How do we get birth marks

Birthmarks (for Parents) - Nemours KidsHealth

What Are Birthmarks?

Birthmarks are marks on the skin that a baby can develop before birth or soon after. Birthmarks can be flat or raised, have regular or irregular borders, and have different shades of coloring from brown, tan, black, or pale blue to pink, red, or purple.

Most birthmarks are harmless and many even go away on their own or shrink over time. Sometimes birthmarks are associated with other health problems.

What Causes Birthmarks?

Doctors don't know what causes most birthmarks. They can't be prevented and they're not caused by anything done or not done during pregnancy. Most aren't related to trauma to the skin during childbirth. Some kinds may run in families, but a genetic cause hasn't been found.

What Are the Types of Birthmarks?

There are two main types of birthmarks, which have different causes:

Vascular birthmarks happen when blood vessels don't form correctly. Either there are too many of them or they're wider than usual.
Pigmented birthmarks are caused by an overgrowth of the cells that create pigment (color) in skin.

Vascular Birthmarks

The most common vascular (blood vessel) birthmarks are macular stains, hemangiomas, and port-wine stains:

Macular stains. Also called salmon patches, angel kisses, or stork bites, these faint red marks are the most common type of vascular birthmark. Macular (MA-kyuh-ler) stains typically are on the forehead or eyelids; the back of the neck; or on the nose, upper lip, or back of the head. They may be more noticeable when the baby cries. Most often they fade on their own by the time a child is 1 to 2 years old, although some last into adulthood.

Hemangiomas. Hemangiomas are superficial when they're on the surface of the skin ("strawberry marks"), deep when found below the skin's surface, and compound when they affect both layers. A hemangioma (hee-man-jee-OH-muh) can be slightly raised and bright red, and usually won't be visible until a few days or weeks after a baby is born. Deep hemangiomas might look bluish because they involve blood vessels in deeper layers of the skin.

Hemangiomas grow quickly during the first 6 months or so of life, then usually shrink and disappear by the time a child is 5 to 10 years old. Some, particularly larger ones, may leave abnormal skin as this happens. Surgery can fix this. Others may leave red pigmented skin, which can be helped with special laser treatment. Although they can be anywhere on the body, most hemangiomas are on the head or neck. They can cause problems if they interfere with sight, feeding, breathing, or other body functions.

Port-wine stains. These discolorations look like wine was spilled on an area of the body, most often on the face, neck, arms, or legs. Port-wine stains can be any size, but grow only as the child grows. They tend to darken over time, and can thicken and feel like pebbles in middle adulthood unless treated. They never go away on their own. Doctors will watch ones near the eye to make sure they don't cause problems. When port-wine stains involve certain parts of the face, other tests (such as an MRI) might be needed.

Pigmented Birthmarks

The most common pigmented birthmarks are café-au-lait spots, Mongolian spots, and moles:

Café-au-lait spots. These very common spots are the color of coffee with milk, which explains the name. They can be anywhere on the body and sometimes increase in number as a child gets older. One alone is not a problem. But call your doctor if your child has 6 or more spots that are larger than a pencil eraser (for a younger child), or larger than a dime (for an older child). Having many café-au-lait spots can be a sign of neurofibromatosis (a genetic disorder that causes abnormal cell growth of nerve tissues).

Mongolian spots. These flat, bluish-gray patches are often found on the lower back or buttocks. They are most common on darker skin, such as on children of Asian, American Indian, African, Hispanic, and Southern European descent. They usually fade — often completely — by school age without treatment.

Moles (congenital nevi, hairy nevus). Mole is a general term for brown spots called nevi (NEE-vye). Most people get moles at some point in life. A mole that's there at birth is called a congenital nevus (NEE-viss) and will last a lifetime. Although the risk is still low, large or giant congenital nevi are more likely to develop into skin cancer (melanoma) later in life. Smaller congenital nevi may have a slight increase in risk. Moles can be tan, brown, or black; flat or raised; and may have hair growing out of them.

How Are Birthmarks Treated?

Macular stains usually fade away on their own. Ones at the back of the neck may last longer, but are not very noticeable. Most other vascular birthmarks can be treated.

Port-wine stains and some hemangiomas can be disfiguring and upsetting for children. Small hemangiomas in less visible locations usually don't need treatment, as most shrink back into themselves by the time a child is 10. Doctors can treat larger or more visible hemangiomas with medicine put directly into the hemangioma, given into a vein (with an IV), or taken by mouth (oral).

Laser (highly concentrated light energy) treatment can help kids with port-wine stains. Most stains get lighter after several treatments with a "pulsed-dye" laser. Some can return and need re-treatment. Laser treatment often starts in infancy when the stain and the blood vessels are smaller. Marks on the head and neck react well to laser treatment. Special makeup also can hide a port-wine stain.

Pigmented birthmarks usually are left alone, with the exception of congenital moles and, occasionally, café-au-lait spots. Doctors can remove moles — particularly large or giant congenital nevi — with surgery, though larger ones may be harder to remove. Laser treatment can remove café-au-lait spots, but these often return.

When Should I Call the Doctor?

A doctor should check a birthmark when it first appears to see what type it is, and to decide what monitoring or treatment it needs, if any.

Call the doctor if a birthmark ever bleeds, hurts, itches, or gets infected. Like any injury where there is bleeding, clean the wound with soap and water and, using a gauze bandage, place firm pressure on the area until the bleeding stops. If the bleeding doesn't stop, call the doctor.

Open sores sometimes form with hemangiomas and can get infected. Pigmented birthmarks rarely cause other problems, but moles should be checked throughout life for changes in size, color, or texture.

What Else Should I Know?

It can be a shock at first to see a birthmark on your newborn. If the birthmark is clearly visible, people might ask questions or stare, which can feel rude. It helps to have a simple explanation ready to handle this. Most people mean no harm, but it's also OK to let them know if they've gone too far.

Even at a young age, kids watch how their parents respond to such situations. This is where they learn how to cope with others' reactions. Talking simply and openly about a birthmark with kids makes them more likely to accept one as just another part of themselves, like hair color. Practice simple answers they can use if asked about it, like "It's just a birthmark. I was born with it." It's also helps kids emotionally to be around supportive family and friends who treat them normally.

Reviewed by: Steven M. Andreoli, MD

Date reviewed: January 2021

Birthmarks: Who gets and causes

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Baby birthmarks, recommended medical supervision. Lakhta Junior in St. Petersburg

Let's talk about children's birthmarks, their possible and most common options.
“Like a baby,” we envy about the most healthy, satiny, velvety, uniform skin. But the idea that any spot on the skin of a baby is obviously a pathology is nothing more than a myth.

Birthmarks are called so because they are often visible already in the newborn, although sometimes they appear at later stages of development. The color, size, shape of a birthmark can be very different. Some of these marks disappear over time, others become brighter and/or remain permanently.
Much and completely justified attention is paid today to the dangers that moles carry in themselves in adulthood and old age. On the contrary, most children's moles do not pose any danger.

Vascular ("stork's mark", "angel's kiss", hemangiomas, venous malformations, etc.). The cause of such spots are problems with small blood vessels, usually transient. Vascular spots are distinguished by a red-violet color in one shade or another; may rise slightly above the surface of the skin or be flat.
Age spots (“café au lait”, melanocystosis, Mongolian spots, etc.). Formed by various skin cells; look, as a rule, brown-gray, usually do not rise above the skin.
Again, in most cases, both main varieties of birthmarks are quite safe and harmless. And yet, only a doctor can judge whether it is possible to confine oneself to observation or whether the stain is to be removed for medical reasons. This type of consultation is strictly required.

Let's take a closer look at common types of birthmarks.

Stork Mark (stork peck, stork mark, etc. ).
This is the name in many countries for reddish-pink spots that a newborn may have on the back of the head or back of the neck. As a rule, such spots do not rise above the surface and have an uneven shape. Most often, the stork mark occurs in children with fair skin.
The explanation that this is a trace of the "transportation" of the baby by the stork, older brothers and sisters, as a rule, is accepted unconditionally, and even with delight. "Stork peck" usually disappears without a trace by 18 months of age. Otherwise, especially if the stain causes noticeable discomfort, it is removed (for example, using minimally invasive laser technology).

Port-wine stain
Port-wine stain or, in medical terminology, flaming nevus - flat capillary moles, outwardly and really resembling a puddle of spilled purple-red wine. They occur with a frequency of 3-5 cases per 1000 newborns. With age, they can increase and acquire a darker shade.
Treatment is not usually required, but the skin in this area tends to become dry and irritated. Sometimes they resort to the method of laser removal, which, however, does not always completely eliminate the cosmetic defect.

"Strawberry hemangioma"
Obsolete name for infantile hemangioma, a bright red congenital benign vascular tumor that rises above the surface of the skin and has a characteristic surface texture. It occurs in about 5% of newborns, more often in girls, twins and premature babies.
Usually localized on the face, head or chest; as a rule, decreases with age and finally disappears in the preschool period. It is possible to remove a hemangioma, especially if it is large and / or located near the eyes, nose, mouth. Both minimally invasive surgical and conservative methods of removal are practiced.

Venous malformations
These are blue-violet spots that can sometimes appear on the skin, especially during moments of intense crying. Venous malformations (lit. "malformations") are always congenital in nature, but sometimes remain almost invisible until adolescence. They can be located on any part of the body. Compared to other types of birthmarks, they are rare - in one case in about five thousand.

Coffee with milk
Localized abnormal pigmentation that occurs in 30% of people. The color of such a spot is usually light brown or beige, which is reflected in the name. The edges are usually even, the perimeter is sometimes darker than the inner area. In most cases, a café au lait pigment spot is quite harmless, but it can grow and/or darken with age. Such spots are subject to observation in dynamics, in some cases they can be removed.

Moles proper
Well-known round or oval freckle-like formations. The color varies from light brown or pink-red to almost black. Sizes in individual cases also vary widely. They can be both flat and protruding above the surface.
Moles should be inspected regularly to prevent any damage (mechanical, chemical, etc.). If a mole begins to bleed, change color, shape, appearance and any other characteristics, you should see a specialist as soon as possible - a dermatologist or oncologist at the Lakhta Junior Children's Clinic in St. Petersburg.

Birthmarks - marks of the Creator?

Komsomolskaya Pravda

ScienceScience: Curious Club

Svetlana KUZINA

September 11, 2006 1:00 am

A small brown spot on the body is a kind of filter that regulates the energy exchange of a person with the Cosmos. Why is the "map" of the location of these "constellations" unique for each person? Why do some suddenly disappear without a trace? And why, after the removal of moles, many people die quickly?

- It is known that a sick person can be cured by inserting needles into certain points of the body, says specialist in esoteric teachings Vitaly PRAVDIVTSEV . - According to some researchers, these biologically active points are a kind of antennas through which the body exchanges energy with the Cosmos. So, most often, moles are located at bioactive points, on energy meridians. And they serve as a kind of filters that regulate the energy exchange of a person with the Cosmos. Their task is to increase or decrease the intake of certain types of energy into the body, to balance disturbed physiological and mental processes. Moles - filters for fine-tuning the body - are our invaluable helpers. The more of them, the more “jewelry” is the work of harmonizing our being. And maybe it was not in vain that there was a belief among the people “Many moles on the back - a happy person”?

"Witch's Spot"

Old beliefs are also associated with birthmarks. “My son has a large birthmark on his face since birth,” writes Natalya Sergeevna L. from Rostov-on-Don. - One grandmother recently told me that this is the "mark of the devil." And it doesn't give me peace."

- "Devil's mark", "witch's spot" - this is how birthmarks in certain places of the body were called in the Middle Ages, - explains Vitaly Leonidovich. - A mandatory feature of these "marks" is that they are absolutely insensitive to pain, for example, to needle pricks. The owners of such spots in the Middle Ages were often executed, believing that they could bring a lot of evil to people. Some esotericists consider such spots to be echoes of serious negative “developments” in past incarnations of a person, for example, participation in bloody cults.

However, there is another hypothesis: the "marks of the devil", on the contrary, help to avoid very serious problems. These birthmarks keep some negative tendencies in check. And it is dangerous to reduce them - aggressiveness will increase in an irritable person, a persecution mania will arise in a suspicious person, and a craving for alcohol in a weak-willed person.

FROM THE KP ARCHIVE

Short-sighted Gorbachev

In the East, it is believed that a large birthmark on the forehead indicates that a person is waiting for the vicissitudes of fate due to his inability to foresee the long-term consequences of his actions. Gorbachev is a prime example of this.

A spot under the hair on the back of the head indicates that a person is not able to draw correct conclusions from his own mistakes. A birthmark on the temple is the inability to navigate in difficult current situations. A mole on the nose, just below eye level, will give out a person who finds it difficult to establish relationships with the opposite sex.

COMMENTARY OF THE SPECIALIST

Oncodermatologist Alexander KOLOBYAKOV: Mysterious "decals"

- Indeed, moles, or scientifically nevi, are still a mystery to medicine, and their purpose is unclear. Even in the womb, pigment cells (those that protect us from ultraviolet radiation) gather in a certain place and later appear through the skin like decals. Many of the nevi are inherited and appear in the same place. The only thing we know today is that there are few dangerous moles: for every hundred safe ones, there is only one melanoma-dangerous one. Consult a dermatologist if the spot begins to grow, bleed, itch and turn black.

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