Does anyone else have "skin tags"?

[Feralpenchant]

Oops, posted it and forgot to type something.

I have many skin tags, my father had them too, and so did my mother, but as far as I can read, they're not genetic.

They never bothered me before until one started growing on my lower eyelash line. Eyelashes don't grow there anymore in that spot which is so annoying for me because I'm naturally blonde so my eyelashes are WHITE and I use mascara on top and bottom. It's annoying that theres a clean break, or gap, in the lashline and it's very noticeable when I put mascara on.

Has anyone had these? Has anyone had them removed? What's the process for doing that?

 

[tadji]

I''ve got them. I''ve got a smattering of really tiny ones and then some eventually grow bigger and bigger until they commit suicide and kill themselves. The base of the skin tag just pinches itself and it turns black and hard and just falls off.

My mum has got them as well but she has a whole lot more. She has to go to the GP and he freezes them off

Then they go hard and black and fall off just like mine do

 

[Feralpenchant]

I was just doing some reading on them and one website says a way to get them to come off is to tie thread or a string around them really tightly close to the healthy skin to cut off their blood supply. They have to be of considerable size to do this though, or at least big enough to get thread around.

I''ve just done that to the one on my neck. I have had this one for AGES, and I''m really self conscious about this one in particular. We''ll see if this works.. I really don''t want to have to go to the Doctors for this.. But they''re so unsightly.

 

[tadji]

yeah that sounds like it should work. That is what mine do all by themselves (which is what I meant by them commiting suicide). From my experience though it should hurt, so if yours isn''t with the string around it then pull tighter!!! Mine usually take a couple of days to come off though. I had one a couple of months ago near my armpit and it just felt like something pinched me really hard when I ran a towel over it, and that''s when I noticed it was constricted at the base. The next day it was a bit darker and still hurt, but by the third day it had turned black and didn''t hurt at all. It fell off sometime after that...I just remember getting in the shower and it had fallen off!

So the moral of my story...you might have to have it on there for a while. Maybe try and keep it on there for as much of the weekend as you can but don''t forget it''s there!!! A piece of string tied around it would just draw more attention I would imagine

hth

 

[Sha]

I've read that skin tags are often associated with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS)....

 

[Circe]

I''ve had a few tiny ones: this may sound perverse, but I just took a pair of nail scissors and snipped them off. In my own defense, they were *really* tiny, and I made sure to sterilize the scissors and the teeny-tiny drop of blood that resulted carefully. I wouldn''t recommend this "hands-on" approach to anybody other than a harried grad student with no time and less money, though! I''d imagine a doctor would do much the same, only with more practice and cleaner, safer surroundings. And, especially with something by your *eye* - go to the doctor!

 

[oobiecoo]

I had one removed by my doc after it had become painful and apparently lost its blood supply. I''m with Circe though... I''ve started cutting them off myself with sterilized nail clippers. I swear though, its like gray hairs... you get rid of one and a hundred more come in!

Sha- Where did you hear that about being linked to PCOS? hmmm

 

[packrat]

I''ve had 2 removed. One was on my lower back/side, in a spot that I''d catch w/my fingers when I''d get dressed/undressed. I had my dermatologist remove that one years ago-had no clue when he started and only knew he was done when he told me-no pain or anything. I had another one that started a while back-in my armpit of all places. It started out as a little spot, and kept growing until when I''d shave I had to be super careful, and I did apparently nick it at one point, tho I didn''t know it..I just noticed it started to turn color and get hard, so I had one of our providers remove it at work. It went pretty deep, so it took a while, but the only pain was the lidocaine shots to numb the area.

 

[Feralpenchant]

Last night shortly after posting this thread I was itching my lower eyelid, and the skin tag just came off! I guess I''d irritated it enough that it gave up!

Did a bit of reading and apparently they like to grow in areas of high friction such as groin area, armpits, and under your breasts. Lovely places to take up residence, eh? They also like to be on your neck, and eyelids.

The one on my neck that I tied a string around last night.. no luck on it falling off, I think I''m gonna have to tie anotehr one and make sure it''s tighter. If that doesn''t work I''m going to have to show up at my doctor with loads of strings tied to me and ask him to just do it for me, haha. How embarassing. I would cut it off but the one on my neck has been there for a while and it''s about the size of the head of a q-tip. I could see snipping the smaller ones, but not this one. I don''t think I could do it!

 

[kbarro1]

The tying the string around it trick will work, but it will take a few days to work and you do have to tie it tight....as tight as you can stand it. Another thing you can do is use a new razor and just shave it off. Be warned, though, that these are highly vascularized and will bleed like crazy, so hold pressure if you choose this route. Good luck!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Just had one removed off my neck. Wasn''t huge, but they decided to clip and check it for cancer just in case since it had some mole cells in it. Wasn''t too, too painful. Because of where the remaining wound was located (on the neck..) it did kind of bother me for a few days or so but motrin took care of it. It''s all healed now!

Please don''t do the tie thing..in my personal opinion (take it or leave it) it sounds like infection land with all of those super bugs going around.

 

[dianne]

Believe it or not my dermatologist actually told me to tie a string around it! My Mom has done this for years but I was surprised to hear such a home remedy from a professional. She said I could do that for free or she could do it for $100. So far, I''ve done neither. I know you are glad the one from your eye is gone.

 

[lyra]

Date: 3/6/2009 11:02:00 AM
Author: dianne
Believe it or not my dermatologist actually told me to tie a string around it! My Mom has done this for years but I was surprised to hear such a home remedy from a professional. She said I could do that for free or she could do it for $100. So far, I''ve done neither. I know you are glad the one from your eye is gone.

Honestly, I would rather pay than do this. My husband has more of a problem with skin tags and he has done the string method. It does work, but it takes longer and sometimes needs to be done twice. Plus they can come back. The ones he had professionally removed were a lot cleaner and have not come back so far. He has said next time he''d rather just go back to the dermie. Quick and easy. He had one on his eyelid also.

 

[Feralpenchant]

After 2 days of having them tied they didn''t fall off so I cut them off! Problem solved. I knew I was gonna have to do it. I wasn''t about to go into the doctor''s office covered in thread and be like "Can you fix this?"

How embarrassing.

 

[chrono]

My son was born with a tiny skin tag on his chest. The pediatrician tied a tiny string around it and it fell off after a few days. He never grew another one though. I guess it cut off the circulation and "killed" it.

 

[bebe]

I did the string trick and it worked. I used dental floss and tied as tight as I could stand it. Every day or so, I''d take the loose ends of the floss and tie again, but only tighter.
I know I put something else on it, maybe vinegar, my memory fails me right now.

and yeah, you get one, you get a bunch. I developed a new crop after too much sun last summer. It''s hell to get old.

 

[AprilBaby]

I pinch the base really hard to cut off circulation and in a few days it falls off.