What should you know about different skin tags?

Skin tags, also called acrochordons, are usually soft, benign skin growths. They may be smooth or slightly wrinkled, attached by a narrow stalk or sit on a wider base, and range from skin-coloured to darker than nearby skin. Friction commonly makes them noticeable around the neck, eyelids, underarms, groin or beneath the breasts. A tag can become irritated if clothing or jewellery catches it.

Appearance alone cannot confirm that every hanging or pigmented growth is a skin tag. A mole, wart or another lesion can look similar. A clinician may inspect it closely and recommend examination of removed tissue when the diagnosis is uncertain.

Do not tie off, burn or cut a skin growth at home. Home removal can cause bleeding, infection, scarring or a missed diagnosis. Arrange an assessment if the lesion rubs against clothing, catches during shaving, bleeds after minor contact or affects your vision. Treatment may involve snipping, freezing or an electrical method, chosen according to the site, size and diagnosis.

Keep the area clean after a professional procedure and follow dressing instructions. Ask how to protect healing skin from friction and sun, especially when the lesion was removed from a visible area.

Seek prompt medical review if a growth changes quickly, develops irregular colour or borders, becomes persistently painful, bleeds without being rubbed, forms a sore that does not heal or is accompanied by a new cluster of lesions. Heavy bleeding, spreading redness, pus or fever after removal also warrants urgent contact with the treating service.

Does this look like a skin tag or another type of lesion? Is removal medically useful or mainly for comfort? Which method suits its location and attachment? How will you manage bleeding, scarring and the possibility of recurrence?