What should you know about skin tag treatment boots?

A skin tag is a soft growth that can catch on a boot, sock or shoe edge. Repeated pressure may make it tender, swollen or superficially injured, but footwear does not safely remove the growth. A bump on the foot may also be a wart, corn, callus or another lesion rather than a skin tag. Looking at the site and feeling its texture helps a clinician decide what it is.

Choose footwear that does not press on the lesion, keep the skin clean and avoid shaving, cutting or tying the growth. A soft protective dressing can reduce rubbing if the skin is intact, but change it if it becomes damp or irritating. If the lesion remains troublesome, discuss [Skin Tag Removal](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/skin-tag-removal/). Depending on the examination, [Cryotherapy (Lesion Removal)](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/cryotherapy-lesion-removal/) or [Electrosurgery](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/electrosurgery/) may be considered.

Arrange a review if a foot or ankle growth changes, bleeds, becomes persistently painful or prevents comfortable walking. Seek prompt care for a wound that becomes increasingly red, hot, swollen or produces pus, or for fever with a worsening foot lesion. People with reduced foot sensation, poor circulation or diabetes should seek advice early after skin injury because a small wound may be harder to notice or heal.

Ask whether footwear is causing the irritation, whether the lesion is truly a skin tag, which removal option fits the foot or ankle, and how to protect the site while it heals.