A number of dermatological diseases appear in humans since birth. Some of them, in fact, are not a disease and do not pose any danger to the body.
The Mongolian spot on the newborn due to its "terrible" appearance can cause parents to worry, but over time it will be possible to forget about the problem for sure.
What is a Mongolian spot?
Visually, the Mongolian spot( "sacred spot") is a patch or plots on the skin, the color of which is very different from the natural one. The color of the skin in the pathological zone can be bluish, black, gray, greenish, blue, strongly resembling hematoma( bruise).
Photo of of a Mongolian spot on the foot of a newborn child
The name pathology was due to "belonging" to the race of the same name: in children of some Asian nationalities, blackouts appear on the body in almost 90% of cases.
Almost always visualization of the Mongolian spot is possible from the first day from the moment of the birth of the baby, but after 1-2 years the defect either completely passes, or this process is delayed up to 4-5 years. Occasionally it remains in adults, but is noticeable is weak, not distinctly.
The prevalence of the pathology of
The spot is most widely spread in representatives of the Mongoloid race. Among them - children from China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea. Very often, the defect is found in the indigenous inhabitants of Central America, among the Eskimos, in people living in Indonesia, it is often found in toddlers of the Negroid race.
In Europe and America, in children with white skin color, spots are observed only in 1% of all newborns, but in the Mediterranean countries the prevalence of pathology is higher. By 5-10 years, only 6% of children have a defect, while the others completely disappear without a trace.
Causes of the occurrence of
The exact reasons why the representatives of Asian nations appear to have such a defect on the skin, what are the specific features of its localization, are not yet clear, but the pathogenesis is understandable.
Presumably, the fault is genetic features that cause irregularities in the process of pigment production and its migration to different layers of the skin.
To accurately understand how a defect is formed in a newborn, the following definitions will help:
- Melanins are amino acid derivatives, dark skin pigment particles responsible for skin coloration in brown, yellow, black. They are in the skin of any people, but they can be completely absent in albinos.
- Melanocytes are cells that cause the production of the pigment described above in the form of small capsules with melanin inside.
- Epidermis - a layer of the skin, located on the surface itself, the composition - a multilayered epithelium.
- Dermis is a deep part of the skin represented by connective tissue fibers, including all glands, vessels, lymphatic ways, nerves, receptors, hair follicles.
If the human skin is white - it belongs to the European nationalities - then melanin begins to be actively produced when in the sun or in the solarium. Races that have a different skin color have other characteristics of pigment production: it is synthesized constantly to color the skin in the desired color.
Conclusion: the permanent shade of the skin will depend on the activity of melanin production, and not on its quantity. Even a European can get very tanned, but then quickly find the natural color of the body.
The pathogenesis of the formation of the Mongolian spot is described below. At the earliest stage of embryogenesis, an external embryonic leaf is formed, from which the entire nervous system, the rudiments of the teeth and the skin subsequently grow.
Clinical manifestations of Mongolian spots in children
A distinctive feature of the defect is its appearance immediately after birth.
Spots can be many, they merge together, covering the whole part of the child's body( not all children).In other cases, the pathology is not so pronounced and has small dimensions, with a coin.
Below are the main characteristics of the defect on the skin of a baby:
- Color - gray-blue, with a green tinge, dark brown, blue-brown, with color distribution evenly over the entire area of the
- Form - round, oval, in most cases - a combination of these types or an irregular shape
- Size -from 0.5 cm to giant defects covering one or more parts of the body
- Localization of - sacrum and buttocks( most often), back, waist, shin
- Number of - often single, rarely - multiple
Spots on the baby's body can movefrom place to place. With close observation of pathology, you can see that education changes location, shifts down the body.
It is also able to change and the initial color of the spot - it during the first weeks after the birth of the child becomes more intense, then loses its severity.
The defect begins to decrease over time, until it disappears completely. This occurs most often to 2 years, less often to 5 years. Individual patients report the disappearance of the problem only by age 13.
In isolated situations, the stain accompanies the person in adulthood( usually in the presence of a large number of defects).Pathology is not dangerous for human health and life, does not degenerate into cancer, other types of nevi, does not give any complications, except cosmetic deficiency.
Diagnosis of education
Since the problem appears in the baby since birth, it immediately, right in the maternity hospital, will examine the dermatologist. If this did not happen, visit the doctor in the first days after returning home. This is not necessary to carry out treatment, but to exclude other, more dangerous diseases, capable of camouflaging under the Mongolian spot.
To clarify the diagnosis in certain clinical cases, it is not sufficient to conduct dermatoscopy, which involves examination of the spot with an increase in optical instruments. In complex, doubtful situations, a child is made to take a biopsy for carrying out cell histology.
Treatment is required only if other congenital pathologies capable of passing into melanoma skin are identified. If the diagnosis is accurate, it can not be questioned, no measures are taken.
Forecast
This skin defect is not recognized by many specialists as a disease, its therapy is not required. The prognosis for a precise diagnosis is always favorable - the cancer does not degenerate into cancer. With age, the color of the skin comes back to normal, the cosmetic problem disappears.