# Blasting a Skin Tag **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 13, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324 "2006-07-13T14:22:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Interesting\_Nose\_Nugget](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e47c2d/32.png) [@Interesting\_Nose\_Nugget](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interesting_Nose_Nugget)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/1 "2006-07-13T14:22:59Z")
Okay I’m curious here, I have a skin tag that has been bothering me for quite some time. It’s in an inconvienent place and it just isn’t all that attractive. Needless to say I want the thing gone. So as I’m walking through Safeway the other day I happen to glance at some wart remover. I’m wondering, can I use this to get rid of my undelightful blemish? Will there be any adverse effects? I’ve had a wart removed in the past, so I know (roughly) what I’m in for as far as the removal goes - but that was for a _wart_ not a skin tag. Are there any doctors that can weigh in? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/2 "2006-07-13T14:38:20Z")
IANADoctor and neither do I play one on TV, but I don’t think that’s going to work very well; wart removers work by killing the top layer of skin; this might seem like a good thing for a skin tag, but it might just leave you with a _sore_ skin tag. It’s not usually a good idea to use medicines in ways not directed in the instructions. Skin tags are quite easy to remove by other means though; some people (obviously with good fingernails) just pull them off, or cut them off with sharp sterile surgical scissors (or get the doctor to do this) - I was never brave enough for either of these methods with mine, so I just got the missus to tie a piece of cotton thread tightly around them and they withered and fell off after about a week. ---
**Author:** ![yBeayf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/e274bd/32.png) [@yBeayf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yBeayf)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/3 "2006-07-13T14:47:20Z")
I once cut one off with a pair of nail clippers. (I was bored.) Be warned – if you do decide to cut it off, it will bleed like a _motherfuck_ (like, leaving a little puddle of blood on the floor). Be prepared with lots of ice and gauze and bandages and stuff like that. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/4 "2006-07-13T15:04:42Z")
I snip or pinch mine off, as well as my husband’s. I am not a doctor, though I did ask my doc about this, and she said that as long as I kept everything clean, I’d probably be OK. I’ve never had excessive bleeding after skin tag removal, but that might be because I tend to snip them off when they are small. I’ve also removed some small cherry marks on myself with a pair of cuticle scissors. Again, no biggie, not much blood, not much pain. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/5 "2006-07-13T15:16:11Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > . . .it might just leave you with a _sore_ skin tag. Absolutely. Wart remover is just for warts. I have a bump on the back of my index finger that I thought was a wart so I started putting salicylic acid (wart remover) on it. After several days it became raw and bleeding and sore. My dermatologist said it was not a wart (what she said it was I can’t remember) so that medicine wouldn’t work. I also have a skin tag near my eye and the dermi said she could remove it. Although I’m sure people have done it, I don’t recommend removing this type of stuff at home unless you want to risk pain and infection, not to mention messiness. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/6 "2006-07-13T16:25:12Z")
> [@CookingWithGas](#): > > salicylic acid (wart remover) But salicylic acid is sold in acne products like my Neutrogena Blackhead Eliminating Daily Scrub. Must be a mild concentration?? For skin tags, I just snip em off with fingernails or embroidery scissors. Some bleed a little but haven’t majorly gushed. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/7 "2006-07-13T16:39:30Z")
I don’t have the courage to snip my own. Every few years I let my doctor go at it, snipping with surgical scissors and stopping the bleeding by some sort of stick. Each hurts for only a moment. ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/8 "2006-07-13T16:51:41Z")
I found one once, so I used a compressed air computer duster thing to ice it down, and chopped it off with a pair of nail clippers. Later a friend told me she’s paid dermatologists like $200 for the same thing. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/9 "2006-07-13T17:00:01Z")
> [@Grossbottom](#): > > _snip…_ Later a friend told me she’s paid dermatologists like $200 for the same thing. :eek: People buy skin tags? I wish I had some to sell. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/10 "2006-07-13T17:36:09Z")
My doc used some kind of super-cold nitrogen spray. It burned during and after he used it, but somehow it was less frightening than seeing him come at me with any kind of blade. However, now I have a new crop of tags. Are they just going to keep growing in the same place, like mushrooms? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/11 "2006-07-13T18:25:06Z")
Here’s how I handle the ones I can see and reach. Use a pair of tweezers, the kind with the wide flat end, to grab it down at the base. Give it a really hard squeeze for about a minute. This crushes the blood vessels and usually within a day or two it kind of withers up and falls off. 😃 About the same results as **Mangetout** gets with the cotton thread. I’ve done several on my neck and eyelids with no problems, yet. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/12 "2006-07-13T18:28:21Z")
Humph, one of the Google ads says “Duct Tape Wart Removal”. That makes me cringe just thinking about it. “Hold still, Timmy. It won’t hurt if I yank it off real quick!” RIIIIIIPP! “YOOOWWWW!” ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/13 "2006-07-13T18:32:41Z")
I bought the wart freezer thing for what I thought was a wart on my finger. And I dutifully froze it. And nothing happened. Turned out that it was a cyst and I could ask for it to be cut off if I wanted to, but it was in the category of “more trouble than it was worth” so I let it be. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/14 "2006-07-13T18:43:21Z")
I have nipped off about a dozen with nail clippers, with attention taken for cleanliness. There is an instant of :eek: and then no pain. Very little bleeding. > [@teela brown](#): > > Humph, one of the Google ads says “Duct Tape Wart Removal”. That makes me cringe just thinking about it. > > “Hold still, Timmy. It won’t hurt if I yank it off real quick!” RIIIIIIPP! “YOOOWWWW!” That’s not how the duct tape wart method works. Read up on it; it’s not painful, but it takes a few weeks. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/15 "2006-07-13T18:52:09Z")
Some skin tags are tiny. I don’t fuss at my patients too much if they tell me they’ve removed their own small skin tags. Some skin tags are [big](http://162.129.70.33/images/fep_1_020727.jpg). Don’t mess with this kind. Most skin tags are just made of skin which decided to grow up instead of growing flat. That’s all. It gets worse with age, generally. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/16 "2006-07-13T18:55:39Z")
Fixed [tiny](http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/medicine/dermatology/melton/tag1.jpg) skin tag link. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/17 "2006-07-13T19:12:56Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Most skin tags are just made of skin which decided to grow up instead of growing flat. That’s all. It gets worse with age, generally. Is there a reason certain areas of skin get them more often? I tend to get them on my neck, and I always have a chain on; could it be the irritation? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/18 "2006-07-13T19:17:35Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Some skin tags are tiny. I don’t fuss at my patients too much if they tell me they’ve removed their own small skin tags. > > Some skin tags are [big](http://162.129.70.33/images/fep_1_020727.jpg). Don’t mess with this kind. > > Most skin tags are just made of skin which decided to grow up instead of growing flat. That’s all. It gets worse with age, generally. OK, I have to ask. In the picture of the BIG one, I hope that’s a neck and part of a beard. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Susie\_Derkins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Susie\_Derkins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Susie_Derkins)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/19 "2006-07-13T19:52:53Z")
> [@Qadgop the Mercotan](#): > > Fixed [tiny](http://www.meddean.luc.edu/lumen/MedEd/medicine/dermatology/melton/tag1.jpg) skin tag link. Sorry. Now if you could just break the one for the big skin tag I’d be much obliged. Yeargh! ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324/20 "2006-07-13T21:34:16Z")
> [@Susie Derkins](#): > > Now if you could just break the one for the big skin tag I’d be much obliged. > > Yeargh! Eloquently expressed. I really didn’t think I’d get grossed out looking a skin tag. Apparently I have much to learn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/blasting-a-skin-tag/364324.md?page=2)