Skin tags, also known as “acrochordons”, are small parts of hanging skin that appear on our bodies, usually in areas where skin rubs against skin such as the eyelids, armpits, groin and neck. If you have a skin tag, don’t worry – about 46 per cent of people do so you’re not alone.
Those who are pregnant, overweight or diabetic are more prone to skin tags. Dermatologists say they affect males and females equally and usually occur after midlife.
Usually harmless, skin tags mostly range from two millimetres to one centimetre in diameter, with some reaching up to five centimetres in diameter.
If clothing or jewellery is continually rubbing against a skin tag, the area will become irritated and uncomfortable. If this happens, there are many ways to have the skin tag professionally removed:
- Ligation: cuts off the blood supply to the skin tag
- Excision: the skin tag is cut out
- Cryosurgery: the skin tag is frozen using liquid nitrogen
- Cauterisation: the skin tag is burnt off using electrolysis.
Usually performed by a skin care specialist, these procedures are simple and relatively risk-free. Many people believe another skin tag will grow back in its place if they have one removed, but there is absolutely no evidence to support this belief. Some people are more prone to the growth of skin tags and will need to remove them periodically, whereas other people will never experience another skin tag after one is removed.
If you suffer from this condition, visit Integrity Paramedical Skin Practitioners; we are able to remove skin tags with minimal to no scarring.
