Is A Painful Skin Tag A Serious Medical Issue ?

Posted on Wed, 18 Mar 2020

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 Answered on

Last reviewed on

Question : Is a painful skin tag a serious medical issue ? Ι have a skin tag under my armpit that is painful like a needle with some hand movement.Should i watch a doctor dermatologist immediately.Here we are in quarantine for coronovirus and telemedicine is not an option in this case i think...

Answered by Dr. Asmeet Kaur Sawhney (13 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Painful skin tag means infection or inflammation in the tag

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Welcome to ask a doctor service
I have gone through your query and understand your concern.
Pain in the skin tag indicates either an infection or inflammation.
It is not an emergency.
I would recommend you to get it removed whenever it’s feasible.
Meanwhile apply a topical antibiotic like fusidic acid cream or neosporin ointment on the affected area twice daily and take anti inflammatory medicines like tablet ibuprofen for pain relief.
Regards
Dr Asmeet

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad