Skin Tag Removal

What Are Skin Tags
Skin tags are small skin growths that often take on the shape of a bulging loose piece of skin that's attached by a stalk to your skin. It's also known as Acrochordons and in mots cases skin tags are completely harmless and non cancerous.

Who gets Skin Tags
Anyone can get skin tags although it's most common in adults. Women and overweight people seems to be most affected and skin tags are very common amongst obese people. Skin tags can also be hereditary and certain skin types are more susceptible to skin tags.

Where Do You Get Skin Tags
Skin tags can appear anywhere on your body. The most common places however is where your skin tends to have a lot of friction - especially with skin-on-skin and skin-on-clothes. The most common areas are on the eye lids, the underarms, under the breasts and on the neck.

Are Skin Tags Dangerous?
In most cases skin tags pose no direct threat in itself. The biggest threat is when skin tags become infected. Since skin tags are skin growths they often get caught on clothing or gets scratched and ripped. This can cause them to become sensitive and uncomfortable in which case it is safer to have it removed. Skin tags are considered to be bening tumours with very little potential of malignant growth.

Can You Remove Skin Tags?
The simple answer is yes, but there are many complications. Most of the more traditional methods of skin tag removal tends to leave scars and it's not permanent. Removing skin tags permanently can be quite a challenge and although there are many over the counter products, the majority of them don't work long term. There are a variety of natural and homeopathic solutions that can offer a more permanent and scar free option to those who don't want to go the surgical route.

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What exactly are skin tags and how should I go about skin tag removal? As I mentioned already, these skin growths are basically harmless and are found on adults that are healthy individuals. The biggest problem with skin tags is not the actual affects of it on your skin, but rather it's affects on how you feel about it.

People with visible skin tags can be very self conscious about it - and understandably so. At first when they appear they are tiny in size and as time goes on they grow and can become the size of a grape and that is when they need to be removed as they are ugly. It can be very unsightly when you have dense areas of skin tags and when they start discolouring it can look pretty bad. To add to the problem, most people don't understand it and can often 'stare'. Skin tag removal is a common practice as they can look distasteful depending where on your body they have grown. This can also affect the route you choose when removing them.

More delicate areas of your body like the eye lids can be more difficult as the skin is more delicate and using abrasive chemicals around your eyes can be dangerous. Freezing skin tags around the eyes for example can be a lot more hazardous than using it where it is in the neck.

Doctors can remove these skin tags for you very quickly and effectively by either freezing them or burning them off. Or they can just be surgical removed by cutting the skin tag off with scissors (yes, this is actually a recognised technique).

The doctor will most likely use liquid nitrogen which is termed as Cryotherapy or he may even give you a local anaesthetic and snip the skin tag. But should you have a skin tag around the eye area it is highly suggested you see an ophthalmologist and he then will do the skin tag removal safely. A very modern and quick method used nowadays is of course laser surgery.

There are just so many options available to choose from which all are completely safe and virtually painless. For those wanting skin tag removal done and don't want to see a doctor then you have a choice of herbal remedies which also cost less and are just as effective and quick.

Commonly used is tea tree oil which you should continuously apply at least four times a day to the area and dries the skin tag out causing it to fall off, another method which people say works wonders is a cream based with caster oil and baking soda then applying this paste to the skin tag which will in turn make it fall off quickly. Many different formulas are sold at health shops which can be used at home safely for skin tag removal.

While the most common reasons for skin tag removal is "cosmetic" you should always make sure that you go and see your doctor whenever a skin tag starts bleeding or when is becomes irritating. In some cases your doctor will actually remove the skin tag as a precaution.