Skin tags on DD

Butterflylove85

My DD has slowly been getting skin tags all over her neck and under her chin. Does anyone know what causes them? It started out as just one or two but soon spread, and they are still spreading. Is there anything I can do to stop it, should I talk to her docter about it? I guess I'm being vain but I really don't want her to have to deal with them being all over her face and neck when she gets older. Anyone else's LO having this issue?

sapphire angel

I have never heard of anyone so young getting as many as your LO seems to have but that's not to say it's not possible. I would ask for a referral to a dermatologist, preferably a pediatric one. The skin tags are probably harmless but you should get them checked out anyway and a dermatologist could advise you if there is some cause that can be corrected or at least moderated.

And just to give you a heads up, I know from my dermatologist that most insurance companies won't cover the removal of skin tags. My dermatologist would remove mine but the insurance won't cover it because there isn't a medical necessity to removing them, so for me each one costs $85. 

 

g8orell

I'm a pediatric derm PA at a Children's hospital. It is rare for a young child to have so many. They are usually caused by friction of rubbing skin, but when you are young and / or have a lot, it could be hormonal. Is she overweight? It is a sign of hormone imbalance and diabetes. I would have your pedi check some blood work or send you to a pedi endocrinologist. They can be removed. I numb them with anesthesia (injected) and then cauterize them with an electric needle. You can easily get it covered by insurance because of her age... But also if they are symptomatic (ie bleed, itchy, painful, etc) insurance will cover. But first and foremost, have her hormones and glucose (including insulin resistance) checked!!!

Butterflylove85

Shes not over weight (23lbs and 33inches) and they don't seem to bother her, it just bothers me that she got so may so fast. She got them in the past 2 1/2 months. They are usually flesh colored but are a bit pink looking at times, not sure if that means anything or not. I thnk i'll try to see if her docter has any openings tomorrow and make an appointment to have them checked out. Thank you for your response.

g8orell

It would be really weird to have that many skin tags. Google molluscum... It could be that. It's a virus like warts And is super common in kids. I treat about 15 kids a day with it. I'd copy and paste a pic for you but I'm on my iPhone.

Butterflylove85

Thank you again for your response. It does sound similar to this and I plan on bring it up to her docter. I looked up the wikipedia answer and will print out a copy to show to my docter to see what he thinks. Most of the pictures I saw were fairly extreme but the ones on children looked like what she has, just in different spots and not all of them are quite as large. I will update after her appointment.

g8orell

SurpriseBaby2011:

Thank you again for your response. It does sound similar to this and I plan on bring it up to her docter. I looked up the wikipedia answer and will print out a copy to show to my docter to see what he thinks. Most of the pictures I saw were fairly extreme but the ones on children looked like what she has, just in different spots and not all of them are quite as large. I will update after her appointment.

That's probably what it is! They start off small, skin colored, then they get bigger (prob the pics you saw) and they look a little pearly with something in the middle. But your LO's is probably in the early stages. They spread like wildfire, so that makes MUCH more sense than skin tags. Again, if your pedi does think they are skin tags, have him check her hormones. Def. keep me updated