Petechiae, Cherry Angiomas or what?

[tmb123]

Dear Doctor,
About 4 1/2  years ago, I  noticed these very tiny red spots on the insides of my upper arms. I thought nothing of it since I was on Omnicef at the time and thought it was a reaction. Over the years, these spots individually come and go, but the same amount are always present. You can't tell in the picture, but there are at least 30-40 of these on the inside of each arm. Most are very very small, so small they don't show up in the picture...not much bigger than the period at the end of this sentence. They do blanch when pressed on, then fill with blood again. They are sometimes bright red, sometimes brown. I have noticed though, that recently, they are "spreading" down to my forearms. I have also noticed very few (maybe ten in each area)on my chest, trunk, and upper thighs. Some are getting bigger. I do have bigger Cherry angiomas, so not sure if these MANY spots are the same thing. Can a person have this many angiomas in such a small area? Could this be a sign of a deficiency or something serious? I don't have any problems with blood clotting when I get a cut or scrape, nor do I bruise any more easily than the next person. No other symtoms of anything that I know of. HELP! What are these things, is there any treatment? Or is it just hereditary?
Picture links below:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12451820@N04/1281324170/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12451820@N04/1281323312/

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

I think these are indeed cherry angiomas, which can occur in this form, not just the raised types you're familiar with.  This does not look like a blood disease or deficiency.  I suggest you skip any further internet research, which is going to lead you to many conditions unrelated to what you probably have.  Instead, let a skin doctor take a look and set your mind at ease.

Best.

Dr. Rockoff

[tmb123]

Please forgive me...I forgot to mention that these spots are flat, unlike the cherry angiomas I have that are raised.

[new-age]

I am just curious to know your age?  I have read that these tend to appear more frequently with age, especially after the age of 40.  I am 47 and have noticed these are starting to pop up everywhere on a more frequent basis!  Yikes!  Perhaps I just didn't pay that much attention before, but becoming more anxious about health issues has caused me to perhaps start looking too closely!!
Like you, I have no other symptoms that would relate this to anything other than age.  :(  However, you do become concerned when there seems to be so many and wondering how they will progress?

Look forward to hearing back from you and if you did see a skin doctor for confirmation.

[tmb123]

new-age.... I am a 34 year old female. Just to maybe add some reassurance to you.... I travelled to visit my parents this last week. I noticed that my father, who is almost 56 yrs old, had the same spots as me, not as many, and not as clustered, but the spots individually were identical. He said that he did ask his doctor about them. and he also said they were cherry angiomas, and that they are hereditary, and harmless. My brother who was also their visiting, who is 31 years old, has the same spots, just not as many. (when I was 31, I had less too). Not to say that is what you have, and if you have any doubts, please check with your doctor.

[new-age]

Thanks for your reply.  I've also read that they are usually hereditary.  I guess I just hadn't really paid that much attention until I started noticing more of them.  Mine aren't in clusters but more like several scattered here and there on the arms, chest, trunk and thighs.  They are actually very tiny pin-dot size or just like little red specs under the skin but they do seem to be appearing more frequently.  I did point out one to my dermatologist on my last visit and he acted like it was nothing and said they usually turn brown.  Mmmm?  He didn't elaborate or even tell me what they were.  I never thought to ask if they would continue to appear in number and how many there would be!  Thanks again for your reply and reassurance.

[NewVictim]

I am curious what you think of treatment with colchicine.  See http://www.einstein.br/biblioteca/artigos/Vol2Num3/Novo%20Trat%20Bem-sucedido.pdf

Do you think that a dietary increase in Vitamin K would be helpful?

[DotGirl]

I am 29 and have these red dots on my body as well. I noticed them for the first time a year ago. At first I thought they were flea bites from the ny city trains. They faded and came back again on the soles of my feet and on my ankles and calves. They are red dots about the size of a pen head, but sometimes some are the size of a pencil eraser, and some are tiny. They do not itch at all, and most of the time I do nt even realize that they have come out. They are flat and stay there when I press on them. They always go away, but always come back. They seem to come back after I wear tight or uncomfortable shoes. Each time they come back, they seem to be a little worse and they keep going further up my legs. They are always present on both legs at the same time, with almost the same amount of dots. For a while, when they would come back, they would stop at my knee. But this weekend I broke out with a ton of them on my thighs, lower legs, and a few on my belly and backside. I thought it was because I was wearing heals and stockings, until I noticed a few on my arm. When I mentioned this to my doctor last year, he said it was petechiae. I need to go for a second opinion. What do you think? Should I be concerned? Does anyone else have anything like this? Is there anything to stop this?

[Jrinmiami]

I am a 20 yoa male who has this condition on my groin area and I am very self consious about it. I would like to know if the treatment of this condition is covered by insurance if not roughly how my is the treatment (electrosurgery)?  Do you recommend the electrosurgery and is this surgery a permanent solution or can they come back in the same area? How big can they get?

[moforox]

A related discussion, Is this petechiae ? was started.