- Skin tags are excess pieces of skin usually created when two pieces of skin or a piece of skin and an article of clothing continuously rub together. They range in color from light to dark, and they are non-cancerous. Skin tags are not moles. Moles are a product of concentrated skin pigmentation; a skin tag is just a piece of skin that has been forced to grow away from the body due to friction. Skin tags predominantly grow under the arms, under the breast, on the eyelid or in the groin area. Although potentially unsightly, they are not considered life threatening.
- According to the Mayo Clinic, more than half of the population is susceptible to skin tags. However, the majority of cases occur in middle-aged people, and overweight people and pregnant women have it most often.
- www.parentmemo.com
Most children have tried this. Press a large chunk of modeling clay on a table. Place two fingers at the edge of either side of the modeling clay. Imagine the fingers and modeling clay are one piece of skin from either under the arm or under the breast. Push the fingers together and pinch the modeling clay. The trapped material will rise into a lump. Now take the fingers and alternate, moving them forward, backward and in opposite directions. The clay will rise off the table and begin to look like a stalagmite. This is what a skin tag looks like. The amount of pinched skin or clay will eventually thin into a small connecting piece, and the bulk of the material will be on the table. Skin tags are created much the same way.
Always consult a physician before using home remedies on skin tags for the first time. Any doctor can remove skin tags in the office with a couple of simple procedures. The doctor can either cut and remove or freeze-burn skin tags with liquid nitrogen in a few minutes, but it can be expensive. At-home remedies include clipping the skin tag at the base with very sharp, disinfected scissors or applying a tourniquet with dental floss or fishing line. (Cutting a skin tag can cause bleeding and some pain, depending on how much of the skin was cut.) The dental floss method is less messy, and the skin tag will usually fall off on its own due to lack of blood flow after a few days. Other potential but unproven remedies include applying clear fingernail polish daily until the tag falls off, applying a baking soda and castor oil paste to the tag daily until it dries up and disappears, or using any over-the-counter wart removal daily until the skin falls off. Each of these methods may take up to two weeks to work if they work at all.
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