Birthmarks

Birthmarks

A cute brown birthmark shaped like the state of Iowa near your belly button is one thing. But having a noticeable birthmark on your face can affect your confidence and self-esteem, says Barry Resnik, M.D., clinical instructor of dermatology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Actually, the most common birthmarks are moles or freckles, which are simply malformed pigmentation cells. Since nearly everyone has these, they''''re rarely a big deal.

More noticeable is the purple-red port-wine stain, which affects about 3 out of every 1,000 children born. It''''s composed of networks of blood vessels in the skin that lie just under the epidermis, the outermost layer of skin cells. Unfortunately, these birthmarks don''''t fade, but darken with age.

No one knows what causes these visible patterns. But thanks to laser technology, there''''s now a ray of hope, says Dr. Resnik.

Lasers emit a pinpoint of light that''''s absorbed selectively by specific target cells. Since a port-wine stain is composed of red blood cells in vessels, that''''s where the light is targeted. Port-wine stains can be erased--either in one session or in a number of treatments--and usually without scarring.

Another common birthmark is the strawberry mark, which looks like a flattened version of an actual strawberry. About 90 percent of these bright red, protruding areas disappear by the time a child is nine years old.