online image). https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/skin-tags

Syed, S. Y. B., Lipoff, J. B., & Chatterjee, K. (2021). Acrochordon. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK448169/.

Tripathy, T., Singh, B. S., & Kar, B. R. (2019). Association of skin tag with metabolic syndrome and its components: A case–control study from Eastern India. Indian Dermatology Online Journal, 10(3), 284. https://doi.org/10.4103/idoj.IDOJ_238_18.