Thursday, July 21, 2011

Hemangioma

When Payne meets someone for the first time the typical conversation is, "Payne meet _____." They say hi back and then"What happen to his arm?" 
I have gotten all sorts of things from, "Did he burn himself?", "Is that a bruise?" or my favorite is when little kids ask, "Does he have a booboo?"
At first I was kind of offended by these questions for some reason, but now I just answer it is a birth mark. Really it is much more than a birth mark, but saying " birth mark" gets WAY less questions (and funny looks).
But, now I am going to answer what it really is for you!
And now because you are wondering if you have ever noticed it and I know you are wanting a picture, so here. 

It is a hemangioma. 

A hemangioma is an abnormal buildup of blood vessels in the skin. About 30% of hemangiomas are present at birth. The rest appear in the first several months of life. Most hemangiomas are on the face and neck. Superficial or "strawberry" hemangiomas often are not treated. When they are allowed to disappear on their own, the result is usually normal-appearing skin. In some cases, a laser may be used to remove the small vessels.  Small, superficial hemangiomas often disappear on their own. About 50% go away by age 5, and 90% are gone by age 9.

 Here are some pictures so you can see it really starting to turn red. Most people didn't start to notice it until the spring when he started to where short sleeve clothes. Truth is I didn't notice it until we were already home from the hospital and I freaked out myself. Ryan had one as a kid so he told me what it was and we were going to the doctor the next day so I was able to ask. Turns out that was the least of  my worries during his first month of life. You can read here to find out about our many trips to the doctor. They still measure it every time we are at the doctor to make sure it isn't getting bigger. So far nothing to worry about.



Hope that answers some questions for people. If you have anymore please let me know and I will do my best to answer them. 

5 comments:

The Jarrell's said...

My daughter had one on her wrist that got bigger and redder after we came home from hospital. She is 3 years old now and it is completely gone. We told her (and other children) that it was the lipstick from the angels when they were kissing her goodbye to come to her mommy and daddy. She still tells people that story. I cringed when people first asked me about it but I learned to love it and made sure that it showed up in her professional photographs because it was such a special part of her. These are only given to the sweet babies!!! ;)

Ashley said...

:) My son had a hemangioma as well. It was on his ankle, and when we first asked about it at the hospital, they told us it was just a bruise! We finally asked our doctor when after a week, it wasn't changing. I too had the same feelings you did when people would ask, but after awhile just did the same you did.... just a birthmark. Now he's 21 months, and you can't see it unless you look for it. Kinda makes me sad that it's gone!

Erin said...

I had two when I was a baby. One under my right arm and one at the corner of my eye. They just watched it over time and I think both of them fully went away by the time I was three.

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