If you have discovered the presence of anal skin
tags you will be re-assured to know that these anal
skin tags are much the same as those skin tags that
grow in our armpit, neck, eyelids. Even groin
skin tags are common. The anal skin tags are shapeless
tags or flaps of skin or flesh found at the anal verge.
Anal skin tags are an extremely common condition and
are mostly harmless. Often the condition can be found
as genital
skin tags, which are also quite harmless. The
soft skin, which is usually flesh colored, or sometimes
darker than the surrounding skin area, hangs on the
opening of the anus by a stalk or stem that supplies
the blood from the skin to the tag.
However you need to be aware that anal skin tags
are usually associated with other anorectal problems
and may come about as a result of an injury, a hemorrhoid
or an anal fissure. They may well be an indicator
of a more serious rectal ailment that needs medical
attention. For example skin tags and anal fissures
often occur together in the anal area.
Skin Tag Infection for Treatment
In addition, cleanliness can be a problem with anal
skin tags, as fecal debris may become trapped under
the tag. If you have several tags, the problem is
multiplied and infection becomes a possibility.
Sometimes anal tags may itch, be painful or cause
anxiety or hygienic problems while a sexual partner
might be wary of having relationships when such anal
skin tags are present.
Medication Options
For all these reasons, it makes sense to have remove
skin tags and there are several ways in which
this can be done:
Small tags can be removed by excision after a local
anesthetic has been administered.
Extensive tags would necessitate surgery in the
operating theatre under a general anesthesia.
o Cryotherapy which would be done by
freezing
skin tags with liquid nitrogen.
Lasers which are used to eliminate the anal skin tags
while simultaneously re-surfacing the anal area thereby
producing good cosmetic results.
Healing natural oil products which can be used in
the privacy of your own home.
Insurance
In the USA, most medical insurance companies have
stopped paying for the removal of skin tags wherever
they appear. They consider their removal to be merely
for cosmetic reasons or in the “medically unnecessary”
category. So the cost of their removal has to be taken
into account when weighing up the different methods
of removal.
It is also imperative that the cause of the skin
tags in the anal area be addressed too. Such causes
can be:
When you have hemorrhoids. These are swollen veins
inside the anus. If these hemorrhoids are left untreated,
there can be acute swelling so that the tissue swelling
extends to the anal skin, thereby causing skin tags.
This can happen even in the absence of bleeding from
the hemorrhoids. The anal skin tag’s blood supply
from the hemorhoidal artery may then give rise to
the development of an even larger hemorrhoid.
If you have previously had rectal surgery, those
swollen skin edges may also develop into anal skin
tags.
Anal skin tags may occur when you have a condition
called anal fissures. An anal fissure is a small tear
in the anus usually as a result of a hard stool.
Final Note
So if you have anal skin tags, then you have the
problem of (a) treating the skin tags themselves by
removal and (b) treating whatever condition is causing
the anal skin tags to occur in the first place. But
this problem is not insurmountable and your doctor
or healthcare provider will be able to help and advise
you on the right course of skin
tag treatment. You will also need to ensure good
bowel habits by improving your diet; by eating healthily
with plenty of fiber and water; by increasing your
exercise and by losing weight if necessary.
It is important for you to know that anal skin tags
have absolutely nothing to do with anal intercourse
or sexually transmitted diseases.
Go
to our Skin Tag Removal page