DR SYLVESTER IKHISEMOJIE FROM PUNCH
A skin tag is a soft piece of tiny skin tissue that may have a stalk. That stalk is also known as a peduncle. It is also known as acrochordons and may affect as much as 60 per cent of the population. The blood supply to the tag often flows through that peduncle. A skin tag thus has a variety of names some of which are descriptive. Some people refer to it as a cutaneous papilloma, while others call it a cutaneous tag. Others call it a soft fibroma, while, yet others call it fibroma molluscum. We shall stop there because there are yet other names, which probably have no relevance to the understanding of the layman.
Skin tags are generally very common and often occur after midlife. Both men and women are equally affected. These growths commonly occur in the creases or folds of the skin and are, therefore, found mainly around the neck and the face. They are not considered dangerous but many of the people who have them usually express the wish to have them removed for both cosmetic and aesthetic reasons. There are various methods of removal of these growths, and we shall be looking at some of these methods later in this discussion.
Besides, they are recognised as benign growths, which are certainly not cancerous but are nonetheless described as skin tumours. They often consist of a core of ducts, nerve cells and fat cells, and have a covering made up of skin. They are also rich in blood supply for which reason they usually bleed in the course of removal or when they are injured.
These growths are often found on the eyelids, under the breasts, armpits, the neck as we said before, the upper chest and the groin. Some people have these growths and somehow never notice them. Some of these may rub off and fall away on their own, especially in the course of scrubbing the skin with a sponge while taking a bath. Others may drop off when rubbed by jewellery, while shaving or by clothes. They usually have a smooth surface but sometimes, the surfaces are also irregular. At all times, they are raised above the surface of the skin. They are held in their various positions by a peduncle, and they often retain the colour of the surrounding skin but may actually be much darker at some other times.
It is these dark ones that frequently stand out and become noticeable. They usually start as really small growths, sometimes as little as two millimetres, but could grow to as large as five centimetres. Most of the commonly seen ones stay between these two extremes, but the fact of the matter is that they will usually grow at a slow pace over several years. Many remain small and will seldom exceed one centimetre in size. It is the rather small ones that many people are often eager to remove on their own at home, but this is not recommended or advisable as these are lesions and tend to bleed a lot. This can become a serious problem in those people who have a blood clotting problem. They can also become infected.
As stated before, this problem is often found in skin folds where there is a lot of friction between different opposing skin surfaces. In the majority of cases, it is not at all clear what causes it. There may be an increased risk of forming these tags in people who have diabetes and in pregnant women, possibly due to certain hormonal changes. This may also be the case among people who are overweight and frankly obese. There is also the likelihood that some people have an increased degree of susceptibility to developing this skin condition due to certain inherited characteristics. Other risk factors for developing this condition are those who have an imbalance in the relationships between their sex hormones, particularly if there are changes in the circulating levels of oestrogen and progesterone.
Besides, people with family members who have this problem do have an increased tendency to develop the condition. This is equally true of those who have certain types of human papillomavirus. There is also evidence that people who have abnormalities with their lipid profile and high cholesterol levels tend to have an increase in susceptibility to this skin condition. This has also been found in association with hypertension and advancing age. Because of these connections, there is now the suggestion that the development of skin tags may offer an external indication for some of these conditions.
Connect with us on our socials: