Angioma

These are benign tumors which are made up of small blood vessels. They appear at or near the surface of the skin. They may appear anywhere on the body and are not considered as dangerous. Whenever they are removed, it is done for cosmetic reasons. Angioma is neither dangerous nor contagious. The exact cause for angioma is unclear but it could possibly be an inherited condition. It is found in ninety percent of the females and around eighty percent of them are affected by it before they attain the age of twenty. The different types of angiomas are cherry angiomas and spider angiomas.

Cherry Angioma

It is the most common form of angioma and it is also referred to as senile angioma. Cherry angioma is made up of clusters of tiny capillaries on the skin surface and the color ranges from bright red to purple. At the earlier stage they might be a few mm across but sometimes they grow to a cm or more in diameter. When they grow larger, they get thickened and take on the raised and rounded shape of the dome. Since the blood vessels comprising the angioma are close to the skin surface, they bleed profusely if injured.

Spider Angioma

Also called as nevus araneus, they are found below the skin’s surface and often contain a central red spot and reddish extensions which radiate outward like a spider web. They are located on trunk and face. Electrosurgery and laser treatment can effectively treat spider angioma.

Cause

The cause for most types of angiomas is not known. Some of the possible causes of angioma include pregnancy, alcoholic liver disease which causes spider angiomas and cirrhosis of the liver which results in spider angiomas. Medically no treatment is required.

Symptoms

The symptoms associated with angioma include birthmarks as many of them are actually angiomas, stork bites which is a common type of strawberry birthmark, portwine stains which are also referred to as nevus flammeus and strawberry marks which are caused by capillary hemangiomas.

Treatment

There is no need for treating angiomas until and unless they are bleeding or they are bothering you. It can be treated with electrodesiccation were electric needle is used for touching the skin and destroying the blood vessels that make up the tumor. Liquid nitrogen therapy is also used for treating angiomas where the gas is sprayed on the skin and it freezes and destroys the tumor of blood vessel.