Acrochordon

Updated: July 17, 2024

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Background

Acrochordon is the medical name for skin tags. They develop on the skin most frequently where clothing or skin meet such as armpits groin and thighs or in other areas such as face and neck. These deliver a network structure which includes collagen fibers blood vessels and rarely – fats cells. 
Regardless of their age or lifestyle everyone is more prone to depression and depression is more often seen in older people than in younger ones. One of the aiming factors of development is the changes in hormones of a woman pregnancy period heredity and obesity. 
Skin tags can measure from milimeter and go up to several centimeter. They are sometimes perhaps quite small light-skinned or slightly darker.  

Epidemiology

It is expected that around 25 to 46% of average people are experiencing this disorder. 
Skin tags may appear at any age but mostly in the mid-age associated persons and in older men they may be more likely to be detected. Women have a smaller prevalence of cardiovascular diseases than in men. Skin tags develop in the front of the neck underarms groin and also upper eyelids. Places on the body where there is even the slightest movement or friction of the skin against clothing or other skin 
 
Stretch marks can be triggered by genetic predisposition and obesity and elevated insulin failure and hormonal variations during pregnancy. Those who are experiencing diabetes or human papillomavirus cases increase considerably. 

Anatomy

Pathophysiology

Skin tags seem to have a hereditary component to their formation. There may be a hereditary predisposition to skin tags since those who have a family history are more prone to develop among them.  

The development of skin tags may be influenced by hormonal changes. They are more common among pregnant women, perhaps because of hormonal changes.  

Blood arteries, collagen fibers, and fat cells all are present in skin tags. Skin tags may develop due to excessive collagen growth and fibroblast proliferation in the skin. 

Etiology

The skin tags formation may be regulated by the changes in hormone levels. Consequently, due to the reason pregnancy is a common factor which occurs during that time the hormonal changes take place during pregnancy. 
 
There exists a positive correlation between the presence of skin tags and such conditions as obesity and insulin resistance. One of the primary signs is increased incidents in the people with insulin resistance in which the cells don’t respond to insulin. 
 
As people age the amount of physical exposure to frictions and the variations in the hormone over the years also increase therefore the occurrence of skin tags and the number of skin tags become more observable worldwide. 

Genetics

Prognostic Factors

Age: These skin tags are more likely to develop with advancing age. 
Obesity: Skin tags are common among overweight people and this is believed to be a result of skin folds and increased friction which the body cannot surmount. 
Genetics: The fact that some people may have a genetic background to the skin tags existence is to be taken into account. Genes can be passed on or inherited from parents. 
Hormonal Changes: The hormone fluctuations that can occur during pregnancy or as in individuals with conditions such as PCOS might be the underlying cause of the occurrence of skin tags. 

Clinical History

Age Group:   

Acrochordon can affect supposedly any age group, from the infants to the elders. The most common is the case with elderly people, widely ranging ages 50 or more.
Skin tags can form and occur at any period according to age but they are not as common as grow older thus their number increases.  

Physical Examination

Location assessment 

Size assessment 

Texture assessment 

Stalk or Base assessment  

Age group

Associated comorbidity

Insulin resistance 

Metabolic syndrome 

Acromegaly  

Pregnancy 

PCOD 

Associated activity

Acuity of presentation

It is usually noticed in the visual form of the skin because it does not have any indicators or symptoms. They may be detected as a routine during the course of the exam or the time spent on ordinary grooming procedures. Skin tags frequently have not a definite colour size or texture and are almost never troublesome. Skin tags are more often than not simple and slow-growing clusters of fibers. 
They generally do not need to be seen by a doctor immediately unless they turn into a problem for the person or they start to become a cosmetic issue that needs to be taken care of first. 
Development of a skin tag may go ahead and eventually become bigger than it was when it started to grow. They may prevail for months or years down without being arose some profound alterations or complications.  

Differential Diagnoses

Seborrheic Keratosis 

Cutaneous Papilloma 

Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra 

Neurofibroma 

Molluscum Contagiosum 

Laboratory Studies

Imaging Studies

Procedures

Histologic Findings

Staging

Treatment Paradigm

Observation and Reassurance: Many skin tags are without symptoms and some of them do not require any medical assistance. A conservative approach is considered as the first step for small insignificant unirritated tags that do not cause substantial cosmetic issues or discomfort. Therefore an observation approach with reassurance can be appropriate. 
Use Home Remedies: Even though not medically proved many beings may try at-home remedies to remove the fibroma. Therefore, these may be among the practical measures that someone can use at their home by for instance the application of over-the-counter topical treatments such as tea tree oil or apple cider vinegar. 
Professional Removal Techniques: Surgical excision is the method which is used by cutting off the tissue with small and sharp scissors and scalpel. This Operation often carried out in the hospital with the effective local anesthesia procedures to provide the patient with maximum comfort. 
Topical Treatments: Topically-delivered treatments like the creams or gels that are infused with ingredients such as salicylic acid or retinoids will likely be recommended so as to gradually and painlessly dissolve or shrink the growths.  

by Stage

by Modality

Chemotherapy

Radiation Therapy

Surgical Interventions

Hormone Therapy

Immunotherapy

Hyperthermia

Photodynamic Therapy

Stem Cell Transplant

Targeted Therapy

Palliative Care

use-of-non-pharmacological-approach-for-acrochordon

Avoid Friction: Skin tags are one such type of lesions which can be spotted in those places where skin encounters skin or clothing. Shapeless clothes made of silk or cotton that enable breathability in them can help in minimizing friction and discomfort around skin tags. 
Keep Skin Dry: Humidity can significantly elevate the intensity of irritation and friction around skin tags. Therefore, it’s necessary to protect the affected areas from moisture as much as possible. Just be sure that it is clean and dry of course especially at areas like the armpits and groin where sweat is likely to accumulate. Aside from this do pick clothes that you could easily change when you get sweaty. 
Weight Management: Such things as skin tags seem to be more likely to occur in people who are overweight or obese due to the fact that as fat people their weight can increase friction and irritation. 
Regular Skin Care: By practicing correct skin hygiene and giving your skin what it needs on a regular basis you can help prevent the development of skin tags and minimize your skin atoning to the infection. 
 
Protective Measures: When scheduled with barrier cream or ointment like petroleum jelly or zinc oxide between skin tags they get protection against abrasion or irritation. 
Avoid Trauma: Unlike the healthy skin the skin tags are susceptible to trauma, lacerations or cessations and often result in bleeding and inflammations or infections. Maintaining restraint through avoidance of pinching and inflicting and massaging skin tags would go a long way in minimizing irritations and avoid resulting complications. 

Use of Topical Essential Oils

Tea tree oil: Anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory functions of this oil are well-documented. Some single drops of diluted oils on skin tags to make them less visible or used for complete removal. 

Use of Topical Retinoids

Tretinoin: This medication is frequently prescribed acne cases as well as for prevention of wrinkles. The following skin peeling products are type of agents which stimulate cell turnover and make the skin thinner. 

use-of-intervention-with-a-procedure-in-treating-acrochordon

Excision: Surgical excision implies removing the skin tag mechanically using a clean pair of scissors or a scalpel. This procedure usually takes place in hospital after they have administered numbing shot which can ease the pain. 
Cautery: Cautery (electricals, diathermy and others) is a way of burning the skin tags with an electric current. This method cauterizes the blood vessels. 
Ligation: Ligation is the technique where the base of the skin tag is ligated with a suture or a nylon with the sole aim to block off its blood supply.  
Cryotherapy: The treatment by cryotherapy only mean targeting the skin tag with liquid nitrogen for freezing it. It results in skin tag’s blistering and consequently release from its surface. 

use-of-phases-in-managing-acrochordon

Assessment and Diagnosis: During the initial management stage the evaluation of the skin tags and the process of diagnosis is completed. The target healthcare provider will perform a physical examination which entails looking at how large the skin tag is where it is found and any other features. 
Conservative Management: Skin tags may not cause symptoms thus not warranting treatment in several instances. Conservative approach like watchful waiting and reassurance may be opted for in such case of small skin tags which are not an obstruction to daily activities or very visibly irritating. 
Follow-Up and Monitoring: Following the treatment patients should be examined by specialists on if there’s been a recurrence complications or side effects.  

Medication

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Acrochordon

Updated : July 17, 2024

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Acrochordon is the medical name for skin tags. They develop on the skin most frequently where clothing or skin meet such as armpits groin and thighs or in other areas such as face and neck. These deliver a network structure which includes collagen fibers blood vessels and rarely – fats cells. 
Regardless of their age or lifestyle everyone is more prone to depression and depression is more often seen in older people than in younger ones. One of the aiming factors of development is the changes in hormones of a woman pregnancy period heredity and obesity. 
Skin tags can measure from milimeter and go up to several centimeter. They are sometimes perhaps quite small light-skinned or slightly darker.  

It is expected that around 25 to 46% of average people are experiencing this disorder. 
Skin tags may appear at any age but mostly in the mid-age associated persons and in older men they may be more likely to be detected. Women have a smaller prevalence of cardiovascular diseases than in men. Skin tags develop in the front of the neck underarms groin and also upper eyelids. Places on the body where there is even the slightest movement or friction of the skin against clothing or other skin 
 
Stretch marks can be triggered by genetic predisposition and obesity and elevated insulin failure and hormonal variations during pregnancy. Those who are experiencing diabetes or human papillomavirus cases increase considerably. 

Skin tags seem to have a hereditary component to their formation. There may be a hereditary predisposition to skin tags since those who have a family history are more prone to develop among them.  

The development of skin tags may be influenced by hormonal changes. They are more common among pregnant women, perhaps because of hormonal changes.  

Blood arteries, collagen fibers, and fat cells all are present in skin tags. Skin tags may develop due to excessive collagen growth and fibroblast proliferation in the skin. 

The skin tags formation may be regulated by the changes in hormone levels. Consequently, due to the reason pregnancy is a common factor which occurs during that time the hormonal changes take place during pregnancy. 
 
There exists a positive correlation between the presence of skin tags and such conditions as obesity and insulin resistance. One of the primary signs is increased incidents in the people with insulin resistance in which the cells don’t respond to insulin. 
 
As people age the amount of physical exposure to frictions and the variations in the hormone over the years also increase therefore the occurrence of skin tags and the number of skin tags become more observable worldwide. 

Age: These skin tags are more likely to develop with advancing age. 
Obesity: Skin tags are common among overweight people and this is believed to be a result of skin folds and increased friction which the body cannot surmount. 
Genetics: The fact that some people may have a genetic background to the skin tags existence is to be taken into account. Genes can be passed on or inherited from parents. 
Hormonal Changes: The hormone fluctuations that can occur during pregnancy or as in individuals with conditions such as PCOS might be the underlying cause of the occurrence of skin tags. 

Age Group:   

Acrochordon can affect supposedly any age group, from the infants to the elders. The most common is the case with elderly people, widely ranging ages 50 or more.
Skin tags can form and occur at any period according to age but they are not as common as grow older thus their number increases.  

Location assessment 

Size assessment 

Texture assessment 

Stalk or Base assessment  

Insulin resistance 

Metabolic syndrome 

Acromegaly  

Pregnancy 

PCOD 

It is usually noticed in the visual form of the skin because it does not have any indicators or symptoms. They may be detected as a routine during the course of the exam or the time spent on ordinary grooming procedures. Skin tags frequently have not a definite colour size or texture and are almost never troublesome. Skin tags are more often than not simple and slow-growing clusters of fibers. 
They generally do not need to be seen by a doctor immediately unless they turn into a problem for the person or they start to become a cosmetic issue that needs to be taken care of first. 
Development of a skin tag may go ahead and eventually become bigger than it was when it started to grow. They may prevail for months or years down without being arose some profound alterations or complications.  

Seborrheic Keratosis 

Cutaneous Papilloma 

Dermatosis Papulosa Nigra 

Neurofibroma 

Molluscum Contagiosum 

Observation and Reassurance: Many skin tags are without symptoms and some of them do not require any medical assistance. A conservative approach is considered as the first step for small insignificant unirritated tags that do not cause substantial cosmetic issues or discomfort. Therefore an observation approach with reassurance can be appropriate. 
Use Home Remedies: Even though not medically proved many beings may try at-home remedies to remove the fibroma. Therefore, these may be among the practical measures that someone can use at their home by for instance the application of over-the-counter topical treatments such as tea tree oil or apple cider vinegar. 
Professional Removal Techniques: Surgical excision is the method which is used by cutting off the tissue with small and sharp scissors and scalpel. This Operation often carried out in the hospital with the effective local anesthesia procedures to provide the patient with maximum comfort. 
Topical Treatments: Topically-delivered treatments like the creams or gels that are infused with ingredients such as salicylic acid or retinoids will likely be recommended so as to gradually and painlessly dissolve or shrink the growths.  

Dermatology, General

Avoid Friction: Skin tags are one such type of lesions which can be spotted in those places where skin encounters skin or clothing. Shapeless clothes made of silk or cotton that enable breathability in them can help in minimizing friction and discomfort around skin tags. 
Keep Skin Dry: Humidity can significantly elevate the intensity of irritation and friction around skin tags. Therefore, it’s necessary to protect the affected areas from moisture as much as possible. Just be sure that it is clean and dry of course especially at areas like the armpits and groin where sweat is likely to accumulate. Aside from this do pick clothes that you could easily change when you get sweaty. 
Weight Management: Such things as skin tags seem to be more likely to occur in people who are overweight or obese due to the fact that as fat people their weight can increase friction and irritation. 
Regular Skin Care: By practicing correct skin hygiene and giving your skin what it needs on a regular basis you can help prevent the development of skin tags and minimize your skin atoning to the infection. 
 
Protective Measures: When scheduled with barrier cream or ointment like petroleum jelly or zinc oxide between skin tags they get protection against abrasion or irritation. 
Avoid Trauma: Unlike the healthy skin the skin tags are susceptible to trauma, lacerations or cessations and often result in bleeding and inflammations or infections. Maintaining restraint through avoidance of pinching and inflicting and massaging skin tags would go a long way in minimizing irritations and avoid resulting complications. 

Dermatology, General

Tea tree oil: Anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory functions of this oil are well-documented. Some single drops of diluted oils on skin tags to make them less visible or used for complete removal. 

Dermatology, General

Tretinoin: This medication is frequently prescribed acne cases as well as for prevention of wrinkles. The following skin peeling products are type of agents which stimulate cell turnover and make the skin thinner. 

Dermatology, General

Excision: Surgical excision implies removing the skin tag mechanically using a clean pair of scissors or a scalpel. This procedure usually takes place in hospital after they have administered numbing shot which can ease the pain. 
Cautery: Cautery (electricals, diathermy and others) is a way of burning the skin tags with an electric current. This method cauterizes the blood vessels. 
Ligation: Ligation is the technique where the base of the skin tag is ligated with a suture or a nylon with the sole aim to block off its blood supply.  
Cryotherapy: The treatment by cryotherapy only mean targeting the skin tag with liquid nitrogen for freezing it. It results in skin tag’s blistering and consequently release from its surface. 

Dermatology, General

Assessment and Diagnosis: During the initial management stage the evaluation of the skin tags and the process of diagnosis is completed. The target healthcare provider will perform a physical examination which entails looking at how large the skin tag is where it is found and any other features. 
Conservative Management: Skin tags may not cause symptoms thus not warranting treatment in several instances. Conservative approach like watchful waiting and reassurance may be opted for in such case of small skin tags which are not an obstruction to daily activities or very visibly irritating. 
Follow-Up and Monitoring: Following the treatment patients should be examined by specialists on if there’s been a recurrence complications or side effects.  

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