Conference moira::parenting_v3

    Our younger son had on on his bottom.  looked just like a strawberry.
    It was cute.  I thought about the possiblities for him as he grew older
    [I'll show you my .....if...]  But it went away over time.
    ed
    

    
    Hi, my daugther has a birthmark like you have described.  Hers is on
    her wrist and is about 1 inch wide and 1/2 inch long.  At first, it was
    very dark when she was born.  Now that she is just about 14 months old,
    it has faded considerably.  I think it will be barely noticeable in a
    year or so.  
    
    I have heard many stories about these birthmarks, - too much red blood
    cells in the area, etc.  They have discussed laser surgery methods to
    remove them.  In my daughter's case, I have accepted it as part of her
    genetic make-up and I think it looks nice.
    
    -Patty

    Jon, I have not yet introduced myself to the conference but I wanted to
    reply to you.
    
    My kids do not have them, but I do.  I have several, 1 on my temple as
    you described with your son - raised, when bumped it bleeds.  I also
    have a few other elsewhere, generally on hands and wrists.
    
    Some have faded, and others have not.  The one on my head has become
    more pronounced with the hairline receding ;^).
    
    My doctor told me that as long as they don't change color, that if it
    stays "clear" red, it isn't a problem.  When it changes color, that
    could mean many things.  He told me that his treatment is to leave
    alone, unless it does change color.  He did talk about a removal
    process similar to removal of warts (burning them off) and yes that
    would leave a scar that would fade over time.
    

    
    A close friend of mine has one ALL OVER her entire face.  There is only
    an inch or two of white skin around her forehead--the rest is red.
    
    She wears VERY HEAVY face makeup all the time.  If you don't know the
    situation, you just think she wears very heavy face makeup.  You can't
    see the strawberry mark underneath the makeup.
    
    My friend has suffered enormously because of this strawberry birthmark. 
    She says she was practically tortured as a child...make fun of, etc.
    all throughout school--until the time she was allowed to wear makeup.
    Even as an adult, she won't step out of her house without the heavy
    makeup--nor will she do things like go swimming in a pool where she
    knows anyone, etc.  
    
    Last year she finally decided to get rid of it.  She has had 3 lasar
    treatments so far--and according to both she and her husband--the mark
    is hardly there anymore.  I haven't seen her in awhile (they live in
    N.M. in the winter), but I can't wait to see her in the spring.  She
    says she no longer wears any makeup at all!
    
    She said she did not get sick from the lasar treatment.  The treatment
    can only be done once every 6-8 months--each time it's done the
    strawberry mark fades significantly.
    
    Bonnie
    
    
    

My daughter had a hemangioma (sp) that was under her
chin (above neck) and was about 5 inches long and a 
couple of inches wide.  When she was born, it was 
flat to her skin, but over time, because it is a mass
and it has weight, it hung down below her neck and 
actually became larger and more noticable.  She will
be 4 years old in a couple of weeks and we just had
it removed in October upon the advice of her pediatrician
and the plastic surgeon.  When she was born the her
pedi (at the time) said that it would probably fade and
become less noticable as she grew, but that was not
the case.  And because of the size of it there was the
danger of severe bleeding if she ever got cut in that
area.  There is a scar now, but not nearly as visible
as the birth mark was, and she is much happier with her
appearance now that it is gone.

    
    
       I had one of those birthmarks right above my belly button.  It
    was about an inch long and eventually became the same color as the
    rest of my skin.  My parents never opted to have it removed adn
    it apparently caused no problems.  However, I did have it removed
    when I was 13 because it would get caught in some of my clothing
    and I was further concerned about it accidentally being picked adn
    bleeding profusely.  The removal was extremely easy and it now just
    looks like a slightly raised spider.
    
    

    My daughter had a strawberry birthmark on her thumb.  It had faded away
    completely by the time she was about 2.  She still has a reddish
    splotch on her hand and wrist.  It looks sort of like she's been
    slightly burned or has a rash or something.  That hasn't faded or
    anything but isn't dark enough to be all that noticeable.  I'm going to
    let her decide if it's important enough to do anything about when she
    gets older.  I really don't think it will be much of an issue until
    she's in her mid to late teens.
    
    Nanci

    My oldest son has/had a mark from just below the bend in his forearm
    down just beyond the bend on his wrist.  I quess it was visible at
    birth, but I was too excited and never noticed it.  At 7 days it was
    deep red and flat to the skin.  By 7 weeks it was raised and puffy. 
    He, too, had bleeding in two areas on the mark.  I took him to a
    dermatologist who suggested that it would be completely faded by the
    time he was 8 yrs old and any residuals could come off thru laser. 
    Since the bloody spots were scabbing over they were painful.  If I kept
    the area affected covered with a gauze pad and antibiotic ointment
    wrapped in a stretchy gauze wrap, he didn't complain about the pain.
    It became apart of him and I never gave it much attention until one day
    my mother remarked that it was fading nicely (he was almost 1).  Today
    he is 5 1/2 and the area where the red skin was is now puffy but normal
    color.  A few have commented that it looked like he was recovering from
    a large burn.  He doesn't even notice it now - but it is visible.
    
    Call if you want to talk off-line (264-4919)
    -sandy
    

	I'd like to thank everyone for their reply's, and so quickly!!,  I
think we were more worried about these marks coming every few months.  I
had to take Brian to the pedi on Wednesday night, (double ear infections) so 
I asked him about the new one on the nose.  He was surprised that he got 
another one so late that they usually only show up shortly after birth, he
also said he didn't think it would get much bigger than it is now.


Again thanks for all the help
Jon