Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Skin Tag or Wart?

Hi Doctors,

Back in July of 2012 I was diagnosed with three warts and they were froze off the same day. On my six week follow up I asked about another small bump and he said was a skin tag so no worries. Fast forward many months later, perhaps 8-12, and the bump now looked like a tiny piece of skin sticking out resembling a small finger(Dr. never saw it like this). It was pliable and if I pushed it left, it stayed left...right, it stayed right, etc. I ended up removing the finger-like protrusion myself and was left with a small, hard bump again. About 3 months ago he froze the bump for visual purposes and it was about 95% gone afterwards. This weekend, however, I now noticed it is a little more defined again. My main concern is if the small bump the Dr. Saw could've been mistaken for a skin tag when it was actually the beginning formation of a small wart...and had a few questions:

1. Do warts ever have a small "finger" like protrusion like described?

2. Is it common for a skin tag to change so much in that amount of time? Or could it be a sign of something else I need to worry about?

3. While researching causes of skin tags I found a few articles stating that skin tags can be associated with HPV...and goes against what I've come to learn. Is that true? 

I plan on visiting my Dr. for a follow up...but it will be weeks before he can see me. I just starting dating someone and just want to make sure I had all my facts strait.

Thanks for your time.
3 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
What you describe sounds more like a skin tag than a wart but, as we have already discussed, having a clinician take a look is the most direct way to address your concern.  Wart or skin tag, it is not a big deal and can be trelated the same way.

1. Based on the new details I provide, does it sound like it may be a filiform wart?
see above.

2. After doing a some research it seems as if filiforms are caused by HPV 1, 2, 4, 27, and 29. Is that correct? If so, do these types effect the genitals?
These are not common HPV types to cause genital infections.

3. If it is a filiform...should I expect it to grow another finger like protrusion?
Probably not but there are no absolutes in such matters.

4. Are genital filiforms contagious like other types of genital warts?
All HPV infections are contagious.

As Dr. Handsfield has indicated in the past, I think you are getting more worked up over your past genital wart infections than is warranted.  Virtually everyone who is sexually active has or will get HPV.  While control and therapy is an appropriate and laudable goal, if you have HPV is is not a reason for great concern. It just makes you like almost everyone else. EWH
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Thanks for your insight Dr. Hook.

I just turned 38 and the bump is on the top of the shaft on the circumcision scar. However, this is not the same as the one mentioned  in a previous post. 

When the doc first saw it in Aug '12 it was a small bump, perhaps the size of a pin head, seemed hard to the touch. This is when he said he thought it was a skin tag. If I recall it was many months later that it looked like a tiny, single finger...perhaps 1mm in height. I googled filiform warts and the ones I saw looked like many "fingers" bundled together...but mine looked like a single one, about 1mm tall. Also, I learned that skin tags are typically located where friction occurs. Although embarrassed to admit it, that particular location gets a lot of friction when masterbating. Thus, when the doc said the initial bump looked like a skin tag...and reading that skin tags are sometimes finger like...I went ahead and removed it myself without getting it looked at thinking it was simply a skin tag...and now I feel like a big dummy.  I now know to get the doc to take a look if appearances change. As mentioned in yesterday's posting, after i removed the "finger" myself, the doc froze the left over bump at the end of Nov '13...and after it healed there was still a tiny bump left...and it is still a tiny bump.

1. Based on the new details I provide, does it sound like it may be a filiform wart?

2. After doing a some research it seems as if filiforms are caused by HPV 1, 2, 4, 27, and 29. Is that correct? If so, do these types effect the genitals?

3. If it is a filiform...should I expect it to grow another finger like protrusion?

4. Are genital filiforms contagious like other types of genital warts?

Thanks Dr. Hook.
Helpful - 0
300980 tn?1194929400
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome back to the Forum.  I'll be pleased to comment.  I reviewed your earlier posts and note that you have had warts in the past and that having warts was quite distressing to you.  Following such occurrences many people inspect themselves far more closely than they have in the past and there may be an element of this that is operative in your situation.  At the same time however I do not doubt that you have noticed something and that it is larger than it used to be.  You don't mention where this skin lesion is or your age. Both are important cpnsiderations.  While, as you point out, I cannot make a diagnosis over the internet or without direct inspection, it may be worthwhile to point out that as we get older, there is an increased tendency for form skin tags, and these tend to more often occur and grow at areas of rubbing or other minor friction such as the insides of the thighs.  In contract, warts are most typically located directly on the genitals themselves.

In answer to your specific questions:
1. Do warts ever have a small "finger" like protrusion like described?
A small proportion of warts can have a sort of finger-like appearance which makes them difficult to distinguish from plan, every day skin tags.  Such lesions are called "filiform" warts.  If you google this term you might see some pictures. Such lesions can be difficult to distinguish from skin tags and, fortunately are treated pretty much the same way, be removal.  

2. Is it common for a skin tag to change so much in that amount of time? Or could it be a sign of something else I need to worry about?
Over time skin tags can get larger, particularly if the inciting cause (i.e. friction) continues.  

3. While researching causes of skin tags I found a few articles stating that skin tags can be associated with HPV...and goes against what I've come to learn. Is that true?  
Skin tags are not warts and vis versa.  Each can be mistaken for the other however.  Perhaps that is what the articles you mentioned were suggestions.
I hope these comments are helpful. EWH
Helpful - 0

You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum

Popular Resources
Herpes spreads by oral, vaginal and anal sex.
Herpes sores blister, then burst, scab and heal.
STIs are the most common cause of genital sores.
Millions of people are diagnosed with STDs in the U.S. each year.
STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
Syphilis is an STD that is transmitted by oral, genital and anal sex.