# Who else has skin tags? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 21, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948 "2012-07-21T12:23:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Batfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Batfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batfish)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/1 "2012-07-21T12:23:25Z")
Who has [skin tags](http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=106764) and what do you do about them? ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/2 "2012-07-21T12:53:12Z")
I’ve got a couple. I mostly just ignore them. One on my neck started to get annoying so I sliced it off with a swiss army knife (not that I recommend DIY home surgery to others). ---
**Author:** ![notsoheavyd3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/85e7bf/32.png) [@notsoheavyd3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notsoheavyd3)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/3 "2012-07-21T13:12:01Z")
I get them occasionally and usually I just grab them between my thumb and fore-finger and just keep twisting in one direction until it pops off. (Although using tweezers works better since you don’t have to let go while you twist.) ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/4 "2012-07-21T13:23:55Z")
There was a prior thread on this some time ago. A lot of people did self-surgery and home cures! I had a big one on my neck, rubbing against my collar, so I tied a thread around it, to choke it to death. Took a couple of days (also squeezed and pinched it). Got rid of that one, but in its place up sprouted a lot of little teeny ones! Those I leave alone, I will just have to live with some imperfections. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/5 "2012-07-21T13:40:56Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> IMHO, home of threads with medical and dermatological anecdotes and advice. ---
**Author:** ![Student\_Driver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3da27b/32.png) [@Student\_Driver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Student_Driver)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/6 "2012-07-21T13:54:40Z")
I usually ice mine up until numb, then go after them with nail clippers or a small pair of scissors. In Canada, Schering Plough markets their Dr Scholl’s Freeze Away cryogenic spray for skin tag removal (and you can see ads for it on YouTube). Freeze the tag, and it falls off in a few days. Here in the US, Freeze Away is only approved for wart removal, but I’m tempted to try some next time I get one. ---
**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 21, 2012, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/7 "2012-07-21T14:00:29Z")
I sometimes get them under my arms - usually when I’m carrying a little too much weight - I ignore them if they’re small. Once, I tied off a large one with sewing thread and it shriveled and dropped off after a week; a couple of other times, I’ve just pinched and twisted them to injure the ‘stalk’, after which they tend to shrink and fall off. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_the\_Immortal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Max\_the\_Immortal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_the_Immortal)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/8 "2012-07-21T14:21:28Z")
I usually just ignore them. A couple of times I used my fingernails. Pinch the base of the tag between thumb and middle finger nails to crush the blood vessels. Over the next day or two, the tag withers and becomes scab-like; then it’s easy to pull off. It left a reddish mark that last quite a while, though (weeks, if memory serves), so I wouldn’t recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/9 "2012-07-21T15:06:40Z")
I went to dermatologist once to get rid of a ton of them. She said that they might have been caused by the Depo Provera I was on. The worst ones were around my breasts and rubbed raw from my bra. Now that I no longer take the Depo, I don’t have as many. I had to do self-surgery on one that was by my eye, since the doc refused. (She wanted me to see a specialist - screw that!) It hurt a bit, and bled a lot, but it was gone! I used nail scissors. ---
**Author:** ![Rhaegar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/51bf81/32.png) [@Rhaegar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhaegar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/10 "2012-07-21T16:05:45Z")
Skin tags are not brought on my hormones or any medication, they are caused by mechanical friction of skin rubbing against skin, that is why they appear in areas where skin rubs against each other. They are benign and do not need to be removed. If they are causing irritation, you can freeze them off. The really big ones you can sometimes tie them off with dental floss. I do not recommend cutting with scissors as that makes a wound which could potentially become infected. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/11 "2012-07-21T16:21:23Z")
Have a few - ignore them except I had some big annoying ones that I removed. My mom had them on her eyelids. Brian ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/12 "2012-07-21T17:14:39Z")
I try to get rid of them when they’re small. Just some brisk rubbing or scratching usually does it. If they start to grow, let them get big enough to tie off with thread or dental floss. Tie them off tight and they’ll die and fall off in a day or two. They can also be frozen off, removed with acid, some people claim duct tape will dissolve them. Slice them off if you feel like it. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/13 "2012-07-21T21:21:20Z")
I do, I cut them off past the root with scissors. Skin tags are absolutely hormonal and genetic. Mine have all been on my neck and face. I’ve never gotten a scar from chopping them off. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/14 "2012-07-21T21:29:24Z")
I had one on my chest, but I cut it off. It was kind of fun. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/15 "2012-07-21T21:42:26Z")
They are linked to elevated blood sugar and can absolutely be affected by hormones. > **[Skin tag as a cutaneous marker for impaired carbohydrate metabolism: a...](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17988334/)** > > These results show an increased risk of diabetes mellitus in patients with multiple skin tags. With regard to the importance of early diagnosis of diabetes, we recommend a high level of suspicion for impaired carbohydrate metabolism in patients with... ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2012, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/16 "2012-07-21T22:28:00Z")
I used to go to a dermatologist, who used liquid nitrogen to freeze them. But, after a while, I figured to heck with it, and now I just use scissors. ---
**Author:** ![Batfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Batfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batfish)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/17 "2012-07-22T00:02:35Z")
Apparently there are a lot of people on the board who are tougher than I am. Time to man up Bat! Edit: Thanks for the replies. ---
**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 22, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/18 "2012-07-22T00:08:28Z")
I’ve had some from time to time. I use cuticle scissors to snip them off below the root. I pull the tag out from the skin, and snip it off a little below its normal “neck”. I’ve also done this on my husband, who will say “Look at this, what is it?” and then not want me to remove it. The rule is, if it’s a zit or blackhead or skin tag, if I see it, then I’m going to remove it. My dad had quite a few, not just in areas where there was friction, but over his eyelids and such. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/19 "2012-07-22T01:58:14Z")
about 10 years ago, I had some on my neck, armpits, and groin area. got them cut off at the doctors. then some came back about 5 years ago. Doctor froze them off. None since then. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2012, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948/20 "2012-07-22T03:37:16Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > . . . I use cuticle scissors to snip them off below the root. I pull the tag out from the skin, and snip it off a little below its normal “neck”. . . . Zounds! I didn’t know they worked that way! I always just snip them off at “surface level.” Next time, I’ll try it your way; it makes perfect sense, as you describe it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-else-has-skin-tags/628948.md?page=2)