Skin Tags - Austin,TX

Updated on January 04, 2011
L.A. asks from Kyle, TX
21 answers

Ugh, getting old sure does bring surprises..
I am getting skin tags on my torso..
Can I remove them myself? I have surgical scissors.
Have you all done this yourselves before?

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So What Happened?

Ok, I hope I am not in an accident in the next few days.. If the hospital sees these little string knots all over me, they are going to wonder about my mental state.
I could not reach them all, so I guess I will have to have my husband tie me up! Ha, ha.. with tiny pieces of dental floss.. I can't wait to hear what he says about it..
Thank you all, you never let me down..

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J.H.

answers from Waco on

Absolutely. I had a couple on my side that were irritated by my bra. I asked my doctor about them and he told me to swab it with alcohol, clean the scissors with alcohol, cut it off and cover it with a bandaid. He said I could but antibiotic ointment on them, but that it wasn't necessary. I couldn't reach them to do it myself, so my son (after much convincing!) did it for me.
There was little discomfort and I did not use the ointment. I took the bandaids off the next day. I had no problems whatsoever.

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P.B.

answers from Houston on

doctor told me to use dental floss - tie it around the tag tight at the base and knot twice. It'll fall off on its own.

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A.B.

answers from New York on

L., I'm sorry but my first reaction is to laugh, because it reminded me how self sufficient we moms think we are as well as reminding me how much pain I went through when I pierced my own ears when I was 16. No you can't do it yourself. You think it will be easy, but it will be painful, bloody and you risk infection. My friend had a skin tag on her inner thigh, her dermotologist had to do it and there was some after care as well.

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A.H.

answers from New York on

My husband has a lot of them.. And we went to skin dr,... Who first said go for a colonoscopy because they are sometimes a sign of colon problems.. Interesting... Well he went.. And no problems at all... Soooo good.. Now we have an appt. With a dr. Who will first check them all out and make sure nothing looks bad like skin cancer.... And if all are ok.. They will be removed..

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L.S.

answers from New London on

Do not use scissors. You could possibly freeze them off with a wart remover stuff. They will freeze (burn), dry up and fall off. But of course, anything you do yourself, you risk infection, etc.

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C.S.

answers from Las Vegas on

Nooooo! You know that! Just go to the dermatologist and have them removed. You may do some research first. My daughter had a couple of moles on her chest that she wanted removed and one doctor only removed enough to test it to be sure there were no cancer cels. He left half of it there. She finally found a doctor who would remove them entirely.

As well, I have a small mole on the side of my face that I thought a dermatologist would remove during a visit for different reason and he said it didn't need to come off and walked away. I asked the nurse what the big deal was and she said that doctor only deals with cancer of the skin.

With that said, be sure it is a cosmetic dermatologist. Put your scissors away Mama.

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L.M.

answers from Odessa on

Yes, yes, and yes... I went to the dermatologist to have my skin tags removed, to only have the nurse take a pair of scissors and cut them off. I could have saved myself $30 and did it myself. And I did. The next time I got one, I put some ice on it, to numb it a bit, applied some alcohol, then snipped away. It stung for a second, but that was it. Clean the area, put a bandaid if necessary, and your done.

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J.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

My mom is a nurse and she always says to use a piece of thread. Tie it tightly around the tag. It will cut off blood flow from the tag and it will dry up and fall off. It's worth a try. I've never done it, but that is what my mom said.

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I'd go to the doctor for it. My daughter had on removed when she was a baby. It was a simple procedure.

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M.M.

answers from Milwaukee on

I've removed plenty on other people.. no problem.. do as one other mom said and use a piece of thread or we use a piece of hair. tie it snuggly around the skin tag and it will fall off in a couple of days by itself. tie it tight and cut off the extra string or hair so it doesn't show too much.. seriously have done this soooo many times.. No reason to pay a doctor to do it.. If they are a little thicker then maybe you need to go to a doctor but if it's just a little one it's not a problem at all.

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K.M.

answers from Austin on

Hi L., I know that you've already taken action on this and I really hope it works. :-) But I did want to point out that skin tags on your torso, especially under your bra strap area in *front*, is marker for insulin resistance and diabetes. If you have those issues in your family tree, you may want to check it out with a doctor. When I was on that slippery slope of diabetes, a whole bunch of little skin tags popped up right under the front of my bra. Yours are probably totally harmless, just irritating and an age thing, but I thought I'd give you a heads up in case you have diabetes in your history and in case they were on the front of your torso. Take care.

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R.Y.

answers from New York on

Well, I have cut off some small ones and had no problems (I have had a few catch on something and pull of on their own too). Sterilize the scissors and put antiseptic on the cut. I did this after the Dermatologist did the same thing in the office. I would not do this if it was on your face or other very sensitive area, in a hard to reach or see area or getting large.

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C.S.

answers from San Antonio on

You can definitely do it yourself. I removed several from my armpit myself and I'm a big baby about pain. Just numb them first with an ice cube (or if they're really big you can tie thread around them) and make sure your scissors are sterile. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

I just wipe the scissors down with alcohol, wipe the area where the tag is with alcohol on a cotton ball (I've never had one on my face or in a sensitive area, just on my neck or on my arm and the few I've had were tiny), snip it off then put a bandaid on if it bleeds. I've had worse scrapped knees when I was a kid (where you had to pick the gravel out) and soap, water, Bactine and a band aid patched me up just fine.

1 mom found this helpful

A.T.

answers from Dallas on

heehee Jayna H. You made me LAUGH!!!! poor son. :) Funny You :)

1 mom found this helpful

D.F.

answers from San Antonio on

Hey L.
I know you have already tried to remedy this but here is a cool website I use alot. I tried the removing a skin tag with tea tree oil. It takes a couple of days and you smell like vicks, but it did work.
http://earthclinic.com/
Good Luck!
D.

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D.C.

answers from College Station on

I have had some on my armpits which my family practice doctor removed. I cited that with shaving I was risking infection(s).

Then I had something like skin tags around my eyes, especially near the outer corner. One got large enough that I felt constantly distracting seeing it at the edge of my peripheral vision. The eye doctor ordered their surgical removal due to "interfering" with my vision.

Both times, I was told that they could reappear or simply that more would appear in those areas. I will admit that over the past 3 years, the only re-occurrence has been mild, like one and its pretty small.

I had not tried the wart remover otc application. Maybe that would work.

Good luck!

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S.O.

answers from San Antonio on

I had one near bra line on my side once and started to trim it off with scissors. Hurt like heck!!! And bled like a stuck pig. Who would've thought?
I think next time I'll go to dermatologist.....and get a little local something before the procedure.

I heard that clothes or jewelry rubbing consistnetly causes them. One of my neighbors wear necklaces all the time (and big ones, too!) and now she has skin tags all around her neck and the necklace area.

I change up the type of bras and tops I wear and make sure they fit well, so that the rubbing doesn't create more.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

A.G.

answers from Houston on

ive twisted mine till they turned red and fell off, gross i know, but its possible, if i were you id freeze them off, I had them where my bra would rub against my skin, and one near my armpit. i thought it was from where clothing rubbed against you.

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E.I.

answers from New Orleans on

i had one on my chest and wasnt sure what it was i tried to freeze it off with at home wart remover the only thing that did was infect it horribly. i went to my doctor and he removed it for me.... he said if i ever get one again to tie a string around it and let it fall off on its own...

1 mom found this helpful
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