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Children's health

Strawberry birthmark

45 replies

Joy27 · 23/03/2010 20:33

My six week old daughter has a strawberry birthmark on her forehead. It appeared as a tiny spot at around 3 weeks old and has grown since then. It's now probably about 4mm across and the skin behind it is quite swollen.

Thankfully it is not next to her eye, nose or mouth or anywhere else it may effect her functions. But I am finding it upsetting that people comment on it and always notice it- it's often the first thing they mention before remarking on how beautiful she is (and she is, so beautiful).

All the pics on the net are of huge birthmarks and I'm really worried it is going to grow to be something that is not just eyecatching but "disfiguring". The thought of my little girl being stared at unkindly makes me cry.

At the same time I feel very guilty for disliking the birthmark and wishing she didn't have it. It's part of her after all. I'm also aware that this is a very small "problem" in the grand scheme of things and I should be grateful that she's happy and healthy.

I'm looking for positive stories really from people who have been there. How did you manage to not be bothered by it? Do these birthmarks ever stay small or do they always grow to be huge? When did your child's birthmark disappear? Will the swelling go down any time soon? Anything positive you can say or information about these birthmarks would be much appreciated.

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wuglet · 23/03/2010 20:42

My DD had one on her bottom - grew to about 1 inch in total and now can't see it at all (she is 3)

I know a little boy who had one right in the centre of his forehead which was about 2cm diameter. There is no getting away from it that there will be looks etc when it is at its most prominent. However he is not 2 yet and already it is almost completely flat and pretty much the same colour as his skin - not noticeable unless you are close up.

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LouIsOnAHighwayToHell · 23/03/2010 20:43

My sister, brother and myself all had one on our shoulders. They were gone by the time we started school. My niece and nephews all have them on their bodies and they too will fade. I have never heard of a strawberry mark being permanant. If you are concerned that it is something other then a strawberry mark then see your doctor. But people learn to live with them. Also people learn to live with worse too.

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hackneyzoo · 23/03/2010 20:56

My daughter has one on her lip. It appeared at as a mark at about 6 weeks and grew. It became quite swollen behind her lip. It stopped growing at about 11/12 months. The colour has faded now and it is silvery, it has been shrinking slowly but steadily. She is nearly three and it is still there. I don't notice it any more as I just see it as part of her so don't really see it if that makes sense.
Other children have asked about it and I just say its a birthmark and that satisfies thier curiosity. DD is completely oblivious to it I think. The only time people stop me to talk about it is to say thier DD/DS had a similar one when they were small and it completely disappeared by the time they were X.
I saw our GP about it when she was a baby, she was referred to a Peadiatrician who referred her to Great Ormond Street(our nearest big hosp.). The consultant advised us it would fade over time and they would monitor it. If by the time she was six or seven it hadn't faded and was causing problems they said they would consider further treatment such as laser.
If you look on my profile you can see DD's on the top of her lip. I felt worried and sad when it appeared, but when I look at my daughter I see my daughter and her birthmark is just a part of her to me. As long as it doesn't affect her health/day to day life I don't even think about it any more.
There is a charity that provides info and support around birthmarks...will try and remember what its called and post a link.

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MorphFan · 23/03/2010 21:12

My DD has a strawberry birthmark on her waistline. Same as your daughter, it appeared gradually from a few weeks old. Over a period of time is became more raised with a slightly irregular surface - and perhaps slightly less than an inch in diameter at it's largest.

DD is now three - it is no longer raised and bumpy, and is smaller in size. We have been told it will disappear completely, probably before she starts school.

Obviously as it is on the waistline rather than forehead we didn't have the same worries as you in terms of its visibility. I know how you feel tho, as my DS is deaf and has worn hearing aids since he was 5 weeks old. I was very conscious of them in the beginning, and very aware of people noticing them. 18 months on, and I don't give them a second thought - and neither does he.

I also know a little girl who had a strawberry on her forehead - like your daughter. She is now 5 and it has disappeared completely - there is absolutely no sign of it whatsoever.

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babblington · 23/03/2010 21:12

My daughter had/has one on her neck- I felt just like you, slightly horrified and appalled at feeling horrified etc etc, it grew until she was a year, but also got infected and scabbed. The strawberry mark itself has gone completely (she is now four) but the scar remains, whitish and wrinkly but flat and mostly unnoticable under her hair. Everyone noticed it wheh she was a baby and commented, it was huge, she is and was and is absolutely gorgeous. You won't forget it is there, but in time it won't matter so much.

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myfaceisatomato · 23/03/2010 21:20

Ds1 had a large one on his lower arm - I'd say it grew to about the biggest at one year old, and was very vivid and bumpy (went from the size of a fifty pence to about the size of a plum). It started fading when he was three and was pretty much gone by the age of five.

He's now 7 and funny enough I actually miss it, we've got so many lovely photos of him as a bonny baby with the birthmark. Odd I know, but it just seemed such a part of him and now it's gone!

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myfaceisatomato · 23/03/2010 21:22

PS I have several tiny ones on my neck - my mum says they were only ever little marks and never grew/faded.

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ProfYaffle · 23/03/2010 21:22

My dd2 has two on her torso. She's just turned 3 and they're now flat and rapidly fading, one is very faint. I think they're supposed to fade by age 7 aren't they?

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zanz1bar · 23/03/2010 21:29

My dd has a strawberry birthmark (nevus i think)on her right cheek.

It appeared at about 4/5 days and grew to about an inch across bright scarlet red but remained flat.
It has a very obvious and dark vein leading from her neck across the cheek 'feeding' the mark.
We called it her beauty spot just like marilyn monroe.

She is now 6 years old and it is almost invisible and the vein is just a shadowy line.
When I look at pictures of her as a baby I am suprised at just how big and bright it was.
I had a lot of comments, was it a bruise, a burn, an animal bite , a cut, an open sore, the lot, and from some medics who should have known better.

I also had a lot of lovely people who had children with strawberry marks or they themselves had birth marks who would stop us in the street to say just how pretty the birth mark was and how fast they fade away.

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cat64 · 23/03/2010 21:29

This reply has been deleted

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FairyLightsForever · 23/03/2010 21:33

My son had 2 and my daughter had 1, they gradually break down and disappear, usually by school age. My DD is almost 3 and hers (near her elbow) is virtually gone. The one on my son's head went fairly quickly, the other was on his torso and took much longer, I think because it had a better blood supply.
It will possibly get very slightly darker and then will seem to break up as the blood supply to it dies off. It will gradually get less and less noticeable, until it disappears.

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GoldenSnitch · 23/03/2010 21:38

My 3 month old DD has a strawberry mark on her forehead. It started as a pink mark a day after she was born and is now about the size of a 5p coin, very raised and bright red.

I had one on my hand as a baby which disappeared before I was old enough to remember it and 3 of DS's friends had them. They're all 3 now and the two girls (who both had the marks near their eyes) have completely lost theirs. The boy who had his on his hand only has a faint pink mark left. His mark was much bigger than that of the girls and covered most of his hand. I only have a few thread veins left of mine.

I just try to remember that DD's mark will be gone soon and whatever happens, it's in her hairline so it'll be hidden anyway. The comments do hurt a little but generally we only get them from curious children and just saying "it's a birthmark, it doesn;'t hurt her" is enough for most of them.

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piscesmoon · 23/03/2010 21:44

My DS had one and the doctor said that it would disappear by the age of 2yrs and I am pleased to say that he was right.

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ButterPie · 23/03/2010 21:45

Not a strawberry mark (although DD2 does have one) but DD1 has a coffee stain esque mark on her leg. She overheard me talking about it to the hv and eagerly offered to show the hv her "legmark", pulled up her trouser leg to show an unrelated small spot She hasn't even noticed the birthmark and she is 3 and usually pretty observant.

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Strawberrycornetto · 23/03/2010 21:58

My DS has a strawberry mark on his head which sounds very very similar in size and appearance to your DD. It appeared as two small dots when he was about 4 or 5 days old.

I also googled and saw pictures of huge birthmarks and was really worried. But DS's never really got any bigger after about 10 -12 weeks. He's just turned 2 and its still there but its small and as it is under his hair, its not really noticable at all. It hasn't started shrinking yet but I have been told it will do by the time he's 5.

Try not to worry, its really not a problem at all for DS. I just tried to find a picture of DS to show you but I can't find any where it actually shows through his hair.

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josette · 23/03/2010 22:03

Same story as everyone else. My ds has one on his chest. It appeared after a couple of weeks after birth, very small- I kept wondering if I had kissed him and got lipstick on him to begin with- it grew to about 50p in size and became raised and very red.
The HV wasn't worried and said it would go in a couple of years. He also had a tiny one on his ear which has now practically gone.
He is now 2 and the chest one has stopped growing and is less red.
We call it his strawberry and have 'always blown raspberries on his strawberry' just to make him giggle.
I think ones on the face/ head go quicker than ones on the torso from our experience.

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cory · 24/03/2010 08:26

Another one here: ds had one, large and prominent, on his stomach which also disappeared within a couple of years.

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Joy27 · 24/03/2010 09:00

Thanks for your kind replies everyone.

It's good to know that these marks do fade/disappear. I'm just scared about the idea of it growing bigger. Stupid Google Images.

I'm definitely getting too hung up about this- after all, my daughter doesn't care, she's a baby! And she is a beauty, birthmark or no birthmark. I just need to find ways to get out of this negative thought bog. Your replies help.

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Lucky2010 · 24/03/2010 09:09

Haven't read all the posts yet, just skimmed.

My DD2 has one on top of her head. Started at 4 weeks and got progressively bigger until eventually about size of half a kiwi fruit.

I think it's getting smaller although not sure if it's just cos it's more hidden by hair now?

She will be 2 in April.

Nearly everywhere I go I get someone telling me they know someone who had one, and it went. I had a 14 year old patient last week who had had a massive one on her thigh and it was barely noticeable. Her Mum said it used to be really raised.

Will now read all the posts for reassurance myself!!!

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GoldenSnitch · 24/03/2010 09:19

Have added some photos of my gorgeous DD and her strawberry mark to my profile.

I love her mark because it's part of her and she is beautiful.

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mcflumpy · 24/03/2010 13:02

DD has two on her shoulder one about the size of a 5p the other about the size of a 50p piece. She's 9mo now and I don't think it's got any bigger for the last few months. One thing I have noticed is how hot it is! Just bought lots of pretty strappy summer dresses for her but forgot about her strawberry! I like the blowing raspberrys on the strawberry story. GP said it should disappear by around 5yo and stories above seem to reinforce that. I'm not bothered about it at all, it's part of her but hope for her sake it does reduce if not disappear. We've had a couple of comments at swimmng etc mostly just curious people who dont mean to offend ( but generally do!)

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sophielily · 31/03/2010 07:43

Hi, My daughter had one on the end of her nose. It started when she was 3 weeks old. First her nose went blue with a tiny pin prick then just grew after 2 years of benig stared at which was horrible and lack of support from local doctors we were sent to alder hey. They were cross she hadnt been reffered earlier and operated 2 months later.
Its been a year now since the op, there is a scar straight down her nose but its so much better for her starting nursery and being able to socialise. The scar will still reduce more and also may have laser to help aswell. Hope this helps others with the same problem i can send before and after pics if interested.

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Bebebump · 30/05/2012 09:57

Hya... I was just reading your post.. My 4month daughter has a strawberry nevus on the end of her nose too. I would love to see some before and after photos for reassurance that hers will fade. Anxious mum. Thank you

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Alkura · 17/10/2012 11:02

My daughter has one above her left eye and a rather large one on her bum, children and adults alike ask about it most thinking she has a cut, it is disheartening but when they ask I give the same response each time, "It's where she was kissed by an angel because she's special".
People are going to ask thats just the way it is but no matter my daughter is beautiful to me. Smile

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Seeline · 17/10/2012 11:06

My DD had one on her arm - again appeared gradually from about 4 weeks. It did get bigger - probably the size of a 10p piece eventually. Then it gradually began to disappear - I think from memory it was almost gone by the time she started school at just 4. Now at 8 only I can see a very faint mark on her arm - it isn't visible to anyone else.
When she began to ask questions about it at about 2.5 we told her it was her special mark to show that she was little seeline, which she seemed to accept.

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