Red Moles On The Body, Reasons For The Appearance

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-07 17:49

Red moles on the body, reasons for the appearance

Red moles are neoplasms of a benign nature that grow from blood vessels. Red moles are also called hemangiomas.

According to statistics, red moles occur most often in childhood. They are less common in the adult population.

Until now, scientists have not decided whether a hemangioma should be considered a vascular tumor, or a pathology that has a congenital nature. However, recent data indicate that red moles are the result of proliferation of the vascular endothelium, which allows us to consider hemangiomas as vascular tumors.

Content:

• What is a red mole?
• Prevalence and localization
• Causes of red moles
• Red birthmarks in newborns
• Features of red moles in adults
• Classification of red moles
• Features of red moles
• Symptoms of red moles
• Spontaneous problem resolution
• Complications
• Diagnostics
• Treatment of red moles

What is a red mole?

The mole is red in color, since it is an overgrown vascular tissue, inside which there is blood. While common moles are skin growths, a red mole is represented by a vessel protruding onto the surface of the body. In this case, the hemangioma can be single, and can be multiple. If the process is expressed to a significant extent, then the moles merge and form a burgundy or blue spot.

Prevalence and localization

According to the available statistics, hemangiomas are detected immediately after a child is born. This happens 87% of the time. Girls are at risk, they account for about 70% of all diagnosed red moles. By the way, it is hemangiomas that account for up to 48% of all soft tissue formations that are detected in childhood.

A red mole can be found anywhere on the body, but 80% of all such defects are localized in the upper torso. It is also possible to detect hemangiomas, although extremely rarely, on the bones, brain, lungs, liver.

• 95% of all hemangiomas are simple formations;
• 3% - cavernous formations;
• 2% - formations of a mixed type.

Causes of red moles

The reasons for the development of hemangiomas have not yet been precisely established. It is not known why they appear most of all in the area of the face. Scientists attribute this to the fact that it is here that there is an abundant vascular network.

Childhood

Researchers agree that red moles are a consequence of the pathology of the formation of vascular tissue, which occurs due to violations in the process of fetal development.

Vascular tissue passes through all parts of the fetal body along a chain of pericytic cells at the time of organ laying. Pericytic cells, with a lack of oxygen to any organ or tissue of the fetus, quickly respond to hypoxia and try to eliminate it. To do this, by producing special proteins, they attract a large number of pericyte cells to the problem area. The cells begin to form new areas of blood supply, eliminating the existing hypoxia. Sometimes, due to imperfection of the mechanism, the reproduction of specific proteins does not stop even in the case when oxygen starvation has already been eliminated. As a result, the vascular tissue continues to grow, forming a hemangioma.

Red moles are also called vascular hyperplasia, which indicates that they are the result of a violation of the growth process of vascular tissue. It is quite problematic to answer the question of how this happens, since it is necessary to carefully monitor how the intrauterine development of fetal tissues occurs. And there are only data that are obtained from the study of stillborn babies or aborted fetuses.

Adult patients

• The appearance of red moles in adulthood is explained by hormonal disruptions in the human body. Often this happens during gestation, during menopause, while taking medications with hormones, when using oral contraceptives, due to pathologies of the endocrine system.
• It is possible that viral infections, ultraviolet rays, radiation, and chemical agents can provoke the growth of hemangiomas.
• A lack of ascorbic acid can affect the state of the vascular tissue.
• If the capillaries undergo regular damage, then this can provoke the appearance of hemangiomas.
• Vascular hyperplasias may indicate diseases of the internal organs, however, the location of red moles does not signal a problem in the area where there is their maximum accumulation.

Red birthmarks in newborns

During the period of newborn and infancy, red moles in children are very noticeable, but often by the age of 5 they disappear.

Such benign tumors do not pose a danger if they:

• Do not itch, do not hurt, do not cause any concern;
• Do not become larger, for example, do not increase in size by 3 times or more in a few months;
• Not located under the eye, on the nose, on the face or on the genitals.

It is known that hemangiomas can grow rapidly along the periphery, especially for the first months of a child's life. Therefore, in 10-12% of cases, they are removed, since there are indications for this. The fact is that as it grows, the mole will destroy nearby tissues, provoking not only cosmetic defects, but also functional ones. This is relevant in the case when hemangiomas are located on the ears, under the eyes, etc. Normal functioning of organs becomes impossible due to compression by an overgrown formation.

Features of red moles in adults

Red moles, as primary formations, do not appear in adulthood. They arise from previously undetected vascular proliferations. Most often, they are treated even before the child enters school, so if a hemangioma is present in adulthood, this means that it was either not treated, or the tumor is located on the internal organs.

The most dangerous location for a red mole is considered to be the vertebral body. As the tumor grows, the structures of the spine will weaken, which contributes to the occurrence of fractures.

Classification of red moles

Morphology of hemangiomas

Red moles can be capillary and cavernous. Capillary hemangiomas are represented by layers or a group of vessels that are closely pressed against each other. Each of the vessels has a wall of a membrane, one or several layers of cells, similar in structure to epithelial cells. The lumens of these small merged vessels are filled with blood cells. Sometimes accrete capillaries form lobules, separated by a thin stroma.

As for the cavernous moles, they are formed by cavities that have different sizes and shapes. The cavities are represented by a layer of endothelial cells, which in their structure resembles the endothelium of capillaries. A rupture of the cavity septum and the formation of papillae in the resulting lumen are possible.

Location of red moles

• Simple hemangiomas are located on the skin surface.
• Cavernous or cavernous hemangiomas are located under the skin.
• The cutaneous and subcutaneous parts have combined hemangiomas.
• Mixed moles contain elements of other tissues, for example, nervous or connective. These are hemangiomas such as angiofibromas, hemlimphangiomas, etc.

The origin of red moles

• Acquired moles are those that appear in the process of a person's life. Moreover, they can have exclusively supracutaneous localization. Complex forms of hemangiomas cannot be acquired. They are often found during an operation; they are present in the human body from birth, but have not been diagnosed.
• Congenital red moles are found either during the neonatal period or during infancy.

Pathology course

Simple moles do not pose a threat in terms of disrupting the functioning of certain organs.

In turn, complex moles can affect the following organs and systems:

• On the organs of vision, on the brain, on the ears;
• On the vertebrae, while it is difficult to remove such formations, since they are located in hard-to-reach places;
• On large vessels, or on vascular nodes.

Features of red moles

Hemangiomas are somewhat different from other formations. The features of red moles are as follows:

• The first 90 days after the birth of the child will be distinguished by the accelerated growth of the mole;
• In premature babies, hemangiomas grow 2 or 3 times faster than in babies born on time;
• Small red moles in the first five years of a child's life can disappear on their own;
• Only simple hemangiomas are capable of spontaneously eliminating, other forms of moles require intervention;
• It is impossible to predict what will happen to the mole in the future after its regression or after growth has stopped.

Symptoms of red moles

• A simple mole. A simple red mole most often looks like a red spot, the sizes can be different. The spot rises somewhat above the skin. If you press on the formation from the edge, while capturing a healthy area of the skin, then the mole will become lighter and smaller. When the pressure is released, the shape, color and size are the same. In the first 4 months after birth, the mole will grow on the periphery. You can understand this if you make a stencil on paper and attach it again after 2-3 weeks.
• Cavernous hemangioma. A cavernous red mole is located under the skin. The skin above it remains unchanged. The mole can be in the capsule or without it. If there is no capsule, then the boundaries of formation will not be clear. The color of the mole is blue, it is possible that the vessels that feed the mole are visible through the skin. Just like a simple hemangioma, a cavernous mass becomes smaller when pressure is applied to it. Sometimes, the skin over the mole has a higher temperature. Education does not pulsate. When probing, you can feel the lobules of which it consists. Cavernous formations on the neck, next to the ears, on the head are dangerous, as they grow rapidly and are able to penetrate into adjacent tissues.
• Combined hemangioma. The combined red mole has both a subcutaneous and a supercutaneous part. Moreover, the lobe that is located under the skin is most often larger in comparison with the supercutaneous part.
• Mixed red mole. The mixed formation has elements not only of vascular, but also of other tissues - lymphoid, nervous, connective.

Spontaneous problem resolution

Red moles disappear on their own if they are superficial or simple. This is possible in no more than 15% of cases. Most often, formations that are localized on closed parts of the body regress.

At first, the tumor becomes not so bright, decreases in size. After six months, the mole becomes a pale pink spot located at the level of the skin. In this case, the skin above it atrophies. After another 3-4 years, only a depigmented area of a small size remains on the skin.

Complications

Hemangiomas (red moles) can disrupt the functioning of organs that are located next to them. This is especially dangerous if they grow in the liver, next to the eyes, in the brain.

• Possible inflammation and ulceration of the mole. As the pathological process fades, spontaneous disappearance of the mole is not excluded.
• Bleeding from a mole as a result of its trauma. Bleeding is dangerous in the presence of a large mole, if it is a cavernous or combined formation localized on the internal organs.
• Introducing infection.

Diagnostics

If a red mole is located on the surface of the skin, then examination and histological examination are enough.

If there is a suspicion of the presence of hemangiomas with a different localization, then angiography and radiography are indicated.

Treatment of red moles

The need to treat red moles is due to the location and type of hemangiomas. If education does not affect the work of organs, does not bleed and does not increase in size, then therapy can be abandoned. Hemangiomas cannot malignantly degenerate.

If hemangiomas are large, located deep, then the doctor suggests either conservative or surgical treatment. A combination of the two is possible.

• Treatment of simple red moles. The cryodestruction method is used to remove small simple red moles. It is possible to apply crystalline carbon dioxide for formation for 15 minutes, or hardware removal of the mole. The treatment is highly effective (up to 96%).

  If the mole is large, then it is disposed of with the help of hormone therapy. To do this, Prednisolone is taken orally twice a day in the dosage calculated by the doctor. To get rid of a hemangioma, you will need to be treated for 28 days. In this case, the drug is taken at intervals of 1 day. It is important to monitor the patient's blood glucose and potassium levels throughout the treatment.

  Another method of getting rid of red moles is laser destruction. At the same time, the skin is practically not damaged. In this way, you can get rid of both superficial and deep moles. Complications with such a procedure are minimal.

• Cavernous red moles. The sclerosing technique of treatment is indicated for the location of moles on the cheeks, nose, forehead and bridge of the nose. To do this, drugs are injected directly into the mole, which contribute to its death with the subsequent formation of a scar, or without it.

  Preparations for the procedure: Ethyl alcohol in 70% concentration, Quinine-urethane, Sodium chloride in 10% concentration, Hydrocortisone. It will take 10 to 15 injections to completely destroy a mole. Rest time between injections ranges from 2 weeks to a month.

  Cavernous red moles are removed surgically if they are located on closed areas of the body.

• Combined red moles. In the event that such neoplasms are located in closed areas of the body, they are removed by surgery, performing a radical excision. Most often, this operation does not give complications and leads to minimal defects on the skin.

  Microwave cryodestruction is considered the best method for getting rid of combined red moles when they are located on the face or on open parts of the body. First, the tumor is exposed to an electromagnetic field, and then the cryodestruction procedure is performed. As a result, the formation will be destroyed, but the epithelial cells will not lose their ability to recover.

  It is possible to use the following methods for removing moles: hormonal therapy, radiation therapy with Buki's rays, sclerotherapy.

• Deep large red moles located in dangerous places. If a mole grows, is on the neck, next to the ears and on the head, is prone to bleeding and inflammation, then it will not be possible to get rid of it using the above methods.

  To remove such formations, embolization of the feeding vessel with a hydrogel with preliminary angiography is performed. This helps to reduce the size of the tumor, as its blood supply is disrupted. After that, it will be possible to carry out the procedure for cryodestruction of the mole. The remaining cosmetic defect is leveled with the help of plastic surgery.

The author of the article: Kuzmina Vera Valerievna | Endocrinologist, nutritionist

Education: Diploma of the Russian State Medical University named after NI Pirogov with a degree in General Medicine (2004). Residency at Moscow State University of Medicine and Dentistry, diploma in Endocrinology (2006).