Newborn red birthmark
Birthmarks - red Information | Mount Sinai
Strawberry mark; Vascular skin changes; Angioma cavernosum; Capillary hemangioma; Hemangioma simplex
Red birthmarks are skin markings created by blood vessels close to the skin surface. They develop before or shortly after birth.
A stork bite is a vascular lesion quite common in newborns consisting of one or more pale red patches of skin. Most often stork bites appear on the forehead, eyelids, tip of the nose, upper lip or back of the neck. They are usually gone within 18 months of birth.
Hemangiomas are tumors made up of dilated blood vessels that usually appear shortly after birth, although they may be present at birth. Hemangiomas on the face can be disfiguring and may interfere with visual development or cause obstruction of the airway.
This child has a juvenile hemangioma (strawberry hemangioma) on the chin. These may begin as flat, red spots and later become larger and elevated. Juvenile hemangiomas often go away (involute) spontaneously.
Causes
There are two main categories of birthmarks:
- Red birthmarks are made up of blood vessels close to the skin surface. These are called vascular birthmarks.
- Pigmented birthmarks are areas in which the color of the birthmark is different from the color of the rest of the skin.
Hemangiomas are a common type of vascular birthmark. Their cause is unknown. Their color is caused by the growth of blood vessels at the site. Different kinds of hemangiomas include:
- Strawberry hemangiomas (strawberry mark, nevus vascularis, capillary hemangioma, hemangioma simplex) may develop several weeks after birth. They may appear anywhere on the body, but are most often found on the neck and face. These areas consist of small blood vessels that are very close together.
- Cavernous hemangiomas (angioma cavernosum, cavernoma) are similar to strawberry hemangiomas, but they are deeper and may appear as a red-blue spongy area of tissue filled with blood.
- Salmon patches (stork bites) are very common. Up to half of all newborns have them. They are small, pink, flat spots made up of small blood vessels that can be seen through the skin. They are most common on the forehead, eyelids, upper lip, between the eyebrows, and on the back of the neck. Salmon patches may be more noticeable when an infant cries or during temperature changes.
- Port-wine stains are flat hemangiomas made of expanded tiny blood vessels (capillaries). Port-wine stains on the face may be associated with Sturge-Weber syndrome. They are most often located on the face. Their size varies from very small to over half of the body's surface.
Symptoms
The main symptoms of birthmarks include:
- Marks on the skin that look like blood vessels
- Skin rash or lesion that is red
Exams and Tests
A health care provider should examine all birthmarks.
Diagnosis is based on how the birthmark looks.
Tests to confirm deeper birthmarks include:
- Skin biopsy
- CT scan
- MRI of the area
Treatment
Many strawberry hemangiomas, cavernous hemangiomas, and salmon patches are temporary and do not need treatment.
Port-wine stains may not need treatment unless they:
- Affect your appearance
- Cause emotional distress
- Are painful
- Change in size, shape, or color
Most permanent birthmarks are not treated before a child reaches school age or the birthmark is causing symptoms. Port-wine stains on the face are an exception. They should be treated at a young age to prevent emotional and social problems.
Laser surgery can be used to treat them.
Concealing cosmetics may hide permanent birthmarks.
Oral or injected cortisone may reduce the size of a hemangioma that is growing quickly and affecting vision or vital organs.
Other treatments for red birthmarks include:
- Beta-blocker medicines
- Freezing (cryotherapy)
- Laser surgery
- Surgical removal
Outlook (Prognosis)
Birthmarks rarely cause problems, other than changes in appearance. Many birthmarks go away on their own by the time a child reaches school age, but some are permanent. The following development patterns are typical for the different types of birthmarks:
- Strawberry hemangiomas usually grow quickly and stay the same size.
Then they go away. Most strawberry hemangiomas are gone by the time a child is 9 years old. However, there may be a slight change in color or puckering of the skin where the birthmark was. - Some cavernous hemangiomas go away on their own, usually as a child is about school age.
- Salmon patches often fade as the infant grows. Patches on the back of the neck may not disappear. They usually are not visible as hair grows.
- Port-wine stains are often permanent.
Possible Complications
The following complications can occur from birthmarks:
- Emotional distress because of appearance
- Discomfort or bleeding from vascular birthmarks (occasional)
- Interference with vision or bodily functions
- Scarring or complications after surgery to remove them
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Have your provider look at all birthmarks.
Prevention
There is no known way to prevent birthmarks.
Dinulos JGH. Vascular tumors and malformations. In: Dinulos JGH, ed. Habif's Clinical Dermatology. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 23.
Folpe AL, Kozakewich HP. Benign vascular tumors and malformations. In: Goldblum JR, Folpe AL, Weiss SW, eds. Enzinger and Weiss's Soft Tissue Tumors. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 20.
Patterson JW. Vascular tumors. In: Patterson JW, ed.
Weedon's Skin Pathology. 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Limited; 2021:chap 39.
Last reviewed on: 11/18/2022
Reviewed by: Elika Hoss, MD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Birthmarks in Infants | Johns Hopkins Medicine
A baby's skin coloring can vary greatly, depending on the baby's age, race or ethnic group, temperature, and whether or not the baby is crying. Skin color in babies often changes with both the environment and health. Some of these differences are just temporary. Others, such as certain birthmarks, may be permanent.
Birthmarks are areas of discolored and/or raised skin that are present at birth or within a few weeks of birth. Birthmarks are made up of abnormal pigment cells or blood vessels.
Although the cause of birthmarks is not known, most of them are harmless and do not require treatment.
Babies with birthmarks should be examined by your child's health care provider, especially if they are:
-
Located in the middle of the back, along the spine (may be related to spinal cord problems)
-
Large birthmarks on the face, head or neck
-
Interfering with movement of activity, for example a birthmark on the eyelid that may interfere with vision
Some common birthmarks include:
| Birthmark | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Stork bites, angel kisses, or salmon patches | These are small pink or red patches often found on a baby's eyelids, between the eyes, upper lip, and back of the neck. The "stork bite" name comes from the marks on the back of the neck where, as the myth goes, a stork may have picked up the baby. They are caused by a concentration of immature blood vessels and may be the most visible when the baby is crying. Most of these fade and disappear completely. |
| Congenital dermal melanocytosis (also known as Mongolian spots) | Congenital dermal melanocytosis refers to areas of blue or purple-colored, typically on the baby's lower back and buttocks. These can occur in darker-skinned babies of all races. The spots are caused by a concentration of pigmented cells. They usually disappear in the first 4 years of life. |
| Strawberry hemangioma | This is a bright or dark red, raised or swollen, bumpy area that looks like a strawberry. Hemangiomas are formed by a concentration of tiny, immature blood vessels. Most of these occur on the head. They may not appear at birth, but often develop in the first 2 months. Strawberry hemangiomas are more common in premature babies and in girls. These birthmarks often grow in size for several months, and then gradually begin to fade. They may bleed or get infected in rare cases. Nearly all strawberry hemangiomas completely disappear by 9 years of age. |
| Port-wine stain | A port-wine stain is a flat, pink, red, or purple colored birthmark. These are caused by a concentration of dilated tiny blood vessels called capillaries. They usually occur on the head or neck. They may be small, or they may cover large areas of the body. Port-wine stains do not change color when gently pressed and do not disappear over time. They may become darker and thicker when the child is older or as an adult. Port-wine stains on the face may be associated with more serious problems. Skin-colored cosmetics may be used to cover small port-wine stains. The most effective way of treating port-wine stains is with a special type of laser. This is done when the baby is older by a plastic surgery specialist. |
| Congenital moles | These common moles (less than 3 inches in diameter) occur in about 1 out of every 100 newborns. They increase in size as the child grows, but usually don't cause any problems. Your child's health care provider will watch them closely as rarely they can develop into a cancerous mole. |
What are the types of infantile (infantile) hemangiomas?
Erstellt am 2017/10/19, last modified: 2017/10/19 https://kinderkrebsinfo.de/doi/e195094
Contents
- Local infantile hemangiomas
- Segmental infantile hemangiomas
- Special forms
Typically, infantile hemangiomas (that is, hemangiomas in newborns and infants, and many doctors use the term infantile hemangiomas) appear in the first days or weeks after the birth of a child. First, the first symptoms appear (specialists talk about the precursor forms of hemangiomas) - dilated subcutaneous vessels in a limited area of \u200b\u200bthe skin (telangiectasia in the language of specialists), or, for example, very pale spots, or spots of bright red or cyanotic color, or changes in the skin, similar to red birthmarks (doctors talk about vascular nevus).
The classic infantile hemangioma at the birth of a child does not yet look like a tumor, it becomes one after some time.
Good to know: infantile (infantile) hemangioma goes through three stages:
- Active growth phase: the first stage lasts from 6 to 9 months
- Growth arrest phase: tumor size no longer changes
- Regression phase (gradual reverse development of the hemangioma, that is, the tumor begins to “resolve”, the recovery process is underway): as a rule, recovery ends by the 9th year of the child's life.
Local infantile hemangiomas
90% of all infantile hemangiomas are local. This means that they have clear boundaries and grow from one central point.
Local infantile hemangiomas are divided into:
- superficial skin infantile hemangiomas. They grow on the surface of the skin (flat) or may protrude above the skin (convex, i.e. do not grow deep)
- deep subcutaneous hemangiomas.
They grow deep under the skin - combined hemangiomas. That is, a mixed type, when an infantile hemangioma simultaneously grows as a superficial skin and deep subcutaneous
Usually, at birth, an infantile hemangioma is not yet visible in a child. But then, during repeated examinations in the first weeks after birth, a small spot of red color becomes noticeable. Some infantile hemangiomas do not change for weeks or months. Others begin to grow rapidly and grow to enormous size. Most infantile hemangiomas (60%) appear in the head and neck.
Segmental infantile hemangiomas
Segmental infantile hemangiomas (that is, a large hemangioma will grow in a certain area of the body) are less common than local ones. They can appear both in the head and neck, and in the region of the lumbar spine and in the coccyx. Usually the size of segmental infantile hemangiomas is larger than that of local forms. In addition, they often appear when abnormal development of blood vessels or internal organs begins in the body (in this case, doctors talk about malformations or developmental anomalies).
Characteristic of segmental hemangiomas is that they are very large and cover a certain department (segment) of the body. They are almost invisible at birth. But they can grow very quickly and then the baby often has various health problems.
For example, segmental infantile hemangiomas in the face or shoulder region are associated with the so-called PHACES syndrome (P.H.A.C.E.S. syndrome is a set of several congenital malformations, each letter of the abbreviation denotes a specific malformation). First, anomalies in the development of the chest, aorta, as well as heart defects and cysts in the brain (in the language of specialists, the so-called Dandy-Walker variant) are found in the baby, and then a segmental hemangioma appears. Another complication is a tendency to form ulcers and a tendency to frequent infections.
Hemangiomas that grow in the perineum are part of the PELVIS (in the pelvis) and SAKRAL (in the sacrum) syndromes. They are accompanied by skin growths, as well as anomalies in the development of the bladder, spinal cord and spinal cord membranes, and abnormal development of the anus.
In rare cases, infantile hemangiomas can also grow in the area of internal organs, such as the liver or kidneys.
Special shapes
"Rapid Involuting Congenital Hemangioma / abbreviated as RICH":
These forms may also be referred to as congenital rapidly regressing hemangiomas. Already at the birth of a child, they are fully developed (doctors say "fully formed") and quickly (in English " rapid " ) completely disappear, usually by the third year of the baby's life (doctors often use the term "involution “ , from the English term "involuting" , which means reverse development of ).
"Congenital non-involuting hemangioma (Non involuting congenital hemangioma / abbreviated NICH)"
These infantile hemangiomas may also be referred to as congenital nonregressive hemangiomas. They don't disappear on their own, but they don't grow either.
Benign neonatal hemangiomatosis
A child has many small hemangiomas on the skin that look like small millet.
If the baby has more than seven hemangiomas, then he needs to perform an ultrasound (ultrasound) of the abdomen to find out if he has a hemangioma of the liver.
Diffuse neonatal hemangiomatosis
In this case, the child's hemangiomas appear both on the skin and in the internal organs (mainly the liver, pancreas, spleen). If a child has this form of the disease, then infantile hemangiomas can grow in all organs.
Baby birthmarks, medical supervision recommended. 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.
Brown 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 what many countries call 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 that outwardly really resemble a pool 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 found 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 enlarge 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.
