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Asked by hugo to Betul, Bridget, Ceri-Wyn, Maria on 23 Jun 2010 in Categories: General. This question was also asked by jamiewinder.
Question: why and what are birth marks?
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Bridget Waller answered on 23 Jun 2010:
Interesting question. They can be caused by different things. Many are simply blots of excess pigment in the skin, a bit like moles and freckles. Others are caused by scrunching and trauma to the skin during birth, which causes the blood vessels to get damaged and leave a scar. There are lots of cases in mythology about inherited birthmarks, but I don’t think this is very common (if it ever occurs!).
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Ceri-Wyn Thomas answered on 23 Jun 2010:
The cause of birthmarks is not fully understood, but they’re usually caused by a localised imbalance in blood vessel formation which results in a discolouration on the skin. However, there are a few different types of birthmark and some might be caused by localised differences in the amount of melanin (a pigment molecule) present in skin. Apparently- not many Asian people have birthmarks- it’s more common in caucasian (white skinned) people. Some birthmarks can even be inherited and it’s thought they’re inherited down your maternal ‘line’. I don’t think we really understand the reason why we have them, but your skin is the largest organ in/on your body and I guess, during its development, it doesn’t always form exactly the same appearance over your body. They’re perfectly normal though and nothing to worry about.
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Betul Arslan answered on 23 Jun 2010:
Marks that are there since you were born hence the name 🙂 They have no harm, but generally they do form if some blood vessels accumulate at a specific area on skin.
What you should watch out though, is if you develop some mysterious birth marks out of nowhere. That could indicate uncontrolled cell growth and a dermatologist should take a look at it. No need to panic but sometimes that’s the way to catch cancer. Better safe than sorry…
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