When Are Skin Tags and Cysts Cause for Concern?

As the largest organ, the skin protects the body from the elements. It also regulates our internal temperature and allows us to experience the sense of touch, thanks to over 1,000 nerve endings. 

From time to time, it’s not unusual to notice little bumps and tags that crop up on your skin. Why do they develop, how serious are they, and should you seek treatment?

Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Abdul Hafeez and the team at the Center for Dermatology offer advanced treatment for many skin conditions, including skin tags and cysts. 

Cysts

Cysts are small, fluid-filled pockets that develop underneath your skin — skin cells constitute the cyst walls, filling the cyst with the protein keratin. 

The two cyst types are epidermoid — which typically appear on your trunk, neck, and face — and trichilemmal, which emanate from your hair follicles and show up most often on your face, neck, legs, and arms.

Though both types of cysts are benign, they can become a nuisance by:

• Growing bigger
• Becoming inflamed
• Breaking open
• Becoming infected

You have a higher chance of developing a skin cyst if one of your hair follicles becomes blocked, you’re injured, or a sebaceous gland breaks. The purpose of these glands is the production of the oily substance sebum. 

Fortunately, we can treat any cyst that becomes painful, infected, or unsightly. Removal involves a brief in-office visit, where your Center for Dermatology provider gently makes an incision in the cyst to drain it. 

Another effective treatment is injecting the cyst with a corticosteroid medication to encourage shrinkage. 

We also offer surgical cyst removal, sharply decreasing the chances the cyst returns.

Skin tags

Another benign skin growth you may want removed is a skin tag. These little extensions match your skin tone and grow to hang off various spots on your skin. We often see them on our patients’ eyelids and underarms and within folds of the body. 

Skin tags are idiopathic, meaning we can’t link them to a definitive cause or causes. We know a hereditary connection exists — if your family is prone to skin tags, you’re more likely to be. Irritated skin, pregnancy, and aging also make skin tags more likely.

Similar to cysts, skin tags are benign but may require treatment if located where they frequently contact clothing. The continuous rubbing causes them to become irritated.

Unfortunately, once a skin tag grows and the stubborn stalk that connects it to your skin is firmly in place, it’s not going anywhere. We see patients who want to remove skin tags when they’re visible, such as on the neck or eyelids, or have grown quite large.

The bigger skin tags become, the greater the chance they become painful and irritated from chafing or actually getting caught in or on something, like a zipper or piece of jewelry.

As with cysts, we can remove skin tags quickly, easily, and comfortably during a routine office visit. There’s no downtime associated with removal, and you can go back to your routine afterward.

Don’t let skin cysts and tags concern you or get you down. If you need care, we’re happy to treat them so you can be free from discomfort or embarrassment by how they look.

Call our Lawrenceville, Georgia, office at 770-682-2500 to schedule an appointment, or book your visit online. We proudly serve the many communities in and surrounding Gwinnett County.