Contents:
- Medical Video: Skin Tag Removal - Dr G Snips Off an Under Arm Papilloma
- What is a mole?
- What are skin tags?
Medical Video: Skin Tag Removal - Dr G Snips Off an Under Arm Papilloma
Many people have moles and skin tags on their bodies. Take it easy, both are harmless or painful, really. Both of them can also be removed after you check with a dermatologist. After all, the shape is also relatively small. Then, what is the difference between moles and skin tags? Check here!
What is a mole?
Moles usually grow on brown or black skin. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin. Moles are formed because the skin cells in the body instead of spreading but grow and accumulate in groups. These cells are called melanocyte cells that have pigments, which are body dyes.
Each of these melanocyte cells that grow accumulates, which ultimately gives a lot of pigment at a certain point, and the skin looks brown or black. In some people, the color of their moles can also change naturally after exposure to the sun, during adolescence, and during pregnancy.
Some moles usually can change slowly, some may not change at all from the moment they appear.
If you see signs of change in the mole, there are some important things that you need to pay attention to. Because, moles can be the forerunner of the growth of cancer. This is one of the differences in moles and skin tags. However, if there are no changes, you don't need to worry.
The following are important signs of a mole that can become cancer:
- Asymmetry. Half the mole is not symmetrical with half its parts.
- Limit. Limit or the edges of the mole are rough, blurred and irregular.
- Color. The color of the mole is not the same on all surfaces.
- Diameter. The diameter of the mole is larger than the diameter of the pencil eraser
- Stand out. A mole appears lifted or stretched from the skin.
If the five signs occur to you, you should immediately check with a dermatologist.
If the dermatologist discovers that the mole needs to be examined further or removed, the doctor will do a biopsy of the mole first. A biopsy is the process of taking small tissue samples from a mole to be examined.
The tissue sample of the mole will then be examined under a microscope. If it is cancerous, the doctor will remove the entire mole by cutting all parts of the mole to the edges of normal skin around the mole. This is so that there is no spread of cancer cells. Then the doctor will sew the cut.
What are skin tags?
Skin tags in medical languages are called acrochordons. Skin tags are clumps of delicate tissue that hangs on the skin and has a connecting rod. Skin tags are sometimes called meat growth, but this condition is not dangerous and is also not a sign of a serious skin problem.
Skin tags at first look like a small bump. Over time the skin tags grow to become like a piece of skin that attaches to the surface of the skin with small stems. Skin tags are usually colored like skin. This skin tag protrusion is also easily shaken, not rigid. Skin tags do not cause pain, but if you rub too much or shake it, irritation may still occur.
Skin tags are not found in all parts of the body. This is the difference between moles and skin tags that are easily seen. Usually skin tags are found in the neck, chest, back, armpit, under the breast, in the groin area, or in the genital area.
Reporting from the Harvard Medical School page, skin tags are not skin cancer and cannot turn into skin cancer like a mole.
Skin tags appear most often in women, as weight gain also increases the chances of skin tags growing. In addition, heredity also affects a person can have a skin tag from a parent.
If your skin tag interferes with daily activities, you can consult a doctor to eliminate it. Doctors usually remove skin tags with sharp scissors or sharp knives. Some also do it by freezing and burning the stem, but this is less common.
Bleeding when taking skin tags will then be stopped by chemical treatment (aluminum chloride) or electrically (cauterization).
This removal of skin tags is related to beauty problems, but actually it is not an operation needed for health problems.
