Skin Tags- what are they??

[tsb]

Does anyone know what causes skin tags? Does anyone know how to get rid of them?All comments gratefully received!

[Petal]

Hi there

I don't know what causes them but my OH had several removed last night at a local beauty salon for £35. I'm not sure exactly what they did to be honest! I just know he has several black bits now where the skin tags where and they will drop off.

A friend of mine had one and said that she went to the GP who froze it off for her.

~x~

[Ted_Hutchinson]

Doctors advice from BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_the_doctor/skintags.shtml)
If you ask your grandmother how she would remove them she'll probably tell you to tie a hair or some thread around the bottom of the skin tag. This cuts off its blood supply so it dies.
Your doctor, however, will either freeze it with liquid nitrogen or remove it with a heated element device called electrocautery. This uses a very hot but very small blade to cut off the skin tag sealing the blood vessel at the same time to stop it bleeding. Both these methods can be done in the doctor's surgery and take just a few minutes.

I had one in the groin area that became a nuisance. It took a couple of freeze jobs to clear it, on the second attempt the Dr doing it said if it doesn't drop off this time I should tie it with a hair.

[MrsMW]

I had 2 removed at my GP's surgery on Friday. She injected a local anaesthetic and cut them off. The skin looks fine now.
If you have small ones you can often get them off by spitting on your fingers and twiddling them around until the blood supply is cut off. It's one of Granny's remedys but it does work.

[angel]

I had one about five years ago and when I showed my doctor she wouldn't do anything about it. In the end I had to pay a private doctor to remove it. I'm pretty annoyed now that I know that doctors do it for you.

[missk]

Does anyone know what causes skin tags? Does anyone know how to get rid of them?All comments gratefully received!

Hello
The doctor told me it's a type of skin virus. I had one under my arm and it wasn't very big but just irritating as it rubbed on clothing and underwear etc. I showed it the doctor and she used the electro method.

The most important thing for me was that it was totally painless and very quick. So if you have one or several, I would definitely go to your GP and get them sorted.

missk

[shopndrop]

I have two on my face and have been to the doctor's today to see if they will remove them. Apparently as they are on my face, I need a referral to the dermatology dept at the hospital. If they were anywhere else on my body, could have had them done at the doctors today.

[shokadelika]

Doctors advice from BBC website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/ask_the_doctor/skintags.shtml)
If you ask your grandmother how she would remove them she'll probably tell you to tie a hair or some thread around the bottom of the skin tag. This cuts off its blood supply so it dies.
Your doctor, however, will either freeze it with liquid nitrogen or remove it with a heated element device called electrocautery. This uses a very hot but very small blade to cut off the skin tag sealing the blood vessel at the same time to stop it bleeding. Both these methods can be done in the doctor's surgery and take just a few minutes.

I had one in the groin area that became a nuisance. It took a couple of freeze jobs to clear it, on the second attempt the Dr doing it said if it doesn't drop off this time I should tie it with a hair.


Ha HA HA is that just not amazing Ted if the medical estooblishment lets you down then use an Old Wives Tale..probably without scarring too!? :rotfl:

[Annabee]

Liquid nitrogen - that's the same treatment as for veruccas isn't it?

You may find, as someone just said, that your GP will refuse to do anything, regarding it as trivial. Its not the same scenario exactly, but DD recently had a verucca so I rang the doctors as I thought I remembered they had a 'wart clinic' and would freeze it off for her. The receptionist said they had suspended the clinic because it was too busy!!, I would have to buy something over the counter and do it myself.

I thought this was a bit rubbish, really. What do we pay our flipping taxes for eh?

[inkie]

I had a skin tag under my arm - I applied a ligature (made from a piece of cotton tied on tightly), the blood supply stopped and the tag dropped off in less than a week.

[Sola]

I have a lot of skintags - armpits, collar bone, neck, rib cage. I just ignore them; I think they're an age thing.

[conspirator]

your local GP will remove them for free. Usually found in hot areas of the body and often look like moles.

Removal procedure is anasthetic and a hot wire which removes them.

Not very pleasent sounding, i opted out when i found out they were not moles :)

[Errata]

I had a skin tag under my arm - I applied a ligature (made from a piece of cotton tied on tightly), the blood supply stopped and the tag dropped off in less than a week.

That used to be the way that GP's treated them, until they got hold of lots of fancy equipment they could use :D . And it's more or less the way little boy lambs lose some of their bits, and all lambs lose some of their tails.

[shelly]

If you have any skin tags its best to get them checked by a doctor. I thought I had harmless skin tags under my arm pits. Turns out I have human papilloma virus. In women HPV is responsible for virtually all cases of cervical cancer. As I found out.

I don't want to scare anyone but please get them checked.

[littlemissmoney]

Hi

I had a few of these by my armpit a few years ago which were very annoying as they rubbed on my bra. I went to the GP and had them all cut off. Painless and very quick. They haven't come back and I have no scars.

[debzi]

There are 130+ strains of the HPV virus, the vast majority of which are relatively harmless. The two strains known to cause cervical cancer are not the same ones that cause skin tags. So don't worry about it too much, folks.

[anguk]

I had one under my boob that rubbed on my bra, I happened to mention it to a surgeon when I was seeing him about something else and he cut it off! As I've got older a few more have appeared but they're small & don't bother me so I've left them, but I have one on my shoulder blade that's as big as a sultana! I might get that one removed.

My hubby had one and his GP tied some suture(sp) thread around it and it just fell off.

[lynzpower]

Ive got one in my inner thigh right at the top.
I dont think im brave enough to get it removed!!

[Cazzdevil]

I've got one right on my armpit, it's incredible that I've never managed to knick it when I shave the pits...

A friend of mine had hers removed with a heated wire, they just kinda skim it off but the heated wire seals the skin underneath it causing a tiny scab which will heal neatly and quickly.

[Errata]

There are 130+ strains of the HPV virus, the vast majority of which are relatively harmless. The two strains known to cause cervical cancer are not the same ones that cause skin tags. So don't worry about it too much, folks.

For anyone who's not sure what they've got - lots of pix of skin tags and HPV warts if you google, and all in glorious technicolour !

[shelly]

I did what errata suggested as I didn't realise there was a difference. My HPV skin tags look like what images come up when you search for skin tags. They definately don't look like what come up when you search for HPV warts and they definately aren't in the place the HPV wart images are showing either.

They are all under my armpits and look like large skin tags. I can't shave my armpits as they bleed quite well :D I have had a few removed but they came back.
I still stand by my previous post.
Get them checked to be sure they aren't harmless.