When the baby is born, one of the first things that stands out and causes concern in parents are birthmarks. Specifically, we are talking about a bluish spot that babies usually have on the back and buttocks known as the Mongolian spot .
The name is usually scary, but they have nothing to do with the negative concept that is mistakenly associated with this term. It is normal, benign, and is the most common pigmented lesion in newborns.
What is the Mongolian stain
Congenital dermal melanocytosis , better known as mongolian spot (MM) -also called callana, blue spot or brown spot-, is a rather extensive and smooth area of the skin (no relief) that has more pigment than the rest and that at first glance it looks bluish or slate gray in babies with fair skin and greenish in babies with darker skin.
If you have never seen it, suffice it to say that it looks like a bruise to understand its color, but the cause has nothing to do with a bump. The baby can be born with this spot or appear in the first weeks of life.
The most typical location is the lumbosacral area, in the lower part of the back and covering the buttocks a little. Its edges are poorly defined, its coloration is homogeneous and its size varies between one and 20 centimeters .
It is less common, but it can also occur in other, more atypical parts of the body, such as the back, shoulders, scalp, and extremities. In these cases it is known as aberrant MM.
It is believed that its appearance is due to the accumulation of melanocytes (cells whose main function is the production of melanin, a substance that gives color to the skin), in their migration from the neural crest to the basal layer of the epidermis, its usual location .
Why is it called “Mongolian”
In Spain, as well as in other countries, the word “Mongolian” is commonly used to insult, as if saying that such a person suffers from Mongolism, a very unfortunate way of calling Down Syndrome, adjective in that way because the facial features are reminiscent of those born in Mongolia.
However, “Mongolian” means in the first instance “belonging to or related to Mongolia”, so to speak of a Mongolian spot is not to speak of anything related to Down syndrome, but rather related to the country, to Mongolia.
It is so called because Mongolian babies are born, most of them, with this spot on their back. The reason so many babies have it there is that it is a very typical hyperpigmentation in dark-skinned babies .
This spot is seen in 80 percent of black newborns, 40 percent of Latinos, and less than 10 percent of Caucasians.
When the Mongolian stain disappears
The spot may increase in size in the first two years, but then gradually disappear over time. In most cases the stain has disappeared when the child reaches school age, at most 10 years of age. However, in some cases (especially oriental ones) the stain remains in adulthood, it is called persistent MM.
Since the spots disappear over the years, they usually do not need treatment . In persistent lesions, make-up or laser therapy can be used in adulthood.
Other spots on the baby’s skin
- Angiomas or hemangiomas in babies and children: why they occur and how these types of spots on the skin are treated
- The angel’s kiss and the stork’s bite: red spots on baby’s skin
- Treating ‘Port wine’ stains is faster and more effective thanks to this pioneering treatment at the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital
Photo | freepic.diller – www.freepik.es
