Skin tag removal can be done quite conveniently at the dermatologist or physician’s clinic. But before you head straight to the clinic for your treatment, it would serve you well to know what the skin tag removal options available for you are. Since the skin tags are attached to your skin, you must be prepared for some level of discomfort or pain during the removal. This can be quite unbearable for some if the number of skin tags is just too many. In such instances, the dermatologist or doctor would usually apply local anesthetic on the surrounding skin to numb and alleviate the pain. In this article, you will read about the different common removal methods that are used to get rid of those ugly skin tags.

Cyrotherapy

This describes the freezing of skin tags to “kill” and remove them. This is often done using ligation and application of liquid nitrogen. Basically, a suture/copper wire is wrapped around the peduncle or stalk before freezing the skin tags. At times, the dermatologist may use forceps instead. But bear in mind that while this method is effective, there is always the risk of suffering from dsychromic lesions if the dermatologist is not careful.

Excision

Excision using scissors or scalpels is normally more suitable for larger skin tags. Aluminum chloride may be applied to arrest the bleeding.

Cauterization

This skin tag removal method involves burning off the skin tags using electric current.

Tying the Skin Tags

You may not be aware but small skin tags can be tied up with threads. The intention of tying is to stop blood supply to the skin tags, and let them die off slowly. After some time, normally several days to a week, the skin tags would darken and slowly dry up. Once that happens, they can be easily removed. One setback of this method is it can be rather tedious if you have numerous skin tags. It is also rather unsightly.

These are the few common skin tag removal treatment that your dermatologist could offer you. You may wish to first consult him/her if the skin growths on your body are skin tags and not other malignant skin tissues. He/she would be able to advise you on the appropriate removal method for your skin tags. However, before you decide on removing those skin tags, you must be prepared to fork out the entire medical bill. Skin tags are benign and are removed mostly for cosmetic reasons, ie to improve one’s appearance. Insurance companies would not cover such expenses.