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A peel tag is a pocket-sized piece of soft, hanging skin that may accept a peduncle, or stalk. They tin appear anywhere on the body, but especially where skin rubs against other skin or clothing.

Other names are an acrochordon, cutaneous papilloma, cutaneous tag, fibroepithelial polyp, fibroma molluscum, fibroma pendulum, soft fibroma, and Templeton skin tags.

Skin tags are very common and generally occur after midlife. They affect men and women equally.

Skin tags, Grook Da Oger, own work, 2012 (wikicommons) Share on Pinterest
Skin tags are harmless and oftentimes removed for cosmetic reasons.
Grook Da Oger, own work, 2012

Pare tags are benign, noncancerous, tumors of the skin. They consist of a core of fibers and ducts, nerve cells, fat cells, and a covering or epidermis.

They may appear on the:

  • eyelids
  • armpits
  • nether the breasts
  • groin
  • upper chest
  • neck, in the instance of papilloma colli

They often go unnoticed, unless they are in a prominent place or are repeatedly rubbed or scratched, for example, by vesture, jewelry, or when shaving.

Some people may have skin tags and never notice them. In some cases, they rub off or fall off painlessly. Very big skin tags may flare-up under pressure.

The surface of skin tags may exist smooth or irregular in appearance. They are ofttimes raised from the surface of the skin on fleshy peduncles, or stalks. They are unremarkably mankind-colored or slightly brownish.

Skin tags offset small, flattened similar a pinhead bump. Some stay small, and some grow bigger. They can range in bore from two millimeters (mm) to 1 centimeter (cm), and some may reach 5cm.

Every bit pare tags are commonly harmless, removal is normally for aesthetic or cosmetic reasons.

Large skin tags, particularly in areas where they may rub against something, such every bit clothing, jewelry or skin, may exist removed due to irritation.

Removing a large skin tag from the face or under the artillery can make shaving easier.

Surgery

The following procedures may be used:

  • Cauterization: The skin tag is burned off using electrolysis
  • Cryosurgery: The skin tag is frozen off using a probe containing liquid nitrogen
  • Ligation: The blood supply to the skin tag is interrupted
  • Excision: The tag is cut out with a scalpel

These procedures should just be done by a dermatologist, or specialist peel doctor, or a similarly trained medical professional.

Skin tags on the eyelid, especially those close to the eyelid margin, may have to exist removed by an ophthalmologist, or specialist eye medico.

Removing a skin tag at home is non usually recommended, due to a risk of bleeding and possible infection.

However, very minor tags can be removed by tying dental floss or sparse cotton wool thread around the base of the tag to cut off circulation to the tag.

Over-the-counter solutions

Over-the-counter (OTC) solutions are available at pharmacies. These freeze the skin tag, and it volition autumn off after vii to x days. These may also be purchased online, although information technology is recommended that professional medical advice is sought before using these treatments.

These medications are similar to those used for wart removal.

There is no evidence that removing peel tags encourages more of them to develop.

It is not articulate exactly what causes skin tags, but information technology may happen when clusters of collagen and claret vessels go trapped inside thicker pieces of skin.

Every bit they are more mutual in skin creases or folds, they may be mainly caused past pare rubbing against pare.

Some people announced to inherit an increased susceptibility to skin tags.

Peel tags affect people both males and females, but they happen more often during pregnancy, in people who are obese, and in people with diabetes.

They accept been associated with hyperinsulinemia, when in that location is too much insulin circulating in the blood.

Chance factors for skin tags

Skin tags appear to be more than common in:

  • people who are overweight and obese
  • those with diabetes
  • women during pregnancy, maybe due to hormonal changes and high levels of growth factors
  • those with some types of human papilloma virus (HPV)
  • people with a sex-steroid imbalance, especially if there are changes in levels of estrogen and progesterone
  • those whose close family members too accept skin tags

Studies have found that pare tags are more likely to occur with:

  • obesity
  • dyslipidemia, for example, loftier cholesterol levels
  • hypertension, or loftier blood pressure

They accept also been linked to insulin resistance and elevated high-sensitive C-reactive protein, a mark of inflammation.

This suggests that pare tags may offer an external sign of an increased take a chance of insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

More rarely, peel tags are rarely associated with:

  • Birt-Hogg-Dubé syndrome
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome

Birt-Hogg-Dubé (BHD) syndrome is a rare genetic status characterized by skin tumors, including multiple fibrofolliculomas, trichodiscomas, and acrochordon, or pare tags. Carcinomas, or malignant tumors, may likewise develop in the kidneys and colon.