Skin Tags- Will They Get Better/ Go Away?

they don't go away.. but it's easy for a doc to clip them off.. they actually do that, they might give you a little shot first.. and then yes, they use some shape scissors and do it... at least in my case.. and one doctor (I don't necessarily recommend this at home :) but did tell me it could easily be done at home.. TRUE story.. :) anyway.. I have to say, when younger and bolder and dumber.. I did try it, and it worked... now, I don't know if I would do that..
They tend to pop up where material rubs against the skin.. like the abdomen where pants may press or around the neck, where a collared shirt may rub or even around the bra strap area... I don't like the sight of them and had mine removed... go to a dermatologist, they see that stuff all the time, they are VERY common... good luck

I got some on my neck with my second and third pregnancies. I've never done anything about them, kinda like my grey hair. I have a few friends that cut them off themselves. My hubby thinks women are nut for plucking their eye brows, so I could only imagine what he'd say if I asked him to help me cut skin tags.

I would probably go to my dermo. however, before they perform any procedures, make sure your insurance covers not just the office visit but the procedures, as this could be coded and/or submitted to the payer as a cosmetic procedure and you could be on the hook for however much the it/they cost. These visits are usually coded by the area of skin affected.

The term you need the provider to secure with the payer is that the procedures are medically necessary. Also, ask your insurance company if you need a preauthorization for anything before it's done. I look in my crystal ball and see your doc suggesting a solution and not going through any preprocedure insurance interaction, billing your insurance and them coming back saying that this was not medically necessary, leaving you with what could be a significant bill.

Some insurance companies want the provider to obtain the authorization and some will give it to you. It's safer if the providers get this prior to doing any work. Your doc wants, and deserves to get paid, and if the payer denies the claim, it will fall to you. Hoping I'm making sense. Good luck. :-) S.

I've had a few.
I just snip them off myself - and then they never come back.
Just sterilize your snips or scissors, use rubbing alcohol on the tag before you snip it, and put a band aid on it if needed.
It's just not something I think I need to pay a doctor for - snipping them off is so easy.

Nope. They won't go away. I'd go with the dermatologist. You'll have no regrets, promise!

I have had skin tags (not related to pregnancy)-- they don't go away. Both my old pcp and dematologist, along with a derm. ophthamologist(had one on my eyelid) have removed them. . Do double check with your insurance. All the insurances I've had that have paid for the removal for non cosmetic reasons, like say they bleed when the seatbelt rubs up your neck or you can see the one on your eyelid and it's obstructing your vision on some level.
And Ive had the ones on my neck done like three times over the past 15 years or so and yes, they're back!

I have skin tags on my neck and along my shoulder and clavicle. Ii haven't done anything about them for a long time because, frankly, they do't bother me, but I have had them removed before when cosmetically they annoyed me. They don't go away on their own, and can come back in new places, at least they have on me.

I've gone to both a primary care doc and a dermatologist to have them removed. All they did was to reeve them off, much as they would a wart. I'd start with your pcp and go from there.

Good luck!

I've snipped my own in the past and on the bigger ones or in more sensitive places I've had my primary doctor snip them. I hate them!!! Lol. But anyway recently I read to dab apple cider vinegar with a cotton ball for several weeks until it falls off. I just bought some yesterday for that exact purpose.

I sometimes get skin tags, especially in the neck area. I used to go to the doctor to have them removed but found it to be a waste of time and money, now I just cut them off myself with a pair of small sharp scissors (which is exactly how they remove them at the doctors office, small scissors or a razor blade). It does not hurt any more or less then having the doctor do it and any bleeding only lasts a moment.

I used to have skin tags under my arm and 2 on my neck where it meets the shoulder. They went away on their own. My daughter got one and it also went away. She was going to clip it but it was gone.

i had my then-nurse-practitioner numb them and she sliced 'em off with a pair of sharp scissors. i asked what the recurrence possibilities were and she said 'excellent.' happily she was wrong- it's been several years and those particular ones haven't come back, but i have new ones.
sigh.
khairete
S.

I have never had any that went away on their own. I have always had to clip them off or use the skin tag drops from Walmart. Why pay a lot of money when it's not expensive?

This is what I do: numb the area with Anbesol, the OTC mouth pain killer(I use the liquid with a Q-tip). Clean your sharpest pointy sewing scissors with rubbing alcohol. Pull the tag away from your neck and snip it as close to the skin as possible. It will bleed a bit so first dab with clean tissue, then dab with a styptic pencil moistened under running water. You can buy the Anbesol in the toothpaste section and styptic pencil in the shaving section of any drug store. The doctor will basically do the same thing. Mine have not come back. For small ones you could also put a drop of liquid wart remover on them, but this will require multiple applications before the tag is gone. It will turn the outer layer of skin white (dead) and that will peel off in a day or so.

I had a lot of skin tags on my neck all through my adolescence. I used to get teased about the hickey on my neck. They never went away and when I was in my 20s I went in to have them removed. I had always been self conscious about them, but had them removed because my necklaces and collars were really starting to rub on them. And one of them had started to look different so I wanted to get it checked just in case. I just went to my general practitioner. I was living in a really small town at the time and there wasn't a dermatologist in the area. I had mine frozen off. There was a little discomfort and I had to wear a dressing for a few days, but I have no regrets. However, two decades later I can still feel where they were and a couple have grown back.

I don't think they go away on their own. I've seen everything from the dental floss treatment (strangle them with a tight length of floss) to razor blades (I worry about people doing this in an unsanitary way) to having the doctor (PCP or dermatologist) remove them. They're harmless but can be unsightly, and they can get rubbed raw if they are near collars, waistbands or bra straps. Maybe you could discuss it with the doctor the next time you are there, but wait until after the baby is born to be sure you aren't going to get more. Then circle the problem ones with a marker so they are easy to show the doctor. (My mother's surgeon actually wrote his signature in pen on her shoulder so the team would know a) which shoulder and b) that he had given the final approval!)

Gaaaaa! I hate them! I only have a couple in my armpit area and they gross me out. I did the floss method with one of them where you tie the floss around skin tag as close to your skin as you can and after a few days it just falls off. I was able to do that one myself. I can't imagine asking my husband to do the others.

Someone told me that there is a product you can buy at pharmacy to do this yourself. I haven't tried it or looked for it, but keep meaning to. I have them on my neck too. I never put two and two together that it happened during pregnancy, but probably did. I got a nasty one under my eye in my lash line. I was told an ophthalmologist would need to remove it where so close to my eye. I also have one on my eye lid.
I had a neighbor who used to snip them off. However hers were very big. Mine are tiny so not sure how that would work.
I've had moles removed. That was worth it and not too bad. I would assume a skin tag would be far less invasive (I had to have stitches with one of my moles, and that healed up great).
If I get name of product, I will pass that on.