Beer Stains

Symptoms

Small, bright, irregular spots on the arms, hands, and legs. Reddened areas also appear between the lighter spots. This is a vascular anomaly.

Risk factors

Beer spots are most common in young adults. Pregnancy and cryoglobulinemia may also pose a risk (although only one example of each is found in the literature).

Diagnosis

  • The spots appear when the blood is congested with a bandage on the upper arm, such as a blood pressure cuff.
  • The spots appear when the arms are slightly raised from the trunk (angle about 45°) and disappear again when the arms are stretched upwards.

Treatment

It is a physiological phenomenon that does not require treatment.