Treatment of Salmon Patches
Salmon patches are common in the neonatal period right after a baby is born. These patches tend to disappear or significantly regress by the time a child reaches 3 years old. Those in the occiput and nape tend to persist longer. Facial lesions are rare after puberty and have not been reported in adulthood.
Parents should be reassured that these lesions will indeed disappear. Though rare, there is some possible association with occult spinal dysraphism. In such cases, doctors recommended routine ultrasonography imaging of the lumbosacral spine for those with salmon patches in the sacral area.
Key Takeaways
Salmon patches are among the many birthmarks parents may find in newborn infants. Like most of these other birthmarks, these fade away with time, lasting no longer than the first three years of a child’s life. Collections of capillary blood vessels close to an infant’s skin are the main cause, and they are harmless. To differentiate salmon patches from the birthmark known as port wine stains, the latter stay past a baby’s first year. They also get deeper and more pronounced in color. No treatment is necessary for salmon patches.
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