Hemangioma

My DS has had a red lump on his lip since he was a few weeks old, our GP thought it was a cyst. Now he's diagnosed it as a hemangioma, which is an abnormal build up of blood vessels. Doesn't cause DS any trouble or pain at all.
We have a dermatologist appointment in a couple of weeks but our GP seems to think these aren't treated & will just go away on it's own within a few years. It is likely to get worse before it gets better - it's bigger & redder than it was when he first got it.
Has anyone else's child had a hemangioma? Did it disappear on it's own or did you get treatment?
I just feel sorry for the poor little guy having it on such an obvious place - don't want anyone picking on him. I already get plenty of questions as it looks like someone/something has hit his lip!!

DD1 had one right next to her anus...she had it from birth and she is now 18months and it is gone. it wasnt very big but she got nappy rash once so it would bleed when i wiped her bum...i was worried it would get infected being so close to poo but the doctor assured me it would be ok and it was.
I read stuff about it getting bigger but in dds case it never did...i dont know when it dissapeared i just remember thinking a couple of days ago hmmm something is missing :dance:
I could imagine having one on the lip to be more of a worry but fingers crossed your DS's goes away soon too

DD1 had one on her upper arm, it was around the size of a 50cent piece, but around 18 months it started to break up and slowly disappear, its hardly noticable now!

My DD has a huge hemangioma up the length of her arm. It was pale at birth and steadily got worse. It is true that they will get worse and then fade on their own before they are school age generally. We are being treated through the skin clinic at the Royal Children's hospital. Apparently 18mths ago they discovered they could treat them with Propranolol (crushed tablet in water)and they would fade away. DD has been taking it for the last 4 mths and hers has faded considerably. As hers is so extensive treating it now it will give us more time if she needs laser treatment before she starts school to do that.

As you are worried about it being on his face this might be an option for you. It has been so effective that instead of people stopping me and saying "OMG what is that???" to "oh has she got eczema?" big difference.

MY DD has two, one on her thigh that developed after a couple of weeks, initially looked like a pinch and then started growing, stopped at about a 50 cent coin size and has stayed ever since. The second was on her tongue we had to watch this one, but it never really grew, Its still there and has caused no problems
We use to get comments all the time about the one on her tongue (she ahs bitten herself etc) but most people dont notice now.

The one on her thigh i am more worried about, kids can be cruel and i can only imagine what things will be said to her about a red mark on her leg as she gets older.
I love it now and its a part of her.

Hope did the appointment go?

Your doctor is right, hemangiomas usually disappear themselves by the age of 5. However, the lip is a difficult place, in terms of cosmetics, and also because the skin of the lips is very thin and problems may arise with the hemangioma bleeding (they are quite fragile).

Propanolol may be an option, but it has to be used with care as it can lower blood pressure. Otherwise, the dermatologist is a good starting-off point.

Thanks everyone for your replies. We have been to the dermatologist. He just confirmed that it is a hemangioma & sent photos to the Childrens. They are the ones who treat so have to wait & see what they think of it, whether it's "bad" enough for treatment so to speak.
Schmickers - so far it hasn't bled but I'm always worried it will when I'm cleaning his face or wiping his mouth. I think the dermatologist said the Childrens use a laser.

yep, DD2 has one at the front of her head, luckily for us her hair will cover it and we dont need to wory about it being seen.
it started off raised but has sunken in, but now is sitting flat on her head.
its lighter then when she was born but still that lovely purpely blue colour, ive had a few comments asking what i do to my daughter given she has a "bruise" on her head. annoys me something chronic!

My Ds had one to the front left of his head, about the size of a 20c piece. I am sure they said it was a hemangioma - commonly known as a strawberry birth mark. It disappeared before he was 18months old. But it was definitely in a place that would be less touched and irritated etc than somewhere like the lip.

Just found this thread a couple of weeks down the track, and thought I'd tell you that though my DD doesn't have a hemangioma, I certainly did have two of them when I was born. One was a whopper- about 4cm across- over the left side of my forehead (just above the hairline, though I didn't grown much hair to cover it for a couple of years!). The other was about the diameter of a 20c piece, but it was across my left eye/ eyebrow, so it couldn't have been much more obvious. Both were the bright red strawberry colour.

I'm 28 now and I don't have a mark on me :) Both had faded completely by the time I was about two years of age, with no treatment. The larger one on my head sank and a couple of times when I was younger I bumped it hard enough to make it bleed profusely, but I haven't had that problem for years.

I'm sure your DS will lose his with time too, especially if he gets a bit of treatment for it. Good luck!