Fibromas or skin tags are small, sometimes elongated, soft, brown or normal skin-colored bumps that often appear in areas of friction such as the neck, armpits, or groin.
They can sometimes grow quite large (up to several centimeters), but this is quite rare. They do not usually cause any symptoms, although they can be a little annoying when they catch on shirt collars or jewelry.
Fibromas are extremely common, with almost half of all people having at least one (49%), so they can be considered almost “healthy skin.”
Skin tags are not contagious
Fibromas or skin tags are not a type of wart, so they are not contagious. It is often thought that rubbing one, or occasional bleeding, can cause more fibromas to appear around it, but this is not the case. The fibromas that appear on our skin do so independently of those around them or anything we may have done.
Older people, obese people, or people with diabetes are more likely to have skin tags.
However, they can be more common in certain specific cases:
- Older people: the older we are, the more likely we are to develop fibromas. Six out of ten people aged 70 have them.
- Obese or overweight people.
- People with type 2 diabetes.
- People with a family history of numerous fibromas.
Fibromas can be confused with other similar skin lesions such as viral warts, intradermal nevi (a type of mole), neurofibromas, or basal cell carcinomas. No specific tests are needed to differentiate them; dermatologists (I work as an online dermatologist and may be able to help you) can diagnose them with a simple examination.
It is not necessary to remove fibromas, as they are lesions that pose no risk. In any case, they can be removed for cosmetic or comfort reasons. There are different ways to do this, all of them very simple, but I will talk about that in another post :).
