Duration
If a baby has a stork bite on the forehead, you should not worry. This benign skin change usually heals within the first three years of life. The reddish coloration of the affected skin area gradually fades and finally disappears completely without leaving any scars or residues.
After the first 6 years of life, the stork bite usually disappears completely. However, sometimes it does not disappear or does not fade completely. In such cases one can decide whether to leave it at that or to remove it afterwards.
Where else you can find a stork bite
The most common location of the stork bite is in the area of the neck or back of the head. Because of its localization at this place the stork bite has got its name. The described reddish skin change looks as if the stork had grabbed and carried the child with its beak in the neck.
Due to the increasing body hair in the course of life, the stork bite in the neck or at the back of the head is often well concealed, so that, in contrast to those in the facial area, it is a much less disturbing cosmetic blemish. In newborns, a stork bite can also develop in the area of the root of the nose. Here it occurs much less frequently than on the forehead or neck.
If there is insufficient regression in this area, therapeutic removal is often attempted. In the middle of the face, the stork bite represents a clear blemish of beauty, which can then be sclerosed with the help of lasers. In newborns, a stork bite can also develop in the area of the root of the nose.
Here it occurs much less frequently than on the forehead or neck. If there is insufficient regression in this area, therapeutic removal is often attempted. In the middle of the face, the stork bite represents a clear blemish of beauty, which can then be sclerosed with the help of lasers.
If a stork bite on the eye or on the eyelids of a newborn infant can be seen, care should be taken to distinguish it from a common port-wine stain. The port-wine stain is also a pathological dilatation of the vessels, but it occurs mainly in this area with other malformations. In the so-called Sturge Weber syndrome, the affected babies are not only conspicuous by the port-wine stain on the eyes or in the song area, but also show additional dilatations of the blood vessels on the choroid and in the central nervous system.
As a result, seizures with late effects such as mental retardation and disabilities can occur. If this complex of symptoms is not recognized and treated early enough, there is a great risk for the further healthy development of the child.
