Birth Marks
What are birth mark?

Birth mark or birth spots are congenital, benign, irregularity that can be seen any where on the skin. Coloured marks or blemishes that are present during birth or develop right after birth are known as birthmarks. It is not fully understood why they occur. Birthmarks usually disappear with age and may not require medical treatment unless it is either a cosmetic necessity or a malignant lesion.

What are the causes of birth mark?

The cause of birth marks are due to over growth of blood vessels, melanocytes , smooth muscle fat, fibroblasts or keratinocytes.

Which age group is usually affected?

Birth marks are present since the childhood or after the birth, gradually it may became darker as a person grows.

Things to Know

No, gender predilection. As both male and female might have birth marks since childhood or may start appearing after birth and as a person grows it tends to grow or darken depending upon the location and cause of it.
Birth spot causes social stigma to the patients especially if they are present on the face and neck areas of a patient. Some birth marks are stubborn and cannot be removed with the help of lasers but some respond very nicely to the laser. These birth spots should be diagnosed properly so that the correct treatment modality can be given. In Birth spot removal one should always go slow, starting with a test patch and then gradually the intensity of the treatment can be increased depending upon the response of the test patch. Birth spot removal in Delhi should be chosen after a consultation with the dermatologist as its diagnosis is very important before starting any treatment.
No, there is no genetic predisposition but yes it sometimes can run in some families and the chance are high. Some families can have statistical more number of a particular birth mark cases as compared to others.
No birth mark cannot be cured by medicine alone. Vascular birth mark like Hemangioma usually resolves on its own in couple of years. Generally, it is big to begin with and gradually reduces even without medicines. The hemangioma which does not dissolve on its own, in those cases some sclerosant injections can be given to reduce the size and resolve them. Portwine stain usually persists which needs removal with laser. Most of the other pigmented birth marks also do not respond to medicines and they have to be removed surgically or by laser.

For vascular birth marks comments laser used is pulse-dye-laser (PDL), this is the gold standard as for as vascular birth marks are concerned. It is documented and most effective solution.

As far as portwine stain is concerned, PDL is the best treatment option. In hemengioma, sclerosant injections work well, in some patients intense pulse light (IPL) has been reported to reduce some vascular anomiles.

Pigmented birth marks, the best laser used is ND-YAG-Q Switched laser. It works for Becker’s Nevus, news of Ota, lentigines. Some birth marks like congenital melanocytic nevus, nevus sebaceous are removed by CO2 laser and sometimes surgical excision of lesions is also indicated.

Treatments have their own pro and cons. Most of the treatments are safe but yes patient should be explained about the course of the treatment and how it should be carried out. There is a risk of scarring in few cases.
Once the birth mark is removed, the chances of it coming back is very minimal. But yes one might not be able to completely remove all the birth marks.
According to Dr.Ruchi Agarwal, MD (renowned dermatologist) , birth marks can be on the face, neck or any other visible parts of the body, can have social stigma and sometimes psychological issues with it. Especially with the bigger ones like congenital melanocytic nevus or port wine stain. So these patients need proper counselling and guidance. Teenagers can sometimes undergo depression because of this. So getting rid of it actually helps a person heel psychologically and has huge quality impact on one self.
A prior consultation is required with the dermatologist to understand the need of the treatment. Medicines work hand in hand with the procedural treatments. Selection of the right treatment according to your needs is very much necessary. Knowing the downtime of the individual treatment and its outcome is equally important. After a thorough consultation , patient can opt for the treatment and can get it done after taking a prior appointment as per his/her availability.

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