black spots on whites of eyes

My son has had black spots (that look like birth marks) on the whites of his eyes since he was a baby. He has three marks on one eye and two on the other. I notice that they all appear to be at the end of a blood vessel. He has never complained about eye pain and they do not seem to have grown. My 1 1/2 year old daughter also has a couple of these marks on here eyes, but fewer. Neither my husband nor I have these marks on our eyes, and I have not noticed them on any other family members. My questions then are 1) what exactly are these marks, 2) what could have caused them, 3) what is their development over time (e.g., do they fade or grow), and 4) are there any recommendations for what I can do to help them fade (e.g., diet)? Their pediatrician has never been able to see the marks because they wiggle so much during the examinations, and I have scoured the web for information about it but to no avail. So I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer.

[John C Hagan III, MD, FACS, FAAO]

Because I can't see them i can't tell you exactly what they are. However they USUALLY are collections of pigment around a blood vessel or nerve where it passes from the white sclera into the middle vascular layer of the eye (choroid) that's why they occur around blood vessels. They generally do not grown in size and rarely are a problem (especiallyif too small for your pediatrician to see). I would take your kids in for an exam by an eye MD ophthalmologist.

JCH MD

[shanca]

A related discussion, grey asymetrical spots at the end of blood vessels in eyes was started.