Skin Tags, Moles and Warts

You may have a near-perfect body. You may have a great complexion. But if you have skin tags, moles or warts, you may feel you are flawed.

These little skin conditions are usually not harmful but can make you feel less than your best, especially if they are visible when you are dressed.

Where do they come from? What can you do about them? Here are some answers.

SKIN TAGS (acrochordon) are little skin growths that are attached by thin stalks. They are non-cancerous and painless. They don't cause any health issues. They are just overgrowths of the outer layer of skin.

They form in the skinfolds of the neck, armpit areas, beneath breasts or in the genital area. These are places where skin usually rubs against other skin.

The main reason skin tags form seems to be hormonal imbalances, endocrine syndromes, and metabolic syndromes. Diabetes is an endocrine disease that can cause hormonal imbalance. Blood sugars can become abnormal and the hormones that keep skin healthy can become unbalanced.

Pregnancy can also cause hormonal changes and disrupt normal collagen production.

Aging changes collagen production. Also with aging, hormones become unbalanced and the immune system declines.

Friction. Skin tags are most common in the areas where skin rubs together. I personally have a small skin tag just below my left armpit. I forget that it's there unless I feel it when bathing.

Skin tags can run in families. They don't always, but if members of your family have them, it is possible to have them yourself.

Just being female. Skin tags occur most often in females.

Most skin tags do not need to be removed unless they are unsightly or in a place where they are frequently rubbed against clothing or jewelry.

The ways skin tags can be removed are by surgery, cryosurgery, ligation and laser removal. All can be done in a doctor's office. There are also natural remedies to remove skin tags, such as apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, iodine, Vitamin E, and others. There are also commercial products for skin tag removal if you want to go that way.

MOLES are common and mostly harmless. It is important to monitor moles for change of color or size because they can become cancerous.

Usually a mole appears as a brown spot, like a freckle, but they can be any color, shape or size. Sometimes they have hair growing from them. Most moles are round and less than a quarter inch in diameter. Sometimes they appear at birth and can be larger. They can have different textures such as flat, smooth, raised, or wrinkled.

Moles can show up on any part of the body, even the scalp, under the nails and between toes and fingers. Hormonal changes, like adolescence and pregnancy, can cause them to darken and become larger.

Have a mole checked by your doctor if one half is different from the other, if the edges are irregular, if it changes color, if it is larger than it was, if it turns black or partially black, if it itches or starts to bleed. Cancerous moles can have only a couple changes or all of them.

Do not try to remove a mole on your own. There is no way for you to determine if a mole is benign or malignant. Melanoma is a dangerous cancer that can spread if not stopped at an early stage. If you remove a mole with melanoma on your own, the cancerous cells can enter into the blood stream and infect other parts of your body.

Mole removal should only be done by a professional. Your doctor can remove the mole and send it to a laboratory to determine if it is malignant. If it is, you will be referred to an oncologist for treatment.

WARTS. First of all, warts are not caused by handling frogs or toads. Common warts are caused by a virus. They are harmless and will go away on their own. They are spread by touch.

Warts are rough, raised areas often with tiny black dots. They can be flesh-colored, pink, white or tan. Consult your physician if the growths become painful, the appearance or color changes, if you have tried to treat the wart without result or if you aren't sure they are warts. If warts start to appear in adulthood, it may be a sign that your immune system is not functioning properly.

The human papilloma virus (HPV) causes warts. The virus spreads by casual skin contact and shared objects, usually through open areas in the skin.

Not everyone's immune system is strong enough to respond to HPV properly. Young children and young adults may not have built up enough immunity. People with weakened immune systems are at high risk also.

Avoid contact with warts, even your own. Do not pick at warts or bite your fingernails. Avoid shaving or clipping areas that have warts.

Have your doctor examine the wart. He or she may scrape off part of the top of the wart and send it to a laboratory to be analyzed.

Treatment may include destroying the wart or strengthening the immune system. It may take a long time and even with treatment may recur or spread. The doctor may suggest Salicytic acid, cryosurgery, minor surgery or laser treatments to remove the warts. Some home treatments can be effective such as Compound W and Dr. Scholls Clear Away.

I hope you found this information interesting and useful. Thank you for reading.

References: 10faq.com, draxe.com/health, mayoclinic.org, and skincancer.org.