New mole on skin - worried.

[fieldsofbutterflies]

Posting for a hand-hold please.

I have lots (and I mean lots) of moles, as do both my parents and other extended family. Lots of them are atypical but they've never changed or shown any worrying symptoms. I've had them all from childhood - I'm 35 now.

I check my skin regularly, cover up and wear sunscreen but today I noticed one on my arm that I'm sure is new - looking at photos it definitely wasn't there at this time last year. It's a small dark brown dot between two moles that I've had for decades and that still look the same as ever.

I've got a GP appointment booked and I know there's realistically nothing I can do until then but I'm worried. Dad is a doctor and basically said "sounds fine but get it checked" which is of course completely unhelpful!

TIA

I had a new mole appear at about 33 years old. Didn't realise it was new until I got to 36 and clocked that it was looking really red all the time, so I went back and checked a bunch of photos and was horrified to discover it had only shown up (and had grown) in the past few years

It looked really irregular to me, and it was constantly inflamed so the derm biopsied it and it came back totally fine. I've now had another little mole almost exactly like yours come up (small brown dot, right next to an old mole that hasn't changed) which has grown slightly in the last 6 months. I saw the doc about it last week and she reassured me (like my derm did previously) that you can absolutely get new moles later in life without them being cancer. Get it checked out and keep an eye on it but don't fret too much

Thank you so much!

It doesn't look weird or irregular, just new. I've done an e-consult thing with the GP so hopefully I'll get an appointment soon 🤞

My mum is a nurse and her useful advice was "if it doesn't look weird then it probably isn't" 😂

I also have lots and lots of moles. Whilst there are many I’ve had since childhood I didn’t have any as a baby and so they must have all appeared over time, it’s just that you don’t always notice. I have the skin vision app which uses AI to check atypical moles. Helps give some reassurance.

I had a really dark mole appear on my forehead, people even commented on it being new! Was t on previous photos. Then it just dropped off & hasn’t come back!

Ah thank you both 🥰

I do track them with photo apps which is how I noticed this one but I honestly couldn't say how long it's been there - it could be a week or six months!

It is tiny though and not irregular or weird looking - well, no weirder than any of the others.

A new mole isn't a risk factor. It's if it's different colours, irregular, itchy, bleeds or gets bigger/changes shape op 😁 most moles are fine but always a good idea to keep an eye on them

That's what my dad says but I have anxiety which makes me panic 🙈

Thank you!

I just thought I'd update this for anyone else - I saw my GP today and he did a full body check for me. Absolutely nothing concerned him but he's recommended coming in once a year for a check up as I have so many :)