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STRAWBERRY BIRTH MARK advise neeeded please

15 replies

sweetbean · 01/02/2006 16:51

Hi
my DD delelopd a strawberry birth mark when she was about 3 weeks old it strated as just a time marke on the side of her head that looked like a tiny blood blister she is now nearly a year old and it has grown a lot in the last 2 months its still not realy big but i just wanted to know if anyone has any exsperiance of this?

I have been to my gp how said to take a photo of it so that we can monitoir its size and that it might grow or might not and that there is a possibility that we could have it lazered?? i have seen children with realy big markes and would hate foe dd to have to go around with people staring at her

I would be realy greatful for any advice you can give me Thanks x

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Mascaraohara · 01/02/2006 16:54

My dd has a strawberry neavis, I've learnt a fair bit is there anything you want to know? my dd will be 4 this summer. I probably won't tell you anything that you haven't heard already, everyone I know that has a child with one has been told pretty much the same thing.

They're fairly common if that's any consolation. Are you worried about it?

collision · 01/02/2006 16:57

My friend has a dd with this and has been told they will disappear as she gets older. i would think it is nothing to worry about.

sweetbean · 01/02/2006 16:58

Thanks for you quick reply Mascaraohara

Yeh i am a bit but only because of the size thay can get to how big is your DD's and is she bothered by it ? also have you heard anything about lazering??

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chicagomum · 01/02/2006 17:00

DD developed one in her early months and is now 4 and you can't tell she had one. Funnily enough when it developed I told my mother and she said I had one too in exactly the same place as dd's.

choccywoccydoodaa · 01/02/2006 17:05

DS has a large one on his leg. He is 10 months old now and mark is getting larger but much fainter. My sister had one on her upper arm which was about 2 inches across - it is now invisible. I understand your worries as it is on your little one's head. Has your GP been any help?

Mascaraohara · 01/02/2006 17:05

I did discuss lazer with the consultant but I think 'they' prefer not to laser if they can help it and only tend to laser young children if the mark is imparing vision or is over the mouth or nose. Does your dd have a neavis (is it risen)? Have they also talked about surgery to tidy up at about the age of 9-10 with you?

Have you been told that they have 3 phases? (I don't want to bore you with info that you already know)

My dd's isn't half as bad as it was colourwise and although I would say it's still a fair size you can definitely see where it has shrunk, it's also almost flat now where as before it was risen about 5mm if not more.

She has asked about it before but it doesn't bother her at all, I think sometimes it might get mentioned at nursery which prompts the odd question but tbh you just stop noticing after a while, it's just a part of her. A photographer once offered to air brush it for me to which he got a poilte 'no thank you'

Photos are def. a good idea - looking back at dd's the difference is amazing. Sorry I'm starting to ramble..

Mascaraohara · 01/02/2006 17:07

Should have added that they prefer not to laser because if they don't the mark may disappear leaving no scar whereas lasering might leave a scar. Apparently general consensus is that by 9 years old it's as good as it's going to get.

sweetbean · 01/02/2006 17:20

mascaraohara

I know nothing so would be v greatful for any info you can pass on !!!!!

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sweetbean · 01/02/2006 17:21

oh and forgot to say yes its raised

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sweetbean · 01/02/2006 17:24

oh god got to go as dd is crying will come back tommorow thanks to everyone for all the advise xxxxxxxx

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lanismum · 01/02/2006 17:55

i had a strawberry neavis, it was about the size of a 50p and was very raised, and it was right in the middle of my forehead, i was seen at great ormond street, but they wouldnt remove it, it took till i was about 9 for it to go, now its completly flat and colourless, and nobody ever notices it.

Meanoldmummy · 01/02/2006 18:07

My ds has one almost the size of a golf ball above his left eye. It was invisible at birth, then he had a little "herald patch" which looked like a little bruise, then a flat red patch, then it started to bubble up and once it reached this stage, it grew quite rapidly until he got to about 12 months. It stopped growing abruptly and stayed the same for a few months. It may sound trivial when so many children have terrible problems, but it was quite horrifying watching it grow and not knowing if or when it would stop.

The "involution" (shrinking) phase started a couple of months ago, and it is now significantly flattening out in places and has grey/white patches. This is characteristic of an involuting strawberry mark/haemangioma.

I tried very hard to get better care than just observation from the GP. Using histrionics, tears, threatening behaviour and general perisitence I managed to get him seen by several different surgeons and discussed laser surgery, steriod treatment. Steroid treatment is only used if the mark affects "function such as sight or eating - this was a possible issue for us, but won't be for you. Laser treatment used to be the standard treatment until a small study in Birmingham a few years ago found that it wasn't effective. I have found plenty of research to the contrary and am not convinced, but NHS policy is now NOT to offer laser surgery unless the mark has ulcerated. (this is very uncommon, and usually affects the really massive ones that cross skin folds, don't worry.) He is seen regularly by a consultant opthalmologist to assess the possible impact on his sight, and by a plastic surgeon because it is possible that once the final involution is complete, some plastic surgery will be offered to "tidy up the scar".

BE PERSISTENT, do not be fobbed off by your GP. You should see a consultant paediatric dermatologist and make him measure it every month or so. I had to fight for this but I did get through in the end. If you look up your local big hospital on the internet and find the name of the head of paediatric dermatology, you can request to be referred to him by name. It would be quite difficult for your GP to refuse that. THEY should take photographs in the hospital and keep a file monitoring its' growth. I also read everything I could find on the internet about haemangiomas (strawberry marks) so that I would know what the doctors were talking about (and whether they were flannelling me!).

Apparently the statistics for complete involution are:
50% by the age of 5
70% by the age of 7
90% by the age of 10

They are all different, and do different things at different rates, but most of them do disappear. I hope you get the information and support you need.

Loulou14 · 01/02/2006 18:17

Sweetbean, my nephew developed a birth mark a couple of weeks after birth. It grew large and raised, he was under GOSH for that and a couple of other things.

They described it as an 'haemangioma' - I don't advise you to google it as the pics are pretty horrendous and always at the worst end of the spectrum. My nephew's ran from his right eyelid up his forehead and grew very gradually. We were all extremely worried and my sister looked into all sorts of ways of having it removed. Luckily they left it alone and by the time he started school it had disappeared completely.

sweetbean · 03/02/2006 18:06

meanoldmummy

I feel so stupid and selfish when i hear a story like yours
Here i am worring about a littel mark on my daughter head that even if it grows will have not effect on her sences or activity and then you tell me about your son and it brings it back to me how lucky i am for it to be where it is !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thankyou for your advise and im really glad that your son's mark is starting to improve !!!!!!!!

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waterfalls · 03/02/2006 18:15

DT1 has 6 strawberry birthmarks, they are more common in premature babies apparently and will eventually disappear

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