Birthmarks: Types, Causes, Complications and Treatment

What are birthmarks?

Red birthmarks and pigmented birthmarks are the two main kinds of birthmarks. A vascular (blood vessel) birthmark is one that is red. Birthmarks that are pigmented are those where the color of the birthmark is different from the color of the surrounding skin.

What are red birthmarks?

Birthmarks that are colored and vascular (blood vessel) in nature typically appear before or soon after birth. An excess of blood vessels is what causes red birthmarks.

What are the kinds of red birthmarks?

Hemangiomas are common vascular birthmark kind. The source is unknown, and it often causes little discomfort or harm. The birthmark’s color is caused by the significant growth of blood vessels there.

Although they can form anywhere on the body, strawberry hemangiomas (also known as strawberry marks, nevus vascularis, capillary hemangiomas, or hemangioma simplex) are most frequently found on the face, scalp, back, or chest. They are made up of tiny, narrowly spaced-out blood vessels. They may not be present at birth, but they eventually appear. Typically, they expand quickly, stabilize at a certain size, and then shrink. Strawberry hemangiomas typically go away by the time a child is nine years old. There may still be a little amount of skin puckering or discoloration where the hemangioma was.

Similar to strawberry hemangiomas but located deeper in the body are cavernous hemangiomas (angioma cavernosum, cavernoma). They can seem like a blood-filled, spongy red-blue lump of tissue. Some of these lesions do go away on their own, usually as the youngster gets closer to starting school.

Flat, purple to red birthmarks called port-wine stains are caused by dilated blood vessels. These birthmarks can vary in size and are most frequently found on the face. When left untreated, port-wine stains frequently become permanent and may thicken or darken over time, causing mental distress.

Between 30% and 50% of newborn babies have salmon spots, often known as stork bites. These spots are made up of capillaries, which are tiny blood vessels that are visible through the skin. The forehead, eyelids, upper lip, space between the brows, and back of the neck are the areas where they occur most frequently. As the baby grows, these marks frequently disappear.

What are pigmented birthmarks?

Marks on the skin that are pigmented from birth are called pigmented birthmarks. The color of the marks may range from brown or black to bluish or blue-gray.

What kinds of birthmarks are pigmented?

Typically bluish, Mongolian dots resemble bruises. They frequently arise on the lower back and/or buttocks, but they can also show up on the arms or trunk on occasion. People with darker complexion tend to have these patches more frequently.

Growths on the skin known as pigmented nevi (moles) are often flesh-colored, brown, or black. Moles can appear alone or in clusters anyplace on the skin.

Congenital nevi are birthmarks like moles. One or more moles are present at birth in about one in 100 persons. Depending on how big they are, these birthmarks have a slightly higher risk of developing into skin cancer. Skin cancer is more likely to develop from larger congenital nevi (>20 cm) than from smaller congenital nevi. A medical professional should evaluate all congenital nevi, and any changes to the birthmark should be documented.

Cafe-au-lait spots are often oval-shaped, light tan, or light brown lesions. They often appear at birth, although they may also develop over a child’s first few years. While cafe-au-lait spots may be a common type of birthmark, the occurrence of many spots that are larger than a quarter may indicate neurofibromatosis, a hereditary illness that results in improper nerve tissue cell proliferation.

Causes

A birthmark is a skin imperfection that appears from birth or soon after.

Why some infants are born with birthmarks while others are not is a mystery to researchers yet.

However, some have proposed that strawberry marks could be brought on by an accumulation of cells that line infants’ blood arteries. Some medical professionals think that very early in the pregnancy, a very small piece of the placenta may become ensnared inside the growing embryo.

Port-wine stains could develop if the neurons that regulate capillary widening or narrowing are damaged, especially if the capillaries widen in one spot permanently. Additionally, a lot of medical professionals think that certain proteins released by the placenta during pregnancy may be associated with a higher risk of specific birthmarks.

Complications

Most birthmarks do not cause any long-term health risks. A lot of them finally disappear.

However, if a birthmark is in a place that is frequently irritated, such as a strawberry mark, it may become an open sore and infect.

Giant congenital melanocytic nevi have a 5-10% probability of developing melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, according to the Genetics Home Reference library.

Additionally, there is a larger chance of getting glaucoma if a port-wine stain develops near the eye. A youngster who has a strawberry mark on their eyelid must be treated right away because failing to do so increases their chance of developing visual issues.

Similarly, a strawberry mark that prevents a person from breathing or eating could be fatal, and urgent medical attention is needed.

Sturge-Weber syndrome, a disorder of the blood arteries that affects the eyes, brain, and skin, can very occasionally result in port-wine stains.

Treatments for removing birthmarks

Most birthmarks do not need to be treated medically, but if you have a noticeable birthmark that makes you feel insecure, you might be asking how to get rid of it.

Some birthmarks will go away on their own, while others will need therapies including laser therapy, specific medications, or surgery. Additionally, for medical reasons, your dermatologist might advise having some moles or elevated birthmarks removed. These surgical procedures can result in scarring.

Most birthmarks are treatable, or at the very least, can be rendered less apparent. Anyone can benefit from birthmark removal, but depending on the type of birthmark you have, your doctor can help you choose the best course of action.

Hemangiomas of infancy, port wine stains, and nevus simplex are vascular birthmarks.

Melanocytic: café au lait patches and congenital melanocytic nevi

Nevus sebaceous and epidermal nevi are nonmelanocytic.

What are the costs of the treatments?

The cost of birthmark removal will vary depending on whether insurance will pay for it. The cost of a laser resurfacing session can range from $1000 to $3000, and you might require more than one. Excisions by shaving or surgery might cost $100 to $500.

You might need to take a specific medicine to treat vascular birthmarks like hemangiomas; this drug is covered by your insurance.

Other than the appointment itself, you should not have to miss any work.

The procedures for these treatments

• Laser treatment

Red birthmarks like port wine birthmarks can be made lighter using laser therapy.

Birthmarks become less obvious because of blood vessels shrinking or disappearing because of the laser light’s conversion to heat.

Although laser therapy can be used on children and adults, it is most successful when started in infancy.

• Shaving or surgery

Many birthmark surgeries are carried out under local anesthesia in a clinical environment. If the birthmark region is quite extensive, surgery may be performed while under general anesthesia.

The birthmark is eliminated with a little scalpel.

• Medication

Beta-blockers, which are frequently prescribed by doctors to treat excessive blood pressure, may occasionally be prescribed. They cause blood vessels to constrict and blood flow to decrease, which lessens the visibility of some birthmarks like infantile hemangiomas.

Additionally, corticosteroids cause blood arteries to constrict and can lessen infantile hemangiomas.

Only during the birthmark’s proliferative period, which lasts until a person is around a year old and is when it grows, are these treatments successful.

They often start to vanish on their own after that. A surgical procedure or laser therapy might be used to remove any leftovers.

Risks and side effects of birthmark removal

The excision of birthmarks is not without its drawbacks. If you have had surgery or shaving, watch out for infection signs like:

Pus, blood, and fluid emanating from the wound.

Rarely, birthmark-reduction medications may have negative side effects, such as:

• reduced heartbeat
• coughs
• diarrhea or constipation
• sleeping issues

If your child is exhibiting side effects, consult a doctor right away.