A skin tag is a soft piece of tiny skin tissue that may have a stalk. That stalk is also known as a peduncle. It is also known as acrochordons and may affect as much as 60 per cent of the population. The blood supply to the tag often flows through that peduncle. A skin tag thus has a variety of names some of which are descriptive. Some people refer to it as a cutaneous papilloma, while others call it a cutaneous tag. Others call it a soft fibroma, while, yet others call it fibroma molluscum. We shall stop there because there are yet other names, which probably have no relevance to the understanding of the layman.
Skin tags are generally very common and often occur after midlife. Both men and women are equally affected. These growths commonly occur in the creases or folds of the skin and are, therefore, found mainly around the neck and the face. They are not considered dangerous but many of the people who have them usually express the wish to have them removed for both cosmetic and aesthetic reasons. There are various methods of removal of these growths, and we shall be looking at some of these methods later in this discussion.
Besides, they are recognised as benign growths, which are certainly not cancerous but are nonetheless described as skin tumours. They often consist of a core of ducts, nerve cells and fat cells, and have a covering made up of skin. They are also rich in blood supply for which reason they usually bleed in the course of removal or when they are injured.
These growths are often found on the eyelids, under the breasts, armpits, the neck as we said before, the upper chest and the groin. Some people have these growths and somehow never notice them. Some of these may rub off and fall away on their own, especially in the course of scrubbing the skin with a sponge while taking a bath. Others may drop off when rubbed by jewellery, while shaving or by clothes. They usually have a smooth surface but sometimes, the surfaces are also irregular. At all times, they are raised above the surface of the skin. They are held in their various positions by a peduncle, and they often retain the colour of the surrounding skin but may actually be much darker at some other times.
It is these dark ones that frequently stand out and become noticeable. They usually start as really small growths, sometimes as little as two millimetres, but could grow to as large as five centimetres. Most of the commonly seen ones stay between these two extremes, but the fact of the matter is that they will usually grow at a slow pace over several years. Many remain small and will seldom exceed one centimetre in size. It is the rather small ones that many people are often eager to remove on their own at home, but this is not recommended or advisable as these are lesions and tend to bleed a lot. This can become a serious problem in those people who have a blood clotting problem. They can also become infected.
As stated before, this problem is often found in skin folds where there is a lot of friction between different opposing skin surfaces. In the majority of cases, it is not at all clear what causes it. There may be an increased risk of forming these tags in people who have diabetes and in pregnant women, possibly due to certain hormonal changes. This may also be the case among people who are overweight and frankly obese. There is also the likelihood that some people have an increased degree of susceptibility to developing this skin condition due to certain inherited characteristics. Other risk factors for developing this condition are those who have an imbalance in the relationships between their sex hormones, particularly if there are changes in the circulating levels of oestrogen and progesterone.
Besides, people with family members who have this problem do have an increased tendency to develop the condition. This is equally true of those who have certain types of human papillomavirus. There is also evidence that people who have abnormalities with their lipid profile and high cholesterol levels tend to have an increase in susceptibility to this skin condition. This has also been found in association with hypertension and advancing age. Because of these connections, there is now the suggestion that the development of skin tags may offer an external indication for some of these conditions.
Some of these conditions like metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease and polycystic ovary syndrome are now being said to be predictable when there is appearance of these skin tags. This is a research-based finding, which shows that these skin tags have been linked to situations of insulin resistance, which often predates the development of diabetes. Skin tags have rarely been found to develop on the penis and in the vagina as well. This latter aspect makes it clear that while we have named certain parts of the body where skin tags are commonly found to develop, there is theoretically no part of the body that can be considered off-limits to the formation of this lesion.
Largely as a result of these differences in places where they can appear, skin tags can usually be removed in a variety of ways. The treatment is offered depending on whether it is considered necessary to remove them or not considering where in the body they may be located. Generally, if they are multiple, it could be quite daunting to remove all the visible ones, but when they are considered to be cosmetically unacceptable, efforts must be made to get them off. These cosmetically unacceptable growths will include those on the eyelids and the neck for most people. Other parts can be different areas around the face where their presence could even become embarrassing.
The treatment of this condition largely depends on the resources available and the size of the skin tags. In a hospital setting, the use of cryosurgery through a device that freezes the growth by means of liquid nitrogen is often preferred. The other method is to use cauterisation, which burns off the growths. The more easily employed methods of treatment, which can be deployed in a clinic or at home, involve the use of ligatures, which when applied to the base of the peduncle connecting the tag with the skin, cuts off the blood supply to it. The skin tag dies off in the absence of blood supply and falls away on its own after several days. The last commonly used method for the removal of these tags is to be cut away by a doctor using a surgical blade.
This method is fraught with some risk as bleeding usually occurs and the attending doctor has to be ready to stop such bleeding. Removal of skin tags near the eyes often has to be performed by ophthalmologists. In addition, there are a host of home remedies that have been employed through the ages in the removal of these growths. Some people have used apple cider application to the lesions with some success. Others mix aloe vera with apple cider for what they say is added efficacy. However, there is no evidence that the removal of these growths encourages more of them to form as a sort of replacement.
Finally, there are some solutions that are available in pharmacies and online stores that can be used for the removal of these growths. These solutions are often similar to those used for the treatment of skin and genital warts.
Questions and answers
Hello doctor. How is work? I am a medical laboratory technician. I have chest pain but sometimes I don’t feel it. It has stayed with me for six years but on some occasions when I wake up from sleep my chest hurts. It has passed the way it used to pain me before. Please doctor, I need your assistance. I am from Lokoja in Kogi State. 0806xxxxxxx
Well, this is an interesting situation and the kind of pain you are describing is something that is likely to be mild. You did not tell us which side of the chest pains you or what brings the pain about. All the same, I will urge you to go to a hospital and get properly examined by a doctor. That is the best way to know if something is wrong with you that is responsible for the pain.
Hello sir, whenever I finish bathing with my sponge, my body itches me. Please what can I use to stop the itching? Thanks. 0906xxxxx20
Thank you for your question. The problem may be with your sponge. You should boil it to kill off all the microbes that may be hiding in it and then place it in the sun to dry. Alternatively, get another sponge.
Good day doctor. Please, how can I prevent myself from suffering from malaria frequently? I always have malaria and it is affecting my self-esteem because anytime my friends ask after me, I tell them I have malaria. The same thing is happening to my colleagues in the office. What should I do, please? 0807xxxxxxx The answer is multi-dimensional. Keep insects out of the house by placing nets on your doors and windows. Get rid of stagnant water in your surroundings. Sleep with an insecticide-treated mosquito net and apply insecticides in your house on a regular basis while staying away from the pungent smell outdoors. In my experience, once you see any kind of insect flying around your house, it is time to spray your insecticide. Lastly, it is better to use more than one type of insecticide at a time so that mosquitoes that have developed a certain resistance to one type will succumb to the other. Lastly, you can add a medication like Mefloquine (Lariam) or Proguanil (Paludrine) on a daily basis for which your doctor will give you a prescription for a few months, usually three months, to allow you some time to recover from the recent spate of attacks. Good luck.
Good day sir. Is it too much to eat two boiled eggs a day? Thank you, sir. 0803xxxxxxx
For healthy adults, it is safe to eat one or two eggs a day depending on how much of other sources of cholesterol you have got in your meals. It is not likely that you may know that for sure, but if you do know that you already have high cholesterol in your blood, or have heart disease or hypertension, it is often better to limit your intake to four to five eggs a week. Therefore, most healthy people can take up to seven eggs per week without any negative effects on the health of their heart. Some people often choose to eat the egg white but not the yolk, which affords them some protein without the cholesterol. And so, for most people, eating two eggs a day is unlikely to affect their cholesterol level. In summary, therefore, eating two eggs a day is not too much.
Very many thanks for all the explanations to enquiries in your weekly column. What is your take on Acuflex capsules for restoring hard hearing problems? Do you recommend such? I am 70 years in age. Very many thanks. 0802xxxxxxx Answer: Thank you very much for your comments sir. That preparation is very similar to the herbal medicines available all across the country and does not have the ability to restore hearing loss. If you have any challenges with your hearing, it is better to see an ENT surgeon who will advise you to undertake an audiology test that will show what kind of hearing loss you suffer from and at what level of severity. That test will enable you to get the proper advice you need. In many instances, it will be more beneficial for you to obtain a hearing aid. So, my answer is that it is not recommended for you to use Acuflex
Good evening doctor. Can I also start taking baby aspirin? I am 65 years old and a healthy man according to my doctor. Thank you. 0802xxxxxxxx
Answer: Well, baby aspirin is not a medicine that you just wake up and begin to take. You are not likely to derive any benefit from taking baby aspirin since you are in good health. Specifically, it is probably harmful for you to use this medication after the age of 60 years even if you had any systemic disease of concern such as diabetes, hypertension or heart disease.
Good evening Sunday doctor. If somebody is sure that they have malaria, based on experience, is it wrong to take anti-malaria treatment? Must such a person do a blood test first? I just want to know what is applicable. Thank you. 0803xxxxxxx Most people in this environment probably know how they feel when they have malaria. There is nothing wrong if you proceed to use an anti-malaria medication based on how you feel. It is such a pervasive problem, and the consequences of delaying treatment may be very damaging. That is why even pregnant women are encouraged to use such medications if they feel they have malaria. There is a caveat, though, and that is that if you fail to improve significantly after the use of such a medication it will probably be taken as an unfair practice if you do not get a blood test done for confirmation at least.