My five year old daughter is smart, charming, and beautiful. She happens to have a growth on her chin. It's pink, but but bigger than a pimple, and has been growing for months. it sticks out so I am constantly tempted to try to pick it off. but I know I shouldn't because it will bleed; it's permanent. It doesn't bother her at all because I told her all the right things. I think about it much more than she does. I am wondering if anyone knows anything about these growths. Do they eventually go away? Can they be taken off?
Thanks everyone for your advice, which was largely: take her to the doctor! I felt very self-conscious about doing this since I was afraid she would say we were just vain, but actually she didn't and I got a lot of good information. She said the bump is caused by a virus called "molluscum contagiosum." It is similar to your basic wart. It should go away in one to two years. Sometimes irritating it by (accidentally) scratching it or using wart remover acids can help it go away quicker. Because of the location on the chin she advised extra caution in treating so as not to cause scarring. She recommended a few dermatologists in case we want to get it removed. But my daughter seems content to let it go away on its own. She says, "When I'm seven it will be gone."
What is the doctor's diagnosis. Without knowing what is causing the growth I can't know how to answer this question.
I'm assuming you've taken her to the doctor. If you haven't I suggest that it's important that you do so. Since it's growing it could be serious and need treatment. Even if it's not serious this may be a good age to remove it. She will most likely be bothered by it when she's a teen.
I would not know anything about these if it where not for the fact that my daughter has a bump on her forearm that is distantly related. They are known by many different names and there are many different types of them. Your doctor would probably recognize it as an Hemangioma (sp?). I am not positive of the spelling but that is pretty close. They are irregular tissue and they usually grow on infants and shrink and disappear as the child grows up but if your daughter is 5 and it is continuing to grow you should definitely talk to her doctor and possibly request to be seen by a specialist. I know there is a Dr. at OHSU that specializes in vascular malformations which is a broader category that these fall under. Do not be worried. Most likely it is harmless but there are techniques for there removal if they do not show signs of shrinking and if there are in certain places. There are a lot of resources on-line about them if you start by googling vascular malformation. And if you would like to talk I am always available. Take care
Vida
this sounds like a skin tag. they're quite normal. i know of some people who have them and after a while they fall off, but then grow back. My neice had one by her ear when she was born and they removed it just by tying it off, like a sheeps tail.lol maybe you should just talk to your doctor, it can be removed.
It sounds like a strawberry mark. The technichal term is Hemangioma. My daughter developed one right under her eye at about 2 weeks old and it just kept getting bigger. A lot of times they don't treat or remove them because they eventually stop growing and go away (eventually can be a long time!). Because my daughters was so close to her eye they were worried about it getting big and affecting her eye so we went to a dermatologist in Atlanta, GA where we lived at the time and she had me treat it with a prescription cream called Aldara. This sounds weird but it is actually to treat genital warts, but they had recently approved it to treat hemangiomas. It worked amazingly. She is two now and it is completely gone!! Talk to a dermatologist about aldara. Good luck.
Next time you take her in to the doctor you may want to inquire with them as to what it is. I agree with Candice, it sounds like it may be a wart or a skin tag but without really looking at it, her guess is as good as mine. :) But don't pick mom. Scars aren't very fun and it probably hurts a bit. But I know what you mean! I'd be SO tempted to pick it as well. lol
Hi E.~
It is probably either a wart or a skin tag. Warts will spread and should be taken care of asap. If it is floppy like an extra piece of skin it is a skin tag and harmless. Both can be removed but need to be done so by a doctor. A wart they have to freeze off and then they give you some kind of medication you apply to the area to keep it clean of extra growth (my sister had these gallore and my mom waited to take care of them - it was nearly a year of hassle before they were gone) and skin tags are either burned off or they remove them by using some special string and "tying" them off (my love has these and the second method is what he wants to have them removed). Anyhow do not pick at it as you can infect it and make it worse. Keep the area clean and be sure to get it looked at. Best of luck!
C.
Hi E.,
You might take her to the doctor and have him/her check it. My daughter had a bump on her temple that just appeared when she was around 8 months old. The doctor said it was more than likely a "dermoid cyst", which is normally not scary, bothersome or dangerous. However, the doctor said any bump should be check out further, just in case. He referred us to Childrens Hospital and 2 days after her 1st birthday, she had it removed. I have to say that the people there are the most wonderful and caring I have met. They did everything to reassure this nervous and worried mommy. My sweetheart is now 18 months and you cannot even see the incision mark, the plastic surgeon was amazing. They sent it to the lab to test, just to be safe, and sure enough it was a dermoid cyst - non threatening. You can check out "dermoid cyst" on the internet but all it is, is a combo of cells, hair, sometimes bits of bone, that have collected into a lump. They pretty much form while in-utero and sometimes dont show up for years - as may be in your case. The reason they took it out was to make sure that was all it was.
I would tell you not to be worried but you are a mom and I know how it is. You are right, it bothers you more than her. Just get it checked by her doctor and see where it takes you. Again, if it is a dermoid cyst, there is nothing to worry about and you can have it removed - try to see if they will refer you to Children's. I think they are just the best and all they do are kids so they know how to act towards them. They are amazing there.
Good luck and I hope you all the best.
L.
I would take her to the doctor just to be sure. There are bugs out there than can look very benign but are awful and can spread very easily - MRSA being one. I think from what the other moms said that probably they are right - it is a Hemangioma, but still since non of us can see it, and these things can be really difficult to diagnose, it's really hard to be accurate.
Better safe than sorry.
Take her to a dermatologist! If you are in the Seattle South Puget Sound area, I recommend Dr. Pepper at Valley Medical. I know her name is funny but she is EXCELLENT!! She will know exactly what it is.
The number to her office is ###-###-####.
Hi E., my name is J. and I too have 2 children ages 9 and 5. My 9 year old is a boy in the4th grade, my daugter is 5 in kindergarten. It is fun to have both a boy and a girl and I have found that the age difference is quite a blessing.
The growth on your daughter's chin may be a mole or skin tag, and those can definitely be taken off and the sooner the better so less chance of a big scar or sunken spot, which is still something that blends in after a while once it is gone. It could be a skin condition that is treatable too. Try putting colloidial silver on the spot several times a day for a week and if it gets better, it isn't a mole, and then keep using the silver on it. Otherwise, the colloidial silver is also an immune system booster that breaks down micro organisms and keeps kids from getting sick with colds and flus and viruses. It's amazing stuff. My whole family takes it daily and it is absolutely colorless and tasteless so there aren't any complaints. Several teaspoons each held under the tongue and swallowed daily works great. It can be put topically on just about every sore or cut or wound your body may get, and will speed up healing immensely. The stuff works! I use it for everything because it is 100% natural silver colloids in distilled water so there are never any side affects. Well, I hope this helps in more ways than one. If you want to contact me about a great source of the colloidial silver, I have my top 3 recommendations that I use all the time. I also make my own since it can be quite expensive. Anyway, blessings, Julie
Have it checked out by a doctor. It could be just as others have suggested, however, it could also be more. A friend of mine's son had what appeared to be a small pimple on the bridge of his nose. As it turns out, the growth we could see was just the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. In this case, growth was under the skin. It could have gotten serious if it wasn't removed due to the location (in front of the brain). It was easily removed. Good luck!
I think that I would get her into the pediatrician or dermatologist. Especially since it's not something she was born with. It's always good to be safe with these things. The dermatologist can at least look at it and tell you what it might be and if it is a danger to her or not. Moles run in my family and we were always out in the sun growing up so we get our moles checked out annually to avoid skin cancer. Luckily, our biopsies have always turned out negative, but I always feel better knowing. At least it would put your mind at ease knowing a doc looked at it. Good Luck!
Take her to the DR! STOP picking it off!! It could be nothing, but then again it could be something and picking it off is making it worse. Take her to the DR.
