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Merck Manual
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Home /
Skin Disorders /
Noncancerous Skin Growths /
... /
Skin Tags /

OTHER TOPICS IN THIS CHAPTER

Noncancerous Skin Growths
Overview of Skin Growths
Cutaneous Cysts
Dermatofibromas
Keloids
Lipomas
Moles
Seborrheic Keratoses
Skin Tags
Overview of Growths and Malformations of the Vessels
Hemangiomas
Lymphangiomas
Port-Wine Stains
Pyogenic Granulomas
Spider Angiomas

Test your knowledge

Treatment of Skin Disorders
Topical drugs applied directly to the skin are a mainstay of skin disorder treatment. The active ingredient, or drug, is mixed with an inactive ingredient called the vehicle. The vehicle determines the product’s consistency (eg, thick and greasy, or light and watery), and whether the active ingredient remains on the surface or penetrates the skin. Which of the following is the most commonly used vehicle for treating skin disorders?

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Skin Tags

(Acrochordons; Soft Fibromas)

By

Denise M. Aaron

, MD, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

Last full review/revision Sep 2020| Content last modified Sep 2020
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GET THE QUICK FACTS
NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: Click here for the Professional Version
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Topic Resources

Skin tags are soft, small, flesh-colored or slightly darker skin growths that develop mostly on the neck, in the armpits, or in the groin area.

(See also Overview of Skin Growths.)

Usually, skin tags cause no trouble, but they may be unattractive, and clothing or nearby skin may rub and irritate them so that they bleed or hurt.

A doctor can easily remove skin tags by freezing them with liquid nitrogen, cutting them with scissors or a scalpel, or burning them with an electric needle (electrodesiccation).

NOTE: This is the Consumer Version. DOCTORS: Click here for the Professional Version
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© 2020 Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA)
Seborrheic Keratoses
Overview of Growths and Malformations of the Vessels
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