So sorry this is not a more glamorous topic...

Anyway, has anyone else had to deal w/those gross little colored pieces of skin that develop on your neck and sometimes under your arms?

How did you remove them?

Did your insurance cover them? (I'm waiting to hear back from a customer service rep. of my insurance company.)

If you had to pay OOP, how much did you pay?

Did you try any at-home remedies? What worked? What didn't work?

TIA

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I have a small one in my left armpit. I had a dermatologist look at it when I found it to make sure that it wasn't a tumor, and he said it was harmless, so I ignore it. The only time I'm even aware of it is when I shave, and I make sure not to catch it with the razor.
I wear sleeveless shirts, camis, halters, etc. and it doesn't bother me for it to be there.

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I had 2 removed last year, they were small and it was a very simple in office procedure (Dermatologist just numbed me and "shaved" it off with a special instrument Translation: Do not try this at home ) Insurance covered everything. All I paid was my co-pay. It was very painless. Good luck, I hope you hear back it's covered by your Ins

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you read my mind...i was coming on to ask this very thing today!!
i have several on my face( mostly by my eyes) and they drive me nuts. they are small and annoy me to no end.

OHIP( ontario health insurance plan) use to cover this years ago( before i got them of course) but now its been de-listed as a service and dh health insurance at work does not cover this , so i will have to pay out of pocket for the visit and when they do it( they want to see them first THEN make another appointment to have it done).

I only get them when I'm pregnant and they are very, very tiny. I usually can't see them but I can feel them.

This might sound yucky, but I pull them off. My first pregnancy the doc said I could pull them off and I did. Sometimes I clip them with clippers, whatever to get them off. I wouldn't say it hurts. I can feel it but it's nothing much. They usually bleed for a minute then all is fine. I would compare it to nicking yourself while shaving. Unpleasant but nothing terrible.

If mine were big, I would not do this.

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You're lucky! My HMO called back and said unless the doctor deems it medically necessary and gets the procedure preauthorized I will have to pay for it myself. Honestly I don't think I will qualify but I will call the doctor's office.

My mother thought there was some OTC ointment that also worked to dry these up but she can't remember what it was. It's actually outside of the normal purpose of the ointment and you would have to put it on twice a day for like a week.

To Phoenyx - to have only one would be wonderful. (I think they increase w/age and time in the sun - IMHO)

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Yes, as I have gotten old, I have a few. They are under my arms and not bothering me at all, so they will just stay there indefinitely.

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I guess I have something to look forward to then - I have no plans to stay out of the sun.

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When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!
Any time God closes one door, She always opens another, even though sometimes it's Hell in the hallway.
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die. (Klingon proverb)
Don't point. You'll poke holes in the air and all the faeries will escape.

Before I tell you what I do, my caveat is that skin tags HAVE TO BE THE SAME COLOR AS YOUR SKIN. If they are any other color than normal skin color (even white-ish), get them checked by a dermatologist.

Skin tags are genetic. Some people get a lot of them. Some don't. I happen to have skin tags in my family. We just snip them off with cuticle scissors or clippers while they're still small. It is no big deal. Sometimes this doesn't even hurt. If they grow too big, snipping them at home is ill-advised. If one grows right back in the same place, don't snip it again. Get it checked out. Of course, you want to do everything you can to avoid infection.

I now snipping them at home isn't 'officially' recommended, but really, isn't this board about frugality? Getting routine little skin tags removed by a dermatologist is just over-kill. It is the difference between cutting your toenails at home and having a podiatrist do it. DO be an informed consumer, however. If a skin tag gives you any reason to be concerned, don't hesitate to get it checked out. This goes double for any skin tag not above the chest. If you're finding skin tags in areas not on your under arms or neck, you might want to ask a doctor.

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I have several tags-a couple under my arms and one or two at the base of my neck. When I was a teenager I had them cut off--seriously, the dermatologist took a scissors and just snipped them off (not that I'm recommending you do that!!). I do remember that they bled quite a bit. Not particularly painful--although I don't remember if the dr gave me any kind of numbing cream beforehand.

HOWEVER---the dumb things just grew back.

So, unless they seriously bother you, I'd just leave them be.

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