You notice a small growth on your neck, underarm or another part of your body. At first, you may assume it’s a wart, but could it actually be a skin tag?
Although they can sometimes look similar, warts and skin tags are different types of skin growths with different causes. Understanding warts vs skin tags can help you recognise their typical characteristics and know when it is important to have a growth examined by a healthcare professional.
Here’s what you should know.
What Are Warts?
Warts are generally benign skin growths caused by certain types of the human papillomavirus (HPV). The virus can enter the outer layer of the skin and cause increased skin-cell growth, resulting in a wart.
Warts can occur on different parts of the body and their appearance varies according to the type and location.
What Do Warts Look Like?
Common warts are often:
- Rough or grainy to the touch
- Raised above the surrounding skin
- Round or irregularly shaped
- Skin-coloured, greyish or brown
- Sometimes dotted with tiny dark spots
Those dark dots can be small clotted blood vessels rather than “roots,” as is sometimes believed.
Warts frequently develop on the hands and fingers, although different types can appear elsewhere on the body.
What Are Skin Tags?
Skin tags are small, non-cancerous skin growths. Unlike warts, they are not caused by HPV and are not considered contagious.
They commonly develop in areas where skin rubs against skin or clothing.
What Do Skin Tags Look Like?
A typical skin tag is:
- Soft and smooth
- Flesh-coloured or slightly darker
- Small and raised
- Often attached to the skin by a thin stalk
- Usually painless
Skin tags frequently appear around the neck, armpits, groin, eyelids and underneath the breasts.
Warts vs Skin Tags: What’s the Main Difference?
When comparing warts vs skin tags, texture and appearance provide useful clues.
Warts are commonly rougher and firmer. Skin tags tend to be softer and may appear to hang from the skin.
Their causes are also different. Warts are associated with HPV infection, whereas skin tags are harmless overgrowths of skin tissue and are often associated with friction.
Another important distinction is that some warts can spread from one area of the body to another or between people through direct contact. Skin tags do not spread this way.
However, appearance alone cannot always provide a definite diagnosis.
Where Do Warts and Skin Tags Usually Appear?
Location can sometimes offer additional clues when considering warts vs skin tags.
Common Areas for Warts
Warts can develop on the hands, fingers, feet, face and other areas. Genital warts occur around the genital or anal region and require appropriate medical evaluation.
Common Areas for Skin Tags
Skin tags often develop in skin folds and areas exposed to friction, including the neck, armpits, groin and underneath the breasts.
People may also notice them around the eyelids.
Are Warts and Skin Tags Dangerous?
Most common warts and skin tags are benign.
However, not every bump or growth on the skin is a wart or skin tag. Moles and several other skin conditions can sometimes be mistaken for them.
This is why unusual or changing growths should not automatically be treated at home.
When Should You See a Healthcare Professional?
Have a skin growth professionally assessed if it:
- Bleeds without an obvious reason
- Changes rapidly in size, shape or colour
- Becomes persistently painful
- Develops unusual colouring
- Appears infected
- Is located around the genitals
- Cannot confidently be identified
A healthcare professional or dermatologist can examine the growth and recommend appropriate treatment if needed.
Can You Remove Warts or Skin Tags Yourself?
Trying to cut, burn or aggressively remove an unidentified skin growth at home can cause bleeding, infection, scarring or damage to surrounding skin.
For warts, healthcare professionals may use treatments such as salicylic acid preparations or procedures including cryotherapy, depending on the type and location.
Skin tags that are bothersome can also be professionally removed using appropriate techniques.
Before treating anything, however, getting the identification right matters.
What About Ekiema Warts and Skin Infection Solution?
Ekiema Wellness, a Top Herbal Remedy brand in Nigeria and the number 1 alternative and herbal remedies company in Nigeria offers Warts and Skin Infection Solution as part of its herbal skin-wellness range.
Warts and Skin Infection Solution is an effective remedy and top choice solution for wart-related concerns
Visit www.ekiemawellness.com.ng to explore Warts and Skin Infection Solution and other Ekiema Wellness products.
