So.. i have a birthmark (it looks kinda like Nevada/ Bosnia 🤷♂️, btw) and I’m just curious about a few things:
First, at what stage of development do birthmarks appear?
Second, why do birthmarks appear in the first place?
And third, do birthmarks serve any purpose other than possibly being a conversation starter?
UPDATE: Thank you all for the upvotes, awards and comments… for those of you that asked, here’s a picture lol (sorry if it doesn’t look EXACTLY like Nevada/ Bosnia that’s just the best way I could describe it.)
^you ^dont ^have ^to ^be ^so ^mean ^🥺
http://imgur.com/a/OYVBB20
In: Biology
There are many different kinds of birthmarks but they usually fall into two categories: vascular malformations (blood vessels that form wrong) and pigment (skin color that is either lighter or darker than a person’s overall skin). Some are benign like salmon spots which are often seen on babies with less melanin. Others can be an outward sign of more serious genetic issues. Birthmarks can be seen at birth but others may appear up to a year after. Some birthmarks fade over time and others remain indefinitely. To my knowledge they have no other use besides conversation starters.
Speaking for myself, I was born with a small hemangioma birthmark on my back. By the time I was 10 it had faded completely and I am left with a small indentation where it used to be. Contrarily, I have another on my knee that has never gone away. Furthermore, my son developed a mastocytoma (a collection of histamine producing cells) on his left cheek at 3 months old that is still there years later. It looks like a mosquito bite and gets itchy and red when touched. Both of my children and myself were born with salmon spots on our face (commonly called an angel’s kiss) and on the back of our neck (commonly called a stork’s beak mark). As I have a relatively small amount of melanin, the ones on my neck are still faintly visible.
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