I have a few freckles in random places. But I’ve never had one appear on my hands. And particularly never right in the middle of my thumb. I had thought I had made a mark accidentally with a Sharpie, but this has survived a week of showers and hand-washing. It’s definitely in the skin.
Does this look like anything I should have checked out? Sorry the picture is a bit out of focus. No matter what film comedies may claim, taking a perfectly in-focus picture of one’s thumb is a lot harder than it looks.
I work in a dermatology office, and I think you should definitely get it checked ASAP. The border and color looks irregular, and it’s a new growth- all warning signs of melanoma. It can take weeks to get in with someone, so call Monday for an appointment with a dermatologist, not your PCP.
It doesn’t really look like a blister, though- unless it’s just the photo playing tricks on my eyes. If it is a blister, you should be able to deroof it with a sterile needle and peel it off.
Well, that sucks. Please go as soon as you can. If it is melanoma, early detection is the key to a good cure rate. Doctors that are not dermatologists usually don’t know very much about skin problems- if they don’t want to do a biopsy, insist upon it. Please. And please update us when you get the results.
Not to tell you not to get something checked if there’s a chance it should be looked at…
But (twice now) I had something that, to me, looked exactly like what you have there. It wasn’t raised, didn’t realize that I’d pricked myself on anything or cut myself at all… Just turned out to be a blood blister. Lasted for some time, can’t remember how long, exactly, but it wasn’t a few days and it wasn’t a few months. The first one I happened to have a physical around the same time and I mentioned it. He said it was probably nothing. The second time I just ignored it and it went away.
Again, I’m no doctor… So this is just my own personal experience.
No doctor but had several hundred sun spots burned off. They often appear under the finger nail and go unnoticed (melanomas). If it has irregular edges I would get it checked.
The skin is one organ and while exposure does do the damage, the damage can appear anywhere- from soles of the feet to inside lips and nostrils. They can appear on genitals which may have had very limited exposure (pun intended).
That being said I don’t know that a new appearance is a worry (unless it fills other criteria). It is often an established mole that changes appearance (happy to be corrected here).
Yes, actually 30 percent of melanomas occur in places that never even see the sun. You can get them anywhere- including genitals, soles of feet, retinas… anywhere. Please, OP, don’t let anyone discourage you from getting it checked. This is your life we’re talking about, not theirs. Maybe it is a blood blister, maybe it’s nothing. But don’t take a chance. If it is a melanoma, you want to get that caught sooner rather than later. Trust me on this.
Actually, no. Most melanomas are new growths, not from moles. Of course, they can arise from dysplastic moles, but much more commonly just appear one day.
Yeah, the soles of the feet thing really threw me the last time I was having my moles checked at the dermatologist. He was very interested in two freckles on the bottom of my feet (but I’ve had them since childhood, with no changes in characteristics).
I’ll have it checked out. I’m in Georgia right now working to get Jim Martin elected (we’re going to need 60 votes to get any health care through the Senate).
I had a similar mark on the pad of my baby finger a couple of times. When it appeared, I also thought it was from a marker, but it stuck around for years, then slowly faded away. Then it reappeared in the same spot years later with the same result as earlier. I asked about it in someone’s “ask the dermatologist’s assistant*” thread but they didn’t know. I’d be interested in finding out what you learned too.
