Hemangioma on arm with BLACK spots when cold

[kaylan_edgcumbe]

Hi there,

My son was born in May 2008 and shortly after birth 8 hemangiomas appeared. The most prominent being on his right forearm - it looked like a small bruise when he was born then progressed from that point forward.

All of his hemangiomas are in various stages of involution - some doing better than others, one seems to have stalled completely, while others are drastically less visible than before. He will be 2 this Thursday and for the most part there has been drastic improvement over the last two years.

I have a question about the H on his arm though. When he's cold (generally I notice this after getting out of the pool at swimming lessons, in cool water during swimming, or after getting out of the bath tub), when he gets chilled to the point he gets goose bumps I will notice dark black spots deep within the hemangioma on his arm. They only appear when he's cold and eventually fade away over the course of a few hours. This is the only H that has this reaction to cold temperatures.

Anyone else notice this?

Kaylan

[missy]

Most parents do notice a change in color when the child is hot or cold, yes!! Since this is his most noticeable hemangioma, it's probably why it's the only one affected.

Missy

[nickbar]

Are you able to capture a picture of it?

[kaylan_edgcumbe]

I'll try to take a picture next time I notice the black spots.

[mrssuperspy]

My daughters hemangioma also used to turn black when she was cold. I don't recall the spots, but I'd think it was normal. All our docs have said they will change colors depending on temperature, mood, etc...

[EFMama]

No spots, but when my youngest is hurt/upset, he started doing something called 'breath holding' - a condition in which he forgets to breathe and actually passes out briefly. When this happens, his hemangioma (on his forehead) turns almost black. We joke that all the blood in his head is rushing to the H - his face gets pale, too. When he finally cries/breathes, the H deflates and gets all wrinkly as the red color comes back. It's alarming, to say the least, to witness it. But probably something along the same lines as what's happening to your son's H, maybe?