SKIN TAGS

Skin tags are a common skin condition resembling a small piece of soft, hanging skin. Skin tags are harmless and do not usually cause pain or discomfort. Derived from skin cells and composed of loose fibrous tissue they can present as either single or multiple.

Skin tags become particularly irritating when they develop in sensitive areas such as under the breasts, near the groin, the genitalia or around the eye, even presenting between eyelashes and affecting vision.

They are found on perfectly healthy people and are not directly associated with any other major medical conditions although heredity also has its part to play.

Some people are more susceptible to skin tags; they are most common in older and/or overweight people, they can appear in pregnancy and individuals with diabetes.

Most frequently found on the neck where friction from necklaces, collars and scarves are to blame or under the arms where friction from arms rubbing and seams from clothes are the initiating factor.

Their often hyper-pigmented colour makes them more obvious and although they are harmless they can be irritating and cosmetically unattractive.