Skin Tags (Acrochordons) Causes, Treatment, Removal and Pictures ~ Beauty Care

Skin Tags (Acrochordons) Causes, Treatment, Removal and Pictures

What is a skin tag?

A skin tag is a common, acquired benign skin growth that looks like a small piece of hanging skin. Skin tags are often described as bits of skin- or flesh-colored tissue that projects from the surrounding skin from a small, narrow stalk. They typically occur in characteristic locations including the neck, underarms, eyelids, and under the breasts (especially where underwire bras rub directly beneath the breasts). Although skin tags may vary somewhat in appearance, they are usually smooth or slightly wrinkled and irregular, flesh-colored or slightly more brown, and hang from the skin by a small stalk. Early or beginning skin tags may be as small as a flattened pinpoint-sized bump around the neck. Some skin tags may be as large as a big grape.

Where do skin tags occur?

Skin tags can occur almost anywhere there is skin. However, favorite areas for tags are the eyelids, neck, armpits, upper chest (particularly under the female breasts), and groin folds. Tags are typically thought to occur in characteristic locations where skin rubs against skin or clothing.

Who tends to get skin tags?

Nearly half of the population is reported to have skin tags at some time. Although tags are generally acquired (not present at birth) and may occur in anyone, more often they arise in adulthood. They are much more common in middle age and they tend to increase in prevalence up to age 60. Children and toddlers may also develop skin tags in the underarm and neck areas. Since they are thought to arise more readily in areas of skin friction or rubbing, tags are also more common in overweight people.

Picture of skin tags

Hormone elevations, such as those seen during pregnancy, may cause an increase in the formation of skin tags, as skin tags are more frequent in pregnant women. Tags may be easily removed during or after pregnancy.

Skin tags are a benign condition and not directly associated with any other major medical conditions, since tags are commonly found on healthy people.

Is a skin tag a tumor?

Skin tags are a type of growth or tumor, albeit a completely benign and harmless one. Tags are not cancerous (malignant) and not found to have potential to become cancerous if left untreated.

What does a skin tag look like under a microscope?

The outer layer of the skin (the epidermis) shows overgrowth (hyperplasia), and it encloses an underlying layer of skin (the dermis) in which the normally-present collagen fibers appear abnormally loose and swollen. Usually there are no hairs, moles, or other skin structures present in skin tags.

What problems do skin tags cause?

These tiny skin growths generally cause no symptoms unless they are repeatedly irritated as, for example, by the collar or in the groin. Cosmetic removal for unsightly appearance is perhaps the most common reason they are removed. Occasionally, a tag may require removal because it has become irritated and red from bleeding (hemorrhage) or black from twisting and dying of the skin tissue (necrosis). Sometimes they may become snagged by clothing, jewelry, pets, or seatbelts, causing pain or discomfort. Overall these are very benign growths that have no cancer (malignant) potential.

Occasionally a tag may spontaneously fall off without any pain or discomfort. This may occur after the tag has twisted on itself at the stalk base, interrupting the blood flow to the tag.

How are skin tags treated?

There are several effective medical ways to remove a skin tag, including removing with scissors, freezing (using liquid nitrogen), and burning (using medical electric cautery at the physician's office).

Usually small tags may be removed easily without anesthesia while larger growths may require some local anesthesia (injected lidocaine) prior to removal. Application of a topical anesthesia cream prior to the procedure may be desirable in areas where there are a large number of tags.

Dermatologists (skin doctors), family physicians, and internal medicine physicians are the doctors who treat tags most often. Occasionally, an eye specialist (ophthalmologist) is needed to remove tags very close to the eyelid margin.

There are also home remedies and self-treatments, including tying off the small tag stalk with a piece of thread or dental floss and allowing the tag to fall off over several days.

The advantage of scissor removal is that the growth is immediately removed and there are instant results. The potential disadvantage of any kind of scissor or minor surgical procedure to remove tags is minor bleeding.

Possible risks with freezing or burning include temporary skin discoloration, need for repeat treatment(s), and failure for the tag to fall off.

There is no evidence that removing tags causes more tags to grow. Rather, there are some people that may be more prone to developing skin tags and may have new growths periodically. Some patients even require periodic removal of tags at annual or quarterly intervals.

Do skin tags need to be sent for pathology?

Most typical small skin tags may be removed without sending tissue for microscopic examination. However, there are some larger or atypical growths that may be removed and sent to a pathologist for examination under a microscope to make sure that the tissue is really a tag and nothing more. Additionally, skin bumps that have bled or rapidly changed may also need pathologic examination. While extremely rare, there are a few reports of skin cancers found in skin tags.

What else could it be?

While classic skin tags are typically very characteristic in appearance and occur in specific locations such as the underarms, necks, under breasts, eyelids and groin folds, there are tags that may occur in less obvious locations.

Other skin growths that may look similar to a skin tag but are not tags include moles (dermal nevus), nerve and fiber-type moles (neurofibromas), warts, and "barnacles" or "Rice Krispies" (seborrheic keratosis).

Warts tend to be rougher, with a "warty" irregular surface whereas skin tags are usually smooth. Warts tend to be flat whereas tags are more like bumps hanging from thin stalk. While warts are almost entirely caused by human papilloma virus (HPV), tags are only sometimes associated with HPV.

Groin and genital lesions resembling skin tags may actually be genital warts or condyloma. A biopsy would help diagnose which of these growths are not skin tags. Very rarely, a basal cell skin or squamous cancer or melanoma may mimic a skin tag, but this is very uncommon.

Is there another medical name for a skin tag?

Medical terms your physician or dermatologist may use to describe a skin tag include fibroepithelial polyp, acrochordon, cutaneous papilloma, and soft fibroma. All of these terms describe skin tags and are benign (noncancerous), painless skin growths. Some people refer to these as "skin tabs" or warts. However, a skin tag is best known as a skin tag.