Skin Tag Removal

[Maddy22]

Hi. I had a skin tag growing slowly for many years, my doctor said should be removed if it started to become bothersome. This is my gynecologist as the skin tag is located near the more private area that she examines. More of a nuisance than anything else. Heard in the past that people can remove skin tags easily themselves. I read a lot of info online and at least 50 different posts that said at home removal was simple and listed many different ways for removal. I am not at all squeamish and I became eager and impatient to remove this skin tag. I took the route of tying it off to stop blood flow. After 2 days, it looked as it should, smaller,shriveled and dark. I then cut it off. It bled a little, and was a slight crater. Thought I was good to go. Everything I used was clean and sterile. Kept it clean and treated with peroxide and neosporin and have it covered with a band aid given the spot that it's in. I continue to do this. Where the skin tag was now has a white covering, not soft as if healing. It is not red around it but is this infected? Nothing I read said anything about this afterward and it seems after removal skin is supposed to look pretty normal. Is it too soon and this white will turn to a scab and heal properly? Something else I should do? I am pretty sure anything healing whiteis a sign of infection but was hoping maybe skin tags heal this way. In retrospect whole thing seems pretty gross to do yourself. Given the location I should not have tried this on my own. Years ago I had some lasered off my neck and was simple. I do not plan on trying again. I am concerned about infection, what do you think?

Thank you for your time,
Maddy

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

It doesn't sound infected.  I suggest that you apply some bacitracin or neosporin twice a day and let the skin heal.  I don't suggest you repeat the self-removal, though.

Take care.

Dr. Rockoff

[nikki58]

Hello Dr.!

I had an anal skin tag excised not long ago and it is still healing.
Recently I have noticed that I have a slightly enlarged anal papilla and the doctor who performed the excision said that it is normal and unless it is bothersome and gets very big I should not consider having it removed. But I really wanna get rid of it. The surgery for the skin tag was not easy, I was put under general anasthesia and it hurt a lot. I do not want to have this papilla cut out in the near future when it gets bigger as it will be more painful. I would rather do something now. The doctor said that would be an extra scar in my body so I should not think about removing it. I was wondering if there is any other way how I could get rid of it, such as shrinken it or make it smaller?

Thank you for your help!


Regards,

Nikki

[ms9799]

I recently (10 days ago) had an irrated skin tag removed from my armpit by my GP.  It was burned off in the proper mannor so to say!  I now am experiencing burning in the area and the skin around where tag was removed from is red.  Called the doctor and he gave me prescription for cephalexin.  I have been on it now for two full days and its appearance is better but it is still burning.  Because of its location I can not get bandaids to stay on this area during the day.  I am having the constant battle between my clothes grabbing it the wrong way or my bra rubbing on it.  I have tried not wearing my bra for a few days which has not been easy for me because I am fairly large breasted.  I am wearing sleevless shirts at night and leaving this area uncovered as my dr. instructed.  I am washing it with perioxide rinse, bactine spray and applying neosporin a few times a day.  Plus through all of this I learned that I am allergic to the latex in bandaides.  My skins was raw for days almost immediately after the tag removal.  That portion of it has cleared up but these wounds from where the skins tags where is still bothering me and open.  I am concerned about staff infection or something else for that matter! What else can I do to get these areas to heal?   I am getting desperate here.  We are taking out children on vacation next week and I am affraid of going in an pools or water with these wounds still open and feeling the way they do.  How long should I give this antibiotic to work before I call my doctor again?

Thank you
Michele Santore