Skin Tags and Seborrheic Keratoses

Nuisances You don’t have to put up with. As time goes on, we all acquire tiny bits of extra skin called skin tags. These can range in size from 1-10 mm, and are flesh colored or brown.

Skin tags can be found on any part of the body, but are most common on the eyelids and neck, and in the armpits and groin, and under the breasts.  While skin tags are benign they can be annoying if they become irritating or rub on sporting equipment, and skin tags can interfere with shaving and can detract from one’s appearance and self-image.

Fortunately, we don’t have to put up with skin tags. These little annoyances can be easily removed in an office visit with little or no discomfort. Skin tags can almost always be removed without needing stitches, and the treated areas usually have healed completely in a week or two.

The cost of removing skin tags is quite reasonable - ranging from about $80 for a few tiny ones to about $200 for a larger number scattered over several areas.

Seborrheic keratoses are firm flat or raised, sometimes scaly or crusty flesh-colored, brown or black “barnacles” which accumulate (usually on the face and trunk) as time goes on. Some people start to develop seborrheic keratoses in their thirties, and most people have at least a few by the time they are sixty. To look at pictures of different types of moles, click on www.SkinCancerGuide.ca .

Seborrheic keratoses are usually just a nuisance, but - like skin tags — they can rub on clothing and equipment, and their appearance can sometimes be so distressing that they interfere with choice of clothing, sports like swimming, and intimacy.  Because seborrheic keratoses grow above the skin (but not down into the skin) they can be easily scraped off, and the treated areas heal up nicely within a few weeks. Sometimes the healed area remains pink for a few months after the seborrheic keratosis is removed.

The cost of removing seborrheic keratoses is similar to that for removal of skin tags: about $80 for one or two, with the cost gradually increasing depending on the number and size of seborrheic keratoses to be removed.

The cost of removing skin tags and seborrheic keratoses is a tax-deductible medical expense, just like things like dental bills.  So, if you are annoyed by skin tags or seborrheic keratoses you can be confident that it is simple and inexpensive to rid yourself of these nuisances.

By Kevin C. Smith MD FACP FRCPC

Types and Causes of Warts

A wart (also known as verruca) is generally a small, rough tumor, typically on hands and feet but often other locations, that can resemble a cauliflower or a solid blister. Warts are common, and are caused by a viral infection, specifically by the human papillomavirus (HPV) and are contagious when in contact with the skin of an infected person. It is also possible to get warts from using towels or other objects used by an infected person. They typically disappear after a few months but can last for years and can recur.

Warts are caused by a virus called human papilloma virus or HPV. There are approximately 100 strains of human papilloma viruses. Type 1, 2, and 3 causes most of the common warts. Type 1 is associated with deep plantar (sole of the feet) and palmar warts (palm of the hand). Type 2 causes common warts, filiform warts, plantar warts, mosaic plantar warts. Type 3 causes plane warts, or commonly known as flat warts. Anogenital warts are caused by types 6, 11, 16, 18, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 39, 40 and others. HPV types 6 and 11 cause about 90% of genital warts cases. HPV types 16 and 18 currently cause about 70% of cervical cancer cases, and also cause some vulvar, vaginal, penile and anal cancers. Gardasil, a vaccine for HPV is designed to prevent infection with HPV types 16, 18, 6, and 11; it is claimed to prevent infections to other strains of anogenital warts through cross protection against other types of HPVs. HPV is associated with oral cancer, laryngeal cancers, tracheal and lung cancers.

Types of wart

A range of different types of wart has been identified, varying in shape and site affected, as well as the type of human papillomavirus involved. These include

• Common wart (Verruca vulgaris), a raised wart with roughened surface, most common on hands and knees;
• Flat wart (Verruca plana), a small, smooth flattened wart, flesh coloured, which can occur in large numbers; most common on the face, neck, hands, wrists and knees;
• Filiform or digitate wart, a thread- or finger-like wart, most common on the face, especially near the eyelids and lips;
• Plantar wart (verruca, Verruca pedis), a hard sometimes painful lump, often with multiple black specks in the center; usually only found on pressure points on the soles of the feet;
• Mosaic wart, a group of tightly clustered plantar-type warts, commonly on the hands or soles of the feet;
• Genital wart (venereal wart, Condyloma acuminatum, Verruca acuminata), a wart that occurs on the genitalia.