Hemangioma on the Face

My son had/has one on the top of his head. They used suction to pull him out. I was upset about it, but its part of the birthing experience. It was the last ditch effort. If it hadn't worked I was getting a c-section.

Anyway, it did fade, but when he has a short hair cut and his hair lightens I can still see the outline years later. Then again, that's also just a mom knowing what is there.

It is possible that it will grow/change slightly due to the location. Just stay in touch with the dermatologist and follow his suggestions.

M.

My son's was on the back of his neck. It totally went away. Although for a few years if he got really upset and cried you could see it again for a little while.

My daughter developed two strawberry hemangiomas after she was born. If your child does have a hemangioma, there is nothing you could have done and you weren't wrong for waiting. In general they aren't dangerous. But, they can cause problems depending upon the location. I've found that pediatrician don't fully understand these birthmarks. The organization: Vascular Birthmarks Foundation is very helpful to get answers, support and to deal with insurance companies. Their web address is www.birthmark.org. Good luck.

Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Angel Kiss and Storke Bite are just nicknames for flame hemangiomas, as someone already mentioned. My first daughter had a pretty big one on her wrist, and a small one on her back...the one on her back has almost fully disappeared, the one on her wrist in still there but you can tell it's starting to break up. My second daughter has a light one on her eyelid, which is apparently really common in females, and should also go away. It really is nothing to worry about as far as health is concerned. Congrats on your new baby!

You did nothing wrong by waiting. It was just a birth mark. YOur pediatrician would've told you if you needed to do more. You did right when you took your baby to have it checked when it began to change.

Now that it may transfer to being a hemangioma it is important to have it checked regularly. I would discuss this in more depth with the dermatologist. Because the mark is between his eyes I'd also have him checked by a pediatric ophthamologist. We have a situation here in which the parents refused to get a diagnosis and the hemangioma began to grow into her eye socket.

It's good that you want more information. Get it from medical resources. I suggest that you will feel less anxious once you know more.

Here are a couple of web sites. The second one offers a support group and the ability to ask questions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002430/
http://members.tripod.com/~Michelle_G/HQA.htmlhttp:

My granddaughter has a stork bite on the back of her neck. During her first check up the doctor said it was not a problem. I read that 30% of all babies have some sort of birth mark, frequently called stork bite or angel's kiss. I see this as further evidence that you did just fine in not asking about it sooner.

My daughters was on her scalp. I was told it would naturally go away by a certain age (it's been too long for me to remember). Anyway it did go away on its own without incident long before whatever age that was.

We've had to deal with them twice in two kids. Each time it started as a small red spot/birthmark that was raised and clearly different than a freckle. I believe they say they can grow larger during their first year, and then slowly will fade and break up. Eventually it will recess back into the skin and become flesh colored - not even leaving behind a mark.

I have a child who is now 1 1/2 and it is still red, raised and visible, although it does seem to be slowly reducing in size. Ours were on the scalp/neck area. Have NEVER had any problems or issues.

I have heard of some children who see specialist due to them growing and affecting vision, but I don't know how common that really is. I believe then they are treated with surgery, as a last resort.

You did nothing wrong. It's not preventable or really even treatable. It's just a "birth mark". The red color is indicative of a hemangioma, as are the blue veins. You may notice them more when the baby is upset or tensing up for any reason.

It should completely go away by age 3.

Congrats on your new little one. Enjoy him and take lots of pictures.

Deep breath :o) You didn't do anything wrong!

A hemangioma IS a stork bite/angel kiss/etc - it's just the technical word for it. They're VERY common and harmless. My youngest daughter has one on her chest. My ped told me that it may intensify and grow for a year or two and then start to go away and that they are usually gone by age 5 or so.

Also, all veins are blue and our baby's skin is so sensitive it can look transluscent and we can see all the veins and stuff under it - all 3 of my girls have what look like blue bruises between their eyes, but it's just because the skin is so thin there.

Deep breath momma, I know it is upsetting especially when it is on your baby's face. However, it is just a group of dilated capillaries and will go away as your baby gets older. Possibly up to a year or so. So just come to grips that your not going to have the baby pictures you expected but realize that there is nothing you could have done. It isn't painful to your baby. So just be thankful that your baby is healthy. It isnt dangerous and is treatable if it doesn't go away. It is a simple laser removal.

For what it is worth, my now 4 1/2 year old had a hemangioma. It wasn't on his face but it was on his abdomen. During the first year it was bright red and bumpy. Slowly it began to fade. Now we can't even see it. Literally if I did a close visual inspection I would not be able to locate where it was.

You didn't do anything wrong. Just keep an eye on it and follow up with the pediatric dermatologist as recommended. Chances are it may slowly fade away.

My daughter had one on her cheek when she was a baby. She is now 5 and you cannot even see it. Keep going to the dermatologist, he may even suggest a laser treatment if it gets bigger or redder. We did a few - not sure if I would do it again. I was really nervous as well about it being on her face. They usually look worse before they go away. But it should be ok.

My sister had a large one one on her chest, it was gone by the time she entered school.
I understand that it's a bit more upsetting if it's so visible, but as long as your doctor is monitoring it, watch and wait is really all that is indicated.
If it does grow to a size where it's a concern, for example for his eyesight, they will suggest treatment. It is much more likely though that it will start to fade by itself eventually.
Good luck!

My daughter has one on her lip.

It WILL go away on it's own. Most of them are gone by the time kids are 5. Hemangiomas STOP GROWING by 9-10mos of age. So it will stop growing and slowly fade.

If it's an aesthetic concern (they are on the face, of course), a dermatologist can help treat it. There are many different options depending on the severity. My daughter has had a steroid injection, which has started to shrink hers. There are more aggressive forms (Propanolol is a drug they use to treat severe cases - but it's a cardiac drug and it requires admitting the baby for monitoring).

I would see a pediatric dermatologist, if you're concerned. It won't hurt him at all. There's no health risk to him having it. And it WILL go away in time.

But if you're concerned about how it looks, there are options to treat it if you go to see someone.

Niece had a very large one on her lips at birth; she's now five and it's gone entirely. They consulted experts who said that it most likely would be gone by kindergarten and they were right.

I would follow the advice of the dermatologist. If I remember correctly,
a stork bite is not very big. Try to relax. Nothing terrible will happen. Just
keep your follow up appointments.

My niece had this when she was a baby and after a year or two, it went away.

There is nothing that could have been done to prevent it...it's just one of those things that some kids have. My son had a pretty large hemangioma on his foot when he was born, but it gradually lightened and by his first birthday it was gone. I can't see a trace of it now. I know you are worried since it's on his face, but just keep an eye on it like the doctor said. If it is a hemangioma, it will probably go away.