Wednesday 24 June 2015

How to Remove Skin Tags at Home

The skin tag or acrochordons are the fibro epithelial polyps which often occur among the people over the age of 60 years. But sometimes the younger ones also get afflicted with it. 
The skin tags or Acrochorda have been reported to have a They are found to occur in 50% of the people and more common in women than in men. 
Skin Tags- Warts and Moles
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These painless and harmless tags or acrochorda are generally unobtrusive and painless but are annoying and appear as a deformity. The people want to get rid of them once and for all. 
The cutaneous skin tags often appear as small growths on the surface of the skin, where the skin folds as in folds of groin or in areas around the neck. These benign tumors also occur in armpits or under the breasts. Sometimes they are found over the eyelids too. 

Shape and Size
They do not grow or change over time and their size may vary from a grain of rice to a length of about half an inch. Raised from the surface of the skin on a peduncle or a fleshy stalk, their surface may be either smooth or irregular in appearance.
The skin tags mostly look irregular in the form of brown or skin colored outgrowths. 
On microscopic levels they consist of a fibro-vascular core which sometimes contains fat cells, covered by an unremarkable epidermis. 
Irritations often occur in skin tags due to shaving or rubbing with clothes or jewelry. The presence of eczema aggravates the situation.

Why Skin Tags Occur
1. They mostly occur due to obesity as it causes more skin folds and creases which are the fertile places for them. 
2. They also occur in pregnancy due to hormonal changes.
3. Excessive use of steroids and diabetics also cause skin tags. 
4. Skin tags are the common sign of prediabetes as they are found to be linked with elevated levels of blood sugar and mellitus. The insulin increase and skin tags are related through an unknown mechanism in type 2 diabetes.
5. They occur from skin rubbing up against skin. 
6. The low-risk HPV 6 and HPV 11 have been found to exist in skin tags.

Preparation for Home Remedies
Before going for the home remedies rub vitamin E oil on the area around and over the skin tag to keep the skin hydrated. It will speed up the healing when the skin tag comes off. Vitamin E nourishes the skin and facilitates the process of decay and death of the skin tag.

Home Remedies
The treatment of skin tags is unnecessary unless they irritate or cause cosmetic problem. 
Here are a few simple home remedies to get rid of skin tags. 

1. Dental Floss
 Apply dental floss around the tag to stop blood supply to it, thereby leading to tag darkening and natural falling off after some time.

2.  Banana Peel
Cut a small portion of banana peel and apply the fibrous part of the peel on skin tag. The skin tag will come off in few days.

3.  Castor Oil
Prepare the paste of a little castor oil and baking powder and apply on the skin tag. Repeat the process for 2 to 4 weeks to remove the skin tag.

4. Garlic
Prepare a paste of some garlic cloves and apply on skin tags. Wash off after some time. Repeat the process and the skin tag would fall off after few days. 

5.  Dental Floss
Stop the blood supply to the skin tag by tying a dental floss around it. The skin tag will darken after some time and fall off within 2 to 3 weeks.

6.  Pineapple
The juice of pineapple is very effective to remove the moles, warts and skin tags. The regular application of fresh juice of pineapple removes the skin tags with in few days. 

7.  Nail Polish
The application of nail polish on skin tags and its removal after drying helps to get rid of skin tags in few days. Repeat the remedy is performed 3-4 times a day to weaken the skin tag so that it may come off easily.

8.  Mixed Vegetables
Apply the mixture of the juices of potato, cauliflower and garlic on skin tags and see the result in few days. 

9.  Onion Juice
Apply the extracted juice of onion and salt kept in water overnight and over the skin tags. The skin tags will disappear within a week. 

10.  Aspirin
Aspirin dries off the skin. Dissolve aspirin in water to make a paste and apply it over the tag.

11. Lemon, Apple Cider Vinegar and Tea Tree Oil
Tie a cotton swab soaked in the mixture of few drops each of fresh lemon juice, apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil on the skin tag twice a day to get rid of it within a fortnight.

12. Duct Tape
Put the duct tape on skin tag and change the tape when it gets loose. After few attempts the skin tag will come off with the duct tape. This is the easiest and the most effective home remedy. 
13. Lemon Juice
The citric acid in lemon juice helps in the removal of dead cells.  Apply the cotton ball dipped in lemon over the skin tag and wash off after 5-10 minutes.  Repeat the remedy twice or thrice a week for a month to get the skin tag decomposed.

Other Ways to  Remove the Skin Tags
An expert and trained professional or a dermatologist can remove the skin tag by the following methods. There are both low cost and expensive options to remove skin tags depending upon the choice of a dermatologist or removal at home. 

1. Scissors
Being painless, they could be chopped off with sterilized scissors, if one of their ends is tied 
to some very fine string or even a piece of dental floss. 
This procedure is usually done without anesthesia and bleeding and infection are the risk factors. Let an experienced person perform the task. 

2. Electro-Cautery 
The skin tag could be burnt with electrocautery or electric desiccation in a painless and most preferred way. The method is somewhat expensive but there is not infection as it is performed under medical supervision. 

3. Liquid Nitrogen
The skin tag is first frozen with liquid nitrogen and then removed through cautery or scissors. There are chances that the tag may not fall off and temporary discoloration of skin may occur. 

4 Ophthalmologist
The dermatologist may need the help of the ophthalmologist to remove the skin tags around the eyes.

Reappearance of skin Tags after Removal
Contrary to popular belief the skin tags do not grow back after the removal though some people are more prone to their reappearance and need more than one removal session per year. 
No medical evidences are related to their reappearance and generally removing them once ends the problem. 

Caution

1. It is better to wrap a bandage on the affected areas after the use of any type of paste in home remedies.
2. Beware of removing them by surgical means or castration at home as it may cause infection. 
3. Some complications may arise due to incorrect methods of removal of skin tags.

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