Skin Tags, Moles, Warts – How your Dermatologist can Treat them?

Skin tags, moles, and warts can be bothersome. They can make you feel conscious about your appearance, and their presence on your skin is quite uncomfortable. As a result, it is quite natural if the affected person wants to remove them. You may consult a skin doctor at an aesthetic clinic JB. You may not understand the difference between these conditions, but your doctor can help diagnose them properly to remove them effectively. This blog will provide you with an overview of the various medical treatments your doctor might use to remove skin tags, moles, and warts.

Skin Tags vs Moles vs Warts

It is critical to properly diagnose them to treat skin tags, moles, or warts. Let’s discuss how these conditions differ from each other.

Skin Tags

Rubbing skin against skin or a piece of clothing can cause this skin condition. It is a soft flap of skin that develops due to friction. Besides, it appears as a small bump on the skin. The skin gets pulled up and hangs by a thin thread upon further rubbing.

These tags vary in size ranging between the sizes of a pen head to almost three cm. They can appear under the arms, groin region or around the neck.

Moles

Excess sun exposure or genetics can be responsible for the development of moles. These are comparatively more serious than warts and skin tags and take time to grow. Hence, they mostly appear on sun-exposed skin areas. They have the potential to become cancerous, in which case, their appearance will change.

Warts

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is responsible for causing common warts. These are hard bumps lying deep within the skin. They may appear on your hands, knees or the bottom of your feet. The top of these bumps might appear smooth while it can be scaly and callus-like underneath the surface. They can be contagious. Therefore, it is critical to visit your skin doctor for the needed treatment.

Distinguishing a skin tag from a wart is pretty simple. A wart is thick and deep, while a skin tag remains at the skin surface. One of the best ways to differentiate between a mole and a wart is to check their pigment and hair. A wart does not have either, while moles have both. . Therefore, judging by their appearance, you may identify the appearance of skin tag, mole, and wart. However, it is in your best interest to visit a skin doctor Johor Bahru for medical diagnosis and removal treatment.

Causes of skin tags, moles and warts

Now that you have a basic idea of how to differentiate these conditions from each other, let’s discuss further the factors responsible for causing them.

Skin tags

Since a skin tag develops in skin folds, it is safe to conclude that friction is one of the major factors for their appearance. Studies reveal that insulin resistance, which causes prediabetes, and type-2 diabetes may also cause this skin condition. Besides, high body mass index and triglycerides can also cause multiple skin tags. Pregnant women might also develop them due to hormones and weight gain. However, you must know that this condition is not contagious.

Moles

When cells in the skin called melanocytes grow in clusters, it causes a mole. These melanocytes and evenly distributed throughout your skin. They produce melanin pigment, which is responsible for your skin colour. The interaction of genetics and sun damage can cause this skin condition. Usually, they appear during childhood and adolescence. As you grow, they might change in colour and size. Pregnant women can develop them due to changes in hormone levels. Most of the moles are non-cancerous. However, a new mole that changes its appearance can become cancerous. Visit your dermatologist Johor Bahru for proper diagnosis and treatment if you notice such changes.

Warts

Human Papillomavirus causes common wart. Though this virus has more than 150 types, only a few of them is responsible for causing this skin condition. Most of them spread through skin contact or while sharing objects such as clothes, towels, utensils, etc. Some strains of HPV might spread through sexual contact. Usually, the virus spreads through cracks or breaks in your skin. The way a person’s immune system will react to this virus varies. Therefore, it might happen that despite coming in contact with the HPV virus, you may not develop this skin condition.

Symptoms of skin tags, moles, and warts

Various factors can be responsible for causing these skin conditions. Learning about the symptoms of these conditions will help you take note of their appearance more cautiously. As a result, whenever you develop these skin conditions, you can visit a skin specialist in JB for further treatment.

Skin Tags

These are aesthetic concerns and don’t cause the affected person to experience pain. Due to repeated friction, especially in the underarms, groin region, or neck, the skin might get irritated, and you may experience more prominent symptoms. People often seek treatments to remove them due to the following symptoms –

• Skin irritation and bleeding
• Necrosis or death of skin tissues

This skin condition is benign and doesn’t carry the risk of becoming malignant or cancerous. Some people might experience pain if these tags get snagged by clothing, seat belts, jewellery, etc. Sometimes, the tag is twisted at its base, interrupting the blood flow. In such cases, they might fall off spontaneously without causing any issues. If you want to remove these tags from the skin safely, consult your skin doctor.

Moles

Usually, a mole is brown, but it may vary in colour, shape, and size. Let’s learn about its symptoms.

• Colour and texture – Your mole may appear smooth, wrinkled, raised, or flat. They can be red, blue, pink, black, brown or tan. You may notice hair coming out of your moles.
• Shape – Usually, a mole can be oval or round
• Size – Moles are generally about 6 mm or ¼ inches in diameter. The ones you have at birth might be bigger, covering a part of your limb, torso, or face.

They can appear under your nails, armpits, between toes and fingers, and also on your scalp. Some people might have more moles, which eventually fade with time. During pregnancy or in adolescence, hormonal changes can cause them to become larger and darker.

Warts

Common wart usually causes the following symptoms. They are

• Small, fleshy bumps and have a grainy texture
• Rough to touch
• You may notice small points, which are due to clotted blood vessels.

Medical Treatments for skin tags, warts, and moles

Based on the diagnosis of your skin conditions, your doctor at a skin clinic in Johor Bahru will offer the needed treatment accordingly. Let’s discuss the various treatment procedures your skin doctor may use for removing these skin irregularities.

Skin Tags

You may find various over-the-counter products at a drug store for removing the tags on your skin. However, it is better to consult a skin doctor for the safe removal of these tags. Your doctor might use an anaesthetic to numb the area. Then they might offer any of the following medical procedures based on the location and size of your tags.

• Cauterization – Your doctor will use heat to remove the tags during this procedure.
• Cryotherapy – In this method, your doctor will apply a small amount of liquid nitrogen over the skin tag to freeze it. It makes it easy for them to remove frozen skin tag without causing any pain or discomfort.
• Co2 Laser– Your doctor may also use Co2 laser to ablate  your skin tag off.
• Surgery – Your skin doctor will use surgical scissors to snip off the skin tag at its base. Moreover, based on your it’s size and location, your doctor may further stitch the area or cover it with bandages.

Aftercare

Usually, patients do not experience any form of infection or complications after skin tag removal. However, they might develop scars which fade over time.

After removing a skin tag, your doctor may advise keeping the treated area dry for at least 48 hours. Next, they might recommend cleaning the area with mild soap and water. They may also schedule follow-up appointments to check your wound and remove the stitches (where applicable).

Warts

Usually, most common warts don’t need any treatment as their go away by themselves within a year o two. However, if your wart starts to spread and become a cosmetic concern, you may seek medical treatments accordingly.

Your skin doctor can help destroy wart and boost your immune system’s response to fight the virus. The treatments might take weeks or months. Sometimes, a wart can recur or spread despite the treatment. Based on the location of your wart, its symptoms, etc., your doctor may use any of the following procedures.

• Stronger peeling medicine – Your skin doctor might prescribe wart medication with salicylic acid to remove them in layers. Studies showed that when combined with freezing, salicylic acid is quite effective in removing wart.
• Freezing or cryotherapy – Like skin tag removal, your doctor will apply liquid nitrogen to freeze your wart. It will lead to the formation of blisters under and around your wart. The dead tissue will slough off within a week. In addition, this treatment procedure helps stimulate your immune system to fight the virus responsible for causing wart. Based on your condition, you might need repeat treatments.
• Other acids – If salicylic acid or cryotherapy fails to provide the desired result, your skin doctor might use trichloroacetic acid. They would first shave the surface of your wart and then apply the acid using a wooden toothpick. This method may cause patients to experience burning and stinging sensation.You might need to undergo multiple treatment sessions every other week.
• Minor surgery – Sometimes, your doctor may perform minor surgeries to remove wart, depending on your condition. Patients may develop scars in the treated area.
• Laser treatment / Vbeam laser- Your doctor may use laser treatment to cauterize or burn tiny blood vessels. The affected tissue eventually dies, causing your wart to fall off.

Moles

Usually, a mole is harmless and hence often do not require treatment. However, if your doctor suspects the possibility of melanoma, or it causes problem while shaving or get snagged in clothing, they might recommend removing them surgically.

Your skin doctor might use the following methods to remove your mole. Let’s discuss them further.

• Shave excision – Your doctor will use an anaesthetic to numb the treated area during this process. Next, they will use a small blade to cut under and around the mole. It is used especially for smaller moles. Patients do not require stitches.
• Excisional surgery – In this method, your doctor will surgically remove the mole and the surrounding margin of healthy skin using a scalpel or a punch device. Patients will need stitches afterwards.

If your doctor detects melanoma, a form of skin cancer, at the initial stage when your mole is thin and has not grown downward or spread to other parts of your body, your doctor will use surgical procedures to remove them.

If they diagnose melanoma later, your doctor will remove them and some part of the surrounding healthy skin. If your cancer spreads to the bloodstream or your lymphatic system and forms tumours in other parts of your body, your mole will no more be a cosmetic concern. In such cases, you need proper treatment for skin cancer.

Dermed Clinic is an aesthetic clinic JB that treats a wide range of cosmetic concerns related to hair and skin. If you have developed skin tag, mole and wart, visit them for proper diagnosis and treatment. Based on your condition, Dr Muniandi of Dermed Clinic will offer you the needed treatment to remove them effectively. You need to follow his aftercare advice to take care of your skin post-treatment.

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