Skin Tags
A skin tag is a common, benign condition that consists of a bit of skin that projects from the surrounding skin and may appear attached to the skin. Skin tags can vary quite a bit in appearance. They may be smooth or irregular, flesh colored or more deeply pigmented, and either simply be raised above the surrounding skin or have a stalk (a peduncle) so that the skin tag hangs from the skin.
Skin tags can occur almost anywhere there is skin. However, favorite areas for tags are the eyelids, neck, armpits, upper chest, and groin. They are much more common with age beginning in middle age and they tend to be somewhat more prevalent in women than men.
This tiny skin growth generally causes no symptoms unless it is repeatedly irritated as, for example, by a piece of clothing. In cases in which a skin tag is irritated or cosmetically unwanted, treatment may be done by freezing the tag with liquid nitrogen or cutting off (excising) the tag with a scalpel or scissors.
|
|
|
Moles
Moles are growths on the skin that are usually brown or black. Moles can appear anywhere on the skin, alone or in groups.
Moles can change slowly, becoming raised, change in color, or develop hairs. Moles occur when cells in the skin grow in a cluster instead of being spread throughout the skin. These cells are called melanocytes, and they make the pigment that gives skin its natural color. Moles may darken after exposure to the sun, during the teen years, and during pregnancy.
Types of Moles:- Congenital nevi - moles that appear at birth. These moles may be more likely to develop into melanoma (cancer) than are moles that appear after birth. If the mole is more than eight inches in diameter, it poses a significant risk of becoming cancerous.
- Dysplastic nevi – moles that are larger than average (larger than a pencil eraser) and irregular in shape, uneven in color with dark brown centers and lighter, uneven edges. These moles tend to be hereditary and often people with this mole develop many of the same type all over their body.
|
|
|
What to Watch For
Most moles are not dangerous. The moles that are of medical concern are those which look different than other existing moles or those are changing. If you notice changes in a mole's color, height, size or shape, you should have a dermatologist (skin doctor) evaluate it. You also should have moles checked if they bleed, ooze, itch, appear scaly, or become tender or painful. Examine your skin with a mirror or ask someone to help you. Pay special attention to areas of your skin that are often exposed to the sun, such as the hands, arms, chest, neck, face, and ears.
Checklist to Consider:
- Asymmetry: One half of the mole does not match the other half.
- Border: The border or edges of the mole are ragged, blurred, or irregular.
- Color: The color of the mole is not the same throughout or has shades of tan, brown, black, blue, white, or red.
- Diameter: The diameter of a mole is larger than the eraser of a pencil.
- Evolving: The mole is changing. This may be the most important consideration.
If a dermatologist believes a mole needs to be evaluated further or removed entirely, he or she will either remove the entire mole, or first take just a small tissue sample of the mole to examine thin sections of the tissue under a microscope (a biopsy). This is a simple procedure. (If the dermatologist thinks the mole might be cancerous, cutting through the mole will not cause the cancer to spread.)
If the mole is found to be cancerous, and only a small section of tissue was taken, the dermatologist will remove the entire mole by cutting out the entire mole and a rim of normal skin around it, and stitching the wound closed.
|
|
|