Have you wondered about skin tags? These little growths are not dangerous, but they certainly can be annoying. They tend to grow in places where they may encounter the friction of skin rubbing against skin. Consequently, people may find them uncomfortable and many folks also find them unsightly. Doctors remove skin tags by snipping, freezing or shaving them off (StatPearls, March 24, 2020). If the skin tag is too small to grab with tweezers, the doctor may use an electrodesiccation technique. (But if the growth is that small, do you really need to destroy it?) Some people have utilized home remedies to get rid of these tags.
How You Can Remove Skin Tags:
Q. I have a lot of skin tags on my neck. What causes them? Is there a safe way to remove skin tags? I’d especially appreciate any home remedies.
A. Skin tags are small fleshy growths that occur in the armpits, on the neck or sometimes even on the eyelids. They may have a little stalk, and they are the same color as the rest of your skin.
Nobody knows what causes skin tags, but they seem to be more common among older people. In addition, doctors report that they may be associated with obesity and diabetes. Since you have a lot of them on your neck, you should ask your doctor to check for diabetes or metabolic syndrome (Annals of Medical and Health Sciences Research, Mar-Apr. 2014). Detecting a metabolic problem would be much more important to your health than getting rid of the skin tags.
Home Remedies for Removal:
Some readers have had success coating skin tags with liquid bandage. Others apply castor oil. One old-fashioned approach is to have someone tie a length of thread or dental floss tightly around the base of the skin tag. This is said to cut off the blood supply, and the tag falls off.
Unfortunately, we have not seen any clinical trials of these remedies to remove skin tags. If you decide to try one, please tell us what you did and whether or not it worked.
