Q. My husband and I have each eaten nine golden raisins soaked in gin daily for six months. I have arthritis in my neck from an automobile accident, and find that the pain in my neck is reduced.
As good as the raisins are for arthritis, I am more impressed with the effect on skin. I had two skin tags which have disappeared. I would not have noticed, but a friend of mine who works in a health food store knows about five different people whose skin tags have vanished on the raisin remedy. My husband had a bunch of ugly raised brown spots on his ear which also went away. More remarkable, a scar I had for 60 years seems much smoother.
I hope you are collecting data. My nephew, a gerontologist, says it would be wonderful if such a simple remedy make skin tags disappear.
A. This is the first we have heard of any other benefits from golden raisins soaked in gin. People have told us that it relieves aches and pains.
One gentleman reports,
“I have been on the program for about five months and it is helping me continue to play golf without the pain I used to have in my wrist and fingers.”
None of this is scientific, and we have no way of collecting reliable data. Cynical physicians have scoffed at this home remedy and chalked its benefits up to a placebo effect.
Other Remedies for Skin Tags
We have heard from many readers about other approaches to getting rid of skin tags.
Here are just a few:
“I recently began using a castor oil pack (castor oil and a heating pad) on my tummy for abdominal pain on the advice of my acupuncturist. To my surprise, after about 10 applications, an itchy skin tag I’d had there for over 20 years has vanished. Apparently castor oil can also cause skin tags to disappear.”
Q. Some time ago I read in your column about someone who had success removing skin tags with a liquid bandage. I would appreciate hearing about this remedy.
I have several of these growths around my neck where the chain of my necklace rests. I have been considering having them removed by a dermatologist, but would like to try this remedy first.
A. We have heard from many readers who tell us New-Skin Liquid Bandage works:
“I used it twice a day for three days and the skin tags came off!”
Others tell us it may take a few weeks.
Another approach some readers have tried involves a wart remedy:
“I found Compound W works just as well for getting rid of skin tags.”
There is also an old-fashioned approach to skin tag removal:
“I had a rather large one on the side of my neck. My dermatologist said to just ignore it. Soon after, I mentioned to a friend (an orthopedic doctor) how much I hated it, and he promptly tied and knotted a piece of thread around it and cut the ends off real close. You couldn’t even see it. He said that would shut off the blood supply to the tag and it would fall off very quickly. It was gone in three days.”
Bandages for Tags:
Q. I have several little skin tags in my armpits. Is there anything that can be put on them so they will go away? I do not want to pay a doctor to cut them off.
A. Dermatologists can easily remove skin tags (small benign fleshy skin growths), but it will cost you something for this procedure.
Readers have offered several suggestions for getting rid of skin tags:
“Band-Aid makes a product called Clear Spots–50 tiny square pads with adhesive around all 4 sides. I cover the skin tag tightly with a Clear Spot and after a week to 10 days, it shrivels up and falls off.”
Another reader tried New-Skin liquid bandage:
“I have a variety of sizes of skin tags on my neck and chest. The smallest ones shriveled up and fell off after just a couple of days of applying New-Skin twice a day. It was amazing!”
Another approach requires some fortitude:
“I am a nurse and for years I have tied a piece of thread around the tag at the base, pulled it tight, made a tight knot and cut off the long ends. (It stings at first, then it’s all right.) After three or four days the tag turns black and falls off, similar to bobbing a lamb’s tail. It strangles the blood supply and works every time. It helps to have someone do it for you.”
We would love to hear about your tricks for getting rid of skin tags. And if you would like to learn more about the “Raisin Remedy” for arthritis or skin tags, here is a link to our guide, Alternatives for Arthritis with many more details.
