Red spots on the body – can anything be done?

Dr. Irwin
December 21, 2011
I have about a dozen tiny red dots on my chest and back. Most look like a broken capillary, but some are a little bigger. I'm guessing it is largely from sun damage because although I've never been a sunbather/tanning bed person, I lived in a desert and am very fair skinned. Is there a way to get rid of these dots? I am a 43 yr old female.

You’ll want to be sure you see a dermatologist for an accurate diagnosis before removal but often these are small blood vessel growths often referred to as cherry hemangiomas.  They are very common and most women have at least some.   They don’t tend to be caused by sun damage as much as female hormones.   Men usually have none or very few unless they are over weight.

If they are hemangiomas, they can sometimes be removed with a small electric pen (electrocautery) or certain lasers like the pulsed dye laser (there a several others that work also).   Smaller ones often need one to two treatments, larger ones more and very large ones may actually have to be surgically excised.  Insurance companies usually consider this cosmetic and don’t cover the removal.   They will almost always cover the skin exam part though.   Dr. I

Dr. Brandith Irwin, MD

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Hi, I’m Dr. Irwin. I believe that consumers deserve a medically trained and unbiased skin care advocate.

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