What should you know about nipple skin tag?

Skin tags are often soft, flesh-coloured growths attached by a narrow or short base. On or near the nipple, friction from clothing, sweating, and movement can make one sore or cause occasional bleeding. A mole, wart, inflamed gland, cyst, or another lesion can look similar, so photographs or self-diagnosis cannot settle the question.

A clinician will consider its surface, attachment, colour, growth pattern, tenderness, and any discharge. Do not tie thread around it, cut it, burn it, or use over-the-counter acid products near the nipple; these actions can cause bleeding, burns, infection, or an avoidable scar.

Book an examination if the growth is new, changing, repeatedly irritated, or difficult to distinguish from the nipple. If it is a confirmed skin tag and removal is wanted, options may include snipping, [Cryotherapy (Lesion Removal)](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/cryotherapy-lesion-removal/), or [Electrosurgery](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/electrosurgery/). The choice depends on its size, base, location, bleeding tendency, and whether tissue should be sent for examination.

Keep the area dry and reduce rubbing while waiting. Follow wound instructions after treatment, and avoid picking a scab or applying products that were not recommended for nipple skin.

Arrange prompt review for rapid growth, marked colour change, a firm or fixed feel, persistent bleeding, ulceration, pus, worsening pain, or nipple discharge. Seek urgent help for uncontrolled bleeding, spreading redness with fever, or severe swelling. These findings require assessment and do not prove that the lesion is cancer.

Ask whether the lesion is a skin tag, whether removal is medically needed, which method protects nearby nipple tissue, how it will heal, and whether the removed tissue should be examined.