skin tag or wart?

i am 24. For the almost the past 10 years i have had only 2 sexual partners. i was was with each for about 5 years. 2 years into my last relationship, a bump appeared on the right side of my penis around where it connects to my groin. It's been there for about 3.5 years with no change. it ranges from skin colored to slightly brownish depending on the day. The texture is kind of smooth, but a little rough. if i pull the skin around it, i am able to pull it away from my penis with the skin (but its still attached to the skin of course). my fear is that it is a genital wart, but neither of the girls i was with ever developed any such growth. I've read about skin tags and think it could be one, but that may just be wishful thinking. are there any specific differences that would clue me in to whats going on? I know people are going to say "go to the doctor" but from what I've read, neither skin tags nor warts are very serious, so i'd rather not spend the money. also, I put apple cider vinegar on it and it didn't turn white or sting or anything..it just had vinegar on it. i left the vinegar on for a good 5 or 6 hours, too. Then I froze it with dr. scholl's. It turned pink the first day, then got a little darker and smaller after about a week. the top layer came off and it returned back to almost its original size. I am now on round three of freezing it and I will see how it goes. each time it appears to get smaller...also, how long do wart and skin tags last. is there a point in time that i will be able to tell based on the lifetime of the growth?

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
Skin tags are tiny skin growths generally cause no symptoms unless they are repeatedly irritated. The commonest area where they occur are armpits, groins, neckfolds etc. Warts are tumours or growths of the skin caused by infection with Human Papillomavirus (HPV).They are contagious when in contact with the skin of an infected person.

Exactly what it is can be confirmed only after examination and biopsy. I suggest you to get a biopsy of the skin done to confirm the diagnosis.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.