skin tags

[squid2325]

My seven year old daughter seems to be getting a lot of skintags on her arms and neck/throat area lately.  They seem to start off looking like millia but then turn into skintags.  Now her face is getting lots of millia and I am concerned that they too will turn into skintags.  What is causing this to happen and how do I remove them for her.
Thank you

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi.

I suggest that you have this assessed by a pediatric dermatologist. Skin tags are benign lesions and they may be hereditary. They may not require urgent intervention. In your daughter's case however, the skin tags are present on the neck and arms.

Have you noted these skin tags for some time already?

Or have you only noted them recently?

I suggest an early consult since the areas involved are very much exposed and the skin tags may readily get irritated since they usually have stalks and they have a tendency to twist around the stalk.

Are the skin tags itchy?

[squid2325]

No they are not itchy and they started coming about two months ago, it just seems that lately there are more, and I am not sure about the millia in her face but it starts to resemble the skintags on her arms.  I live on an island in Alaska and we do not have adermatologist around unless I fly to Seattle or Anchorage.  I read somesthing about applying newskin on them  are you familiar with that at all?

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi.

No I am not familiar with newskin. Is this an over the counter product?

I would suggest though that you have this assessed first by any physician prior to application of any creams or lotions. This may cause irritation and the involved areas such as the neck and the face are very much exposed. We just want to avoid any skin reactions in the event that an inappropriate medication is given. Skin tags do not require any intervention. Application of creams and lotions will not help in resolving the problem."Cosmetic removal for unsightly appearance is perhaps the most common reason (skin tags) are removed. Occasionally, a tag may require removal because it has become irritated and red from bleeding (hemorrhage) or black from twisting and dying of the skin tissue (necrosis)...There are several effective medical ways to remove a skin tag, including removing with scissors, freezing (using liquid nitrogen), and burning (using medical electric cautery at the physician's office)."

Source:http://www.medicinenet.com/skin_tag/page2.htm

So I think it is best to have a primary physician assess this first before applying anything.