hemangioma

[happydog]

My 4 month old now has two hemangiomae, and one of them is on her lip. The first one, which was there from birth, has n't grown at all - it's on her back - but the lip one just started 2 weeks ago and grew a lot. GP seemed singularly unbothered by them, but if you llok online there is a lot written about the possibility of internal ones if they have three or more on the surface. Anyone else have any experience? Trying not to worry, but...

ds had one on his head which went around 3 years old although the skin still looks abit puckered around the site but is flatish and no longer red. I am surprised at your GP's reaction as I thought lip and nose were areas they were concerned about due to possible breathing probs? I am sure it won't come to that but I would ask for a referral to hospital to get it checked out....

Good luck

My dd had a very large haemangioma around her eye and another one on her back. She had steroid treatment, because her eye was partly obstructed and it was interfering with her vision. The steroids don't get rid of the birthmark, just stop it from getting bigger. Haemangiomas usually disappear by the time the child is school age. My dd's mark lost its redness by the time she was 2 and was completely gone when she was 4.

They normally get bigger until the child is 3-6 months old, then stay static for a while and then gradually get smaller. If your dd is already 4 months, chances are it wouldn't get any bigger anyway. They only really need treatment if the birthmark is interfering with a vital function.

If you think the birthmark is causing your dd problems with feeding or breathing, then I think it would be worth going back to the GP and getting a referal to a paediatrician. If she isn't having those kinds of problems, the birthmark will go without any treatment.

And don't scare yourself by looking at all that stuff online! Those internal haemangiomas are extremely rare.