Tomorrow I have kind of an odd appointment, or unusual I'd say.
I've had this birthmark between my shoulder and neck since birth, shockingly, and I've kind of just ignored it for most of my life. Recently however it's started to ehm, grow? Like there's been new stuff coming out next to it, you could say it looks like pimples while the birthmark itself is quite dark.
I remember when I was younger I was told it's best to probably just let it be but to be cautionous about damaging it. While the doc didn't know if it was connected to anything, he told me some stories about people accidentally scratching theirs or some clothing getting stuck to rip it off which caused a lot of bleeding and put the person at risk if they didn't know how to stop the bleeding, etc.
Other than being slightly inconvenient, it has really bothered me much in the past. It never hurt. Other than the occasional "wtf is that" when at the beach swimming or in the sauna, or you know, when in bed with a new girl, it hasn't really gathered much attention in the past. The only times I can think of mentioning it is when I'm about to get a massage, which happens quite rarely, where I try to mention about its existence so they don't go full nails on that spot.
Anyway, recently however, the past year, there's been a new one popping up close to it but apparently not connected to the birthmark after consultation. This one looks a bit more "dangerous" so to speak, while I was told it looks benign I was recommended to get rid of it with lasers, pew pew. They also recommended to get rid of the birthmark in the same go due to the growth and potential risks in the future, i.e. they can go from benign to something scarier and it'd be best to just remove it for that reason + the convenience and comfort of not having it anymore.
So I hae an appointment now to get rid of something that's been part of me for over three decades now. I don't know how to feel about it!
Just kidding, I don't really have much feelings about it, excited to see how it'll look like after the laser treatment, hopefully no complications arise however. The treatment apparently covers two treatments in case of regrowth after the first removal.
While it sucks having to spend some crypto/savings at these times, I guess better to get rid of it than to let it grow or continue existing, especially the new one which looks a bit less friendly than the birthmark.
Maybe once that's healed I'll go get another massage without having to tell them to go easy on that one spot!
Wonder if they'll provide me with some ointments after the laser removal, just putting that in there so my title makes sense.
Oh with laser it's not a big deal, you can be even chill as if they use laser they are sure it's benign, otherwise they will just cut it off and analyze it... Shouldn't hurt much after, and yea better avoid skin problems for the future, even though those kind of things take a while to become malign
yeah haven't usually had much issues there, probably cause I'm never out in the sun lol
You got some awesome beaches there, you can't tell me that 😡
I hope the treatment goes well and that you feel more comfortable later.
Best of luck to you. I'm sure it will go well. It's better to be safe than sorry!
I imagine with the sun and being so hot in the Philippines, it doesn't help either.
Are you getting that done in the Philippines?
My honest opinion: if the mole beside the birthmark looks even a little suspicious, laser treatment is not suitable. It should be properly excised and tested. Aesthetically, it will look better, but laser won’t remove anything suspicious and can delay diagnosis, which could make things worse. As for aftercare, chloramphenicol eye ointment works very well to prevent infection.
If it looks suspicious, I would have it scraped and tested before laser treatment, just for peace of mind.
hmm they said they'll do a biopsy too, I guess before removal, but that removal should be done either way.
Ah ok, that's good then. 👍 Hope all goes well. 😊
It's laser treatment, so I guess it will be smooth. And it takes around 4 or 5 days to recover - from itching - completely. Glad to see that you are so calm about it. Good luck with the appointment.
I had one removed on my back, but with a more traditional cut it out type method, it wasn't a big deal. They also sent it to a lab which came to the conclusion that it was not dangerous.
Yikes! sounds scary. Best to take care of it now. You definitely don't want any surprises in the future and yeah it kinda sucks to use crypto money when the market is bad. Well, health comes first so it's worth it!
It's good to get checked out and rule things out; I hope it's nothing serious. Good luck with your sessions.