How To Freeze Off Skin Tags Yourself

Skin tags are benign protruding tubular growths on skin surface that are ugly to look at and feel genuinely uncomfortable as they tend to get tangled repeatedly with clothes and jewelry. Also known as ‘acrochordon’, these smooth textured growths might bleed after experiencing external trauma which makes this condition a little embarrassing for many people.

These particular types of skin growths are commonly found around a person’s eyelids, chest, neck, back, armpits, beneath the breasts or even in the folds of a person’s groin and buttocks area.

Most skin tags that appear in sensitive body areas go largely unidentified for a long period of time which makes it more difficult for them to be treated in time. It’s only when they become inflamed, that they get recognized by the sufferer. These skin or light brown coloured growths are composed of fat cells, nerve cells, fibrous tissues and ducts and tend to hurt when they are twisted or rub against the skin.

They are connected to the outer surface of skin by a tiny stalk like structure. They mostly appear on areas of skin that are prone to friction such as skin creases and folds. Skin tags mostly occur on the neck, armpits, eyelids and groin. Dealing with skin tags that appear on sensitive areas becomes a challenge for most people as there is a likelihood of them getting jagged in clothes or jewellery which may cause mild injury.

Though, skin tags are harmless and not considered a medical emergency unless they are injured and become infected, most people consider getting them removed for cosmetic reasons and to minimize the chances of them getting injured.

There are many factors that influence the occurrence of skin tags but the most prominent one is high insulin levels in the body making them widely prevalent in people with diabetes. Maintaining healthy blood glucose levels seems to be the only way to curb the chances of any breakouts in the future.

Other conditions that contribute to their appearance are obesity, HPV, pregnancy, high cholesterol levels and hypertension. Among other health conditions, skin tags are greatly influenced by heredity, making all the people with a family history of skin tags highly vulnerable to developing this condition. Skin tags mostly strike people after middle age. Certain hormonal predispositions put women at a higher risk of suffering from skin tags than men.

To prevent the possibility of these skin eruptions in future, people with the above-mentioned health conditions need to follow a treatment plan meant for their condition.

Many people opt to get skin tags removed by a dermatologist to get relief from this troublesome condition. Some popular techniques used by dermatologists for skin tag removal are electrolysis, freezing and excision.

Another way of removing skin tag is by tying a thread around the base of the tag as tightly as possible to cut off blood supply. This causes the tag to die and fall off after some days. In some cases, skin tags appear on the eyelids which can safely be removed by ophthalmologist. Freezing does not work well on skin tags that are big in size as they do not respond well to the freezing technique because the chemical finds it difficult to reach every cell and tissue inside that huge mass. For such tags that are larger in size, a procedure called excision is performed to remove them.

In this procedure, the skin tag is numbed and cut away with a scalpel. It is generally not advised to attempt procedures other than freezing to remove skin tags at home as they might cause bleeding and infections. Hence, any procedure that involves cutting should only be performed by a trained surgeon.

Freezing is the quickest and safest removal method for skin tags that are not too large in size. In this method, the cells inside the tags are destroyed by brief application of liquid nitrogen on its outer surface taking care that skin around the tag does not come in contact with the chemical. After the application of liquid nitrogen, the area stings for a while and acquires a darker hue. The frozen tag eventually falls off after two to three weeks.

Minor scarring is likely to happen at the area after the tag has fallen off.

In order to freeze a skin tag, you don’t always need to go to a doctor as many over – the – counter at-home skin tag freezing kits have been made available in the market. These kits fall cheaper than the procedures performed in the hospitals and come with a detailed set of safety instructions which need to be carefully followed for optimum results.

It is not recommended to use these kits for removing tags on sensitive body parts and caution must be exercised while using them on any other area of the body. Before performing any at-home skin tag freezing procedure, it is advised to get the tag examined by a dermatologist to make sure that it is a skin tag and to rule out any possibility of other skin conditions that resemble skin tags.

Here is a complete list of information about safely using a skin tag freezing kit at home.

• Wear full sleeved protective clothing to rule out any chances of your body from coming in contact with the freezing chemical that comes with the skin tag freezing kit.
• Choose a well-lit area with a large mirror to perform the procedure. Place a garbage bin somewhere near to easily dispose of the applicator and other items so they do not come in contact with other parts of your body.
• Wear surgical gloves to protect your hands and stand in front of the mirror to check the skin tag. Cleanse the skin tag and the area around it with sterile water and let it dry.
• Open the skin tag removal Most kits come with numerous skin shields with a tiny opening at the centre to keep the skin around the tag covered when the freezing chemical is applied on the skin tag.
• Place the skin shield that correctly covers the area surrounding the skin tag and press it lightly so it sticks firmly to the skin.
• Position the applicator tightly into the holder. Carefully open the vial of freezing solution (liquid nitrogen) and hold it firmly with your left hand. Submerge the tip of the applicator into the bottle for two to three seconds to soak in the freezing liquid.
• When you dip the applicator into the liquid make sure that you hear a buffering sound. In case, you don’t witness hearing any such sound it means that the liquid is not working and needs to be replaced with a new one.
• When the tip of the applicator is soaked, take it out of the liquid and shake off any excess solution that might drip from the applicator.
• Wait for 15 – 20 seconds and apply gentle pressure with the applicator tip on the area that connects the skin tag with the skin and hold it like that without moving the applicator for forty seconds to freeze the tag.
• One might experience mild stinging sensation for a brief period and the tag changes colour due to freezing.
• Safely discard the applicator and peel off the skin shield and throw it away immediately.
  Remove the gloves and wash your hands. It is a good idea to loosely bandage the frozen skin tag to keep track of the exact time it takes for the tag to fall off.
• Notice any changes that might occur post-freezing to ensure that the cells within are no longer active due to lack of oxygenation. It is normal for the frozen tag to become mildly inflamed after freezing which gets healed on its own in a span of few days.

In case, the tag does not fall off in three to four weeks, it is recommended to get it examined and treated by a doctor.

 

About the Author:

Harvey Lee is a health and beauty blogger and works with various industry leading health and beauty product brands e.g. Tagband USA: USA’s leading brand for skin tag removal devices. He has an interest in building the knowledge and self – confidence of people who really want to improve their lives by following proper health guides and staying fit for life.