Genital warts (HPV) vs. skin tags:
establishing the diagnosis

• A skin tag looks like a deflated balloon on a stalk.
• The base of the stalk is very thin, and it can be separated from the skin easily.

• Genital warts, unlike skin tags, are flat and have a broader base, and they're usually firmly attached to the skin.
• If the growth is pedunculated (it consists of finger-like projections), the width of the skin lesion at its base and top is the same, unlike with skin tags, which are bigger on top and have a much thinner base.

• Skin tags can be different colors: the color of the patient's skin (rarely), lighter, or (most commonly) darker. The color can change over time. Color differences are not cause for concern.

• Genital warts are usually the color of the patient's skin. Occasionally they are darker.

• Skin tags are very soft to the touch.
• They can bend easily since they usually have a thinner base and bigger top.

• Genital warts are hard to the touch, with a rough and bumpy surface resembling cauliflower.
• They are usually flat (unless they are pedunculated) and not freely movable because of their broader base.

• A skin tag is usually a solitary growth.
• When there's more than one skin tag, they're separated by normal skin and they're widespread, affecting different parts of the body at the same time.

• Genital warts can appear in clusters. This is because, unlike skin tags, genital warts are infectious and can spread (through scratching and shaving) to adjacent tissue more easily than to more distant areas.

• armpit
• neck
• under large breasts
• groin creases

• pubic area
• shaft of the penis
• area around the anus

• History of the condition
• Patient age
• Prevalence of the condition in the geographic area
• Patient's genetic predisposition
• Other conditions that predispose the patient to the growth in question

1.  Why was the growth noticed? (Are there any symptoms, or was it accidentally noticed?)

2.  How is it changing over time? (Is its appearance changing? Is it getting bigger?)

Skin tags

Genital wart

Skin tags

Genital wart

Skin tags usually affect people after age 30. They're rare before that age. The older the person, the greater their chance of getting a skin tag.

Genital warts mostly affect sexually active people. People are most active with multiple partners at younger ages, so the chance of acquiring genital warts is higher for younger people.

• 25% of people get skin tags during their life
• 85% of people get genital warts (HPV) during their life

• Some people are genetically predisposed to skin tags-this means that people whose relatives have had skin tags are more likely to get them as well.
• Genital warts are infectious, and anyone can get them through direct skin contact with infected skin. No one is genetically predisposed to them.

• friction due to contact with fabric
• obesity
• diabetes
• pregnancy
• advanced age
• Genital wart

• The tags are constantly irritated by being caught on cloth or jewelry
• For aesthetic reasons (they don't like how they look)

• Unlike skin tags, genital warts are infectious and can spread to adjacent skin and to sexual partners. Therefore, people may choose to get treatment to stop local self-spread and to decrease the chance of spreading them to partners.
• Untreated warts usually get better over time, but it might take up to two years for the immune system to clear them.

Cold liquid nitrogen(freezing) is applied ; it destroys the lesion

The lesion is removed by cutting it with a scalpel or scissors. This is a very minor in-office procedure.

Direct rays of light burn away the tag or wart.

An application of acid destroys the tag or wart. The acid that is commonly used is trichloroacetic acid (TCA).

• Getting the vaccine
• Using protection during sex