Skin tag removal is sometimes best left to the trained professional - your dermatologist.
What are skin tags? Skin tags are little growths of skin that look like a little piece of cauliflower and often appear on the most unusual parts of your body -your face, neck, under arms. And, for the ladies, these little growths of skin sometimes appear under your breasts and around the pubic area - most annoying.
Soldering Iron Gun
Like most reasons for a doctor visit, it is really nice to be able to know what to expect when you're actually on the exam table
Since these growths are actually a part of your skin (no matter how foreign or gross they actually look) and not a virus like a wart, your doctor must use some type of technique to remove this growth from your skin. With all of the modern medical miracles available nowadays, there really is no need for discomfort or pain during any of these procedures. Your physician and his nurse are trained to make you feel as comfortable as possible, no matter how they remove these irritating skin growths.
Excise The Tag
Excision of the tag (cutting it off with a scalpel) is probably the easiest and most direct way to remove your these growths. That's how I had mine removed. It was located under my arm, towards my back - a very inconvenient place, indeed. My clothing would irritate it and make it bleed - a great way to ruin a nice sweater!
My dermatologist's nurse gave me a light shot of Novocaine to deaden the skin. Then, the doctor quickly cut off the growth, applied one stitch to help healing, and then stuck on a band-aid. In literally 10 minutes, I was out the door! There was no pain (even from the shot), and the only thing I felt was a lighter wallet as I had to pay for the procedure! And, I never had another skin tag in area ever again.
Freeze It Off
Cryotherapy, or using extremely cold temperatures to freeze the skin tag literally off the body can be a very effective and painless way to get rid of these growths. Depending on the size, your doctor may decide this procedure is best for you.
When using cryotherapy to remove skin growths, your physician will spray the area with liquid nitrogen (about 321 degrees Fahrenheit below zero). As you can imagine, this extremely low temperature kills tissue almost immediately! And, it's practically painless. I've had a few skin growths removed this way and it does not hurt - no matter how bad it sounds.
The area blisters a little and falls off in a few days - to be replaced with nice, smooth skin! A very easy procedure, indeed.
Burn It Off
Cauterization is essentially burning off the skin tag - usually with an electric current. Once again - this really isn't as bad as it sounds. And again, I've had some skin growths removed this way as well.
Your dermatologist will use a device that looks a lot like a soldering iron - remember those from jr. high? He'll place a grounding paddle under some exposed area of your body, then will proceed to literally burn the skin tag right off!
Cauterization is very effective and the heat seals off the blood vessels - no bleeding! But, it does sting a little bit. Nothing terrible, but I did feel more from this technique that from the others. But, it really wasn't what I'd describe as bad.
Trust your doctor to make the right choice of treatment for your skin tag removal. He's got the training, experience and equipment to practically guarantee a great outcome for whatever skin care problem you've got.