skin tag problem

dawnstrassburg
dawnstrassburg Posts: 46
edited December 19 in Health and Weight Loss
I have a rather odd problem, when i started gaining weight I developed a skin tag on my hip. I didnt like it but it wasnt a big deal, it was tiny and the same color as my skin and i rarley even noticed it. As i gained weight and now have lost a lot of it , the tag has grown. its roughly the size of a pea (a smushed pea) and still the same color as my skin. now its not painful, or solid, its just this little flap of extra skin, but I HATE it. It is actually making me not want to wear the cute bikinis i now fit into. I know people have sliced them off with a razor, but that sunds painful, and kinda dangerous. i dont have health insurance and going to the doctor and spending $200 to have him cut it off seems unreasonable. Does anyne have any at home ways to take care of this? I am going to Hawaii for my honeymoon in August and that is the last thing i want to be worrying about, so anyone...any at home remedies (that dont hurt too much?

Replies

  • songbyrdsweet
    songbyrdsweet Posts: 5,691 Member
    AAAOOOOWWWWWWW!!

    Just go to the doctor! Surgery is never a home remedy! :/
  • Jacwhite22
    Jacwhite22 Posts: 7,010 Member
    I had one under my arm one time.........Nail clippers, some hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and I was good to go.
  • losermomof3
    losermomof3 Posts: 386 Member
    I had one on my neck..bugged me for a year...finally the seat belt caught it :)

    Anyways, My MIL said to me, when I asked her about it, take floss and wrap it and pull. She said it would only hurt a little and it would be fine. I was too scared. Yours sounds bigger though, I would prolly go to a doctor. Although...do raw potatoes work for this sort of thing?????
  • jmelyan23
    jmelyan23 Posts: 1,648 Member
    You can either do either of these^^^ if you really want to do it at home, or just have a doctor do it. My husband had close to 13 around his neck and got them all removed for under $100. I really don't think it would be that expensive to just get one taken care of.
  • april1lowe
    april1lowe Posts: 202 Member
    I agree with the PP, just go to the dr. It's better to pay $200 and have it done right then DIY, get an infection, have to deal with THAT and then be left a nice scar for a reminder.

    My fiance' has them all over his chest and back. :( He is SO self conscious of them as well.
  • anneouel
    anneouel Posts: 68 Member
    there are skin tag removers by doctor scholls. usually at a store like shoppers drug mart. Idk if america has one. but a drug place will do. It freezes them and they turn black and fall off.
  • nwhitley
    nwhitley Posts: 619
    My son has one near his ear and my mom had one right around the waist wear her underwear would rub against it. Her doctor and my son's pediatrician said to use string and tie it as close as you can tightly around the skin tag. After a couple of days it will fall off. My mom did it and it worked. I have not tried it with my son b/c it doesn't bother him and it's not really noticeable. Good luck!
  • Contrarian
    Contrarian Posts: 8,138 Member
    I think there's some **** you can buy at the drug store that burns them off. It's probably near the wart remover.
  • vanillasugar
    vanillasugar Posts: 246 Member
    I have heard that if you mix castor oil with baking soda until it's paste-like, put it on the tag and cover with a bandaid, that they will dry up and fall off. But I don't know. I would try that before anything else though as it sounds both painless and harmless if it doesn't work.
  • allifantastical
    allifantastical Posts: 946 Member

    Anyways, My MIL said to me, when I asked her about it, take floss and wrap it and pull. She said it would only hurt a little and it would be fine.

    I've heard this also...if you wrap string around it the it will fall off once the blood flow stops. I have one where my bra rubs near my armpit. I hate it, but I'm too scared to try the string thing LOL. I hear they are like warts...they can possibly come back, but I could be wrong.
  • SofaKingRad
    SofaKingRad Posts: 1,592 Member
    Doctors have great advice for medical conditions
  • sofitheteacup
    sofitheteacup Posts: 396 Member
    I had one under my arm one time.........Nail clippers, some hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and I was good to go.

    Did this for one I had along my bikini line that I was too mortified to ask a doctor to take care of. Now that seems silly, but it really bothered me and now it's gone. I would ask around to see about pricing- $200 sounds a little unlikely or maybe very overpriced, but who knows...
  • pantsdailyon
    pantsdailyon Posts: 173 Member
    I had one under my arm one time.........Nail clippers, some hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and I was good to go.

    Ow!

    I used a fine monofiliment thread and tied a couple off. They dry out and fall off without blood flow.
  • buffalodaughter
    buffalodaughter Posts: 7
    Your best bet is to stick with a professional. Shop around and ask friends/co-workers/strangers for recommendations until you find someone who's budget friendly. I had to get a wisdom tooth surgically removed and after a lot of calls finally found someone to do it for $400 instead of the $1,200 and up everyone else quoted me!
    I have several moles on my body and used to feel self-conscious about but guys are always telling me they're "cute". Don't sweat a minor imperfection, strut that bikini body! :wink:
  • pauljsolie
    pauljsolie Posts: 1,024 Member
    there are skin tag removers by doctor scholls. usually at a store like shoppers drug mart. Idk if america has one. but a drug place will do. It freezes them and they turn black and fall off.

    I've used the dr. scholls stuff, worked great!
  • Seraph1120
    Seraph1120 Posts: 194 Member
    I've heard of the tying off the skin tag scenario too. That cuts off the blood circulation to the tag and makes it easier to remove. Also some interesting ideas on here... http://www.squidoo.com/how-to-remove-skin-tags-safely-and-painlessly
  • Shock_Wave
    Shock_Wave Posts: 1,573 Member
    I had one under my arm one time.........Nail clippers, some hydrogen peroxide and neosporin and I was good to go.

    ^Did this and just like that it was gone.
  • Jen1125
    Jen1125 Posts: 1
    I have one on my back they developed when I was pregnant with my twins. I pulled it off several times and it always came back. Finally gave up. Not sure I would spend any money at a Dr's unless they can garauntee it won't come back.
  • katy84o
    katy84o Posts: 744 Member
    http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/skin_tags.html


    You may find something you are comfortable with by reading through some of these.
  • becoming_a_new_me
    becoming_a_new_me Posts: 1,860 Member
    You really should get it checked out. Skin tags can be a sign of a more serious condition like diabetes or skin cancer. They really aren't anything to DYI.
  • Laurej
    Laurej Posts: 227
    get it checked out!! chances r your primary care dr will just snip it off right there in the office.. I had one, got it looked at and the dr said it's just a tag, you can get it removed. I asked about the cost, and he pulled out some scissors and snip LOL
  • AmyRhubarb
    AmyRhubarb Posts: 6,890 Member
    If you do go to the doctor for it, let them know you don't have insurance and ask if the offer a discount for paying at the time of the visit. Most doctors around here knock anywhere from 20 - 40% off, which definitely helps. Give them a call and ask.
  • Nucky719
    Nucky719 Posts: 143
    Tie a piece of thread around it tightly and it should fall off on its own within a few days.
  • dinosnopro
    dinosnopro Posts: 2,177 Member
    I make mine the center of attention. I just tell people I've had it ever since they removed my conjoined twin.
  • ashley67203
    ashley67203 Posts: 95
    Don't to it yourself. I did it once and it hurt WAY more than it should have and bled like nobody's business. I'm usually pretty tough but it made me cry. The dermatologist will do it for you for the cost of the copay and it will not be near as traumatic.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
    Doctor is best solution. I had a friend's son injured in a motorcycle accident. No health insurance so he tried to doctor himself. Infection set up so he had to go to the doctor anyway... Wound up in ICU and now has extensive brain damage and is essentially an invalid... Yes, this is a different situation but as one post said... Surgery is NOT a do it yourself proposition. I'd either let the doctor do it or just live with it... I have a few myself...Nothing major so I don't worry about them.
  • halobender
    halobender Posts: 780 Member
    As far as home remedy type things go, this is pretty minimal (compared to a friend of mine who once removed two of his own wisdom teeth). I've tried the fingernail clippers thing on one under my arm. There wasn't even any blood, it just stung for a moment. But that was very small, around two or three millimeters in "length" and diameter. Your sounds a little more than I would want to remove with that method, though; I know I couldn't hack it.

    That said, you should always go to a doctor to have any sort of "procedure" performed. The removal of anything too biological from one's body can be a pretty serious and it would be awful if something were to become infected.

    That said, if you're not going to go to the doctor then the only right thing would be to suggest healthy alternatives to cutting it off with a rusty pair of scissors!

    In your situation the process of a little "docking," I suppose you could call it, doesn't seem out of the question. Simply cut off the blood flow as others have mentioned with some floss or something of that nature and it will fall right off after 2-3 days at most.
  • pfarley68
    pfarley68 Posts: 83 Member
    My daughter had one on her ear when she was born. The doctor after she was a few months old tied a string around it to cut off the blood supply, eventually it feel off. Not sure if this is feasible for you but it was effective.
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