Strawberry naevi

[stramash]

dd2 who is 11 weeks old has a large strawberry birthmark on her face which extends to her upper eyelid and is closing her eye slightly. Wasn't present at birth but has grown a lot over last few weeks. I gather they can grow for up to a year and usually disappear by the age of 3 or so. GP has referred to a plastic surgeon as she says birthmark may affect dd2's vision and require treatment. Anybody any experience of what treatment involves ( injections/laser and presumably anaesthetic?). Also getting a bit ( in weak moments) at people looking at her and only seeing the birthmark (I think she's beautiful). Other times am sensible mummy and tell myself it's only cosmetic and will before she's even aware of it. Reassurance please!

[logic]

Oh Stramash - I have a 6 week old baby and she is developing a strawberry naevus on her nose right next to her eye too Hers wasn't there until she was about 3 weeks either. I have asked for a referral to the hospital for treatment too so I'm sorry but I don't know what is involved but I totally understand what you are feeling. I am really still devastated about it because she is so beautiful but all that I can see is the birthmark. No-one has commented on dd's face yet but a couple of people have said 'oh isn't she gorgeous - oh' It's not easy to be logical and practical about stuff like this is it?

[Fran1]

Don't have experience of the treatment, but do know a few children that have had them and wanted to reassure you its true they do disappear. I found it hard to believe, i looked after a boy from 6mths until he was 5 and he had a very large strawberry that had vanished by the time he was five.

I know this doesn't address your main concern about dd's vision, no doubt someone here will be able to reassure you about that also!

People aren't only seeing the birthmark, they are seeing your beautiful daughter. Just looking from curosity nothing more, no spite intended.

[stramash]

Fran1: I'm sure you're right and people aren't being spiteful at all, just seems like that sometimes when sleepdeprived etc! In fact I much prefer it when people ask directly about the birthmark and discuss it with me , if they pretend it's not there I just wonder what they're thinking.It's reassuring to know that these birthmarks really disappear though and , God knows, there are people with much bigger problems to deal with than this.Just out of interest, how did other children react to the little boy you looked after? I guess under fives might be more accepting of "differences".

Logic I felt much better last night after reading your post - thanks ( although for your dd too). Hope all goes well with your referral!

[logic]

Bumping this for you...and me! I really would like to know more before we get a hospital appointment too...

[tamum]

I don't have the same experiences as you two because ds's wasn't on his face, but if it's any small comfort he had an absolutely huge one on his wrist. Again, it wasn't visible for the first few weeks at all, and then it grew until by the time he was 6 months it was the size of a snooker ball, and very livid in colour. It had almost gone by the time he was 3, and even by 1 year it had got smaller. He now (aged 10) has a very, very pale pinkness around his wrist, but no more than that.

[triceratops]

my ds age 3 has a big one on his chin. At its largest it was about the size of a golfball and it became ulcerated a few times which was very upsetting and painful. It is much smaller and paler now.

Other children do comment on it but not in any negative way, they are mainly concerned that it may be painful. I saw a beautiful little baby with one on her lip yesterday, ds wanted to show her mum his to compare.

I believe that if it is on her eye or nose they may give laser treatment under anaesthetic. They are very reluctant to operate conventionally as these birthmarks are made of blood vessels and babies don't have large reserves of blood.

[triceratops]

They have a support group based at great ormond street which has a lot of useful fact sheets. I don't have the web site but Im sure you can find it if you google.

[mumsyof4]

Hi, again not in the same position DD's on her left booby not present at birth but grew to size of large marble, shes 3 now and all thats left is a few little red specks and some saggy skin so I know they can dissapear as quickly as the appear.

[Fran1]

Stramash, the children i have looked after were in a nursery environment - so didn't have to contend with the "real world!

My dd was fascinated by a child at our m&b group who had a strawberry mark on his forehead. DD was about 15mths and she kept trying to touch it. The Mother always appeared terribly shy. I sat down next to the mum and explained to dd it was just a birthmark and then engaged the mum in convo about it and she was so thrilled - i think i was the first person she had spoken to in the group! And actually she wasn't shy, just really insecure about what people were saying about her son - which of course wasn't really going on at all.

I know other people may not want to say something unless you start the conversation, maybe thats something you can do, using children as the starting point!

[Matonic]

Here is a link to the Great Ormond Street facts page about birthmarks. The link on that page to the support group, although I don't know if it's the same one that Triceratops mentions, doesn't seem to be working at the moment.

Stramash, my ds had laser treatment at GOSH for his haemangioma, or strawberry birthmark, because it was on his bottom and ulcerated. As I understood it from the nurses at GOSH, strawberry birthmarks can generally be left to fade by themselves, unless a) they become so huge that they become heavy enough to be painful, b) they are in a place where they are liable to become ulcerated, or c) they are encroaching the eye or on the scalp.

The laser treatment for ds was done under general anaesthetic and the after-care involved keeping the treated area very clean and dry while the skin healed.

He had this at 5 weeks old and is now 3.6years - there's no trace of birthmark or ulceration left now, just an area of paler skin where the laser treatment was carried out.

[bigdonna]

my friend little girl has a birthmark on her eye.She looks like she has a black eye when she was younger it closed her eye but she is 2yrs now it is getting smaller.she did not have surgery as there was a risk to her eye sight.As to all those ignorant people who stare at her they should be ashamed of themselves.She is beautiful too.My friend has got into lots of confrontations with people staring .Her hv suggested when she went shopping to not look at other people so you did not see them staring.A lot of people ask about her eye too .