# A spot has appeared on my thumb **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 29, 2008, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956 "2008-11-29T19:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![liliya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90ced4/32.png) [@liliya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liliya)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2014, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/21 "2014-09-19T15:06:03Z")
> [@gaffa](#): > > 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. > > [http://i36.tinypic.com/farnds.jpg](http://i36.tinypic.com/farnds.jpg) > > 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. Just checking if you ever had that spot on your hand checked out. And what it ended up being? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/22 "2014-09-20T07:07:46Z")
I can see that there are a few experts on this thread, so can I respectfully request to hijack this thread with a couple of pictures of something on my back. A doctor said they are harmless, but I have nagging doubts. Can I ask for an opinion? [![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/lFE293G0YjnSRK1jknFhs1-2a5M-PYuYQGgw7R8jJt66=s530-p-no) ](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/lFE293G0YjnSRK1jknFhs1-2a5M-PYuYQGgw7R8jJt66=s530-p-no) [![](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/oBZzcBcbdgnjmzPOwRAsu-xuuh_UlBvQsh63UCfhFwJ_=s530-p-no) ](https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/oBZzcBcbdgnjmzPOwRAsu-xuuh_UlBvQsh63UCfhFwJ_=s530-p-no) ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/23 "2014-09-20T07:29:54Z")
Wow, they look awful but they could also be age spots. Have you been to a specific clinic? I go to a place here that is called the Melanoma Centre and they are really thorough. Also hideously expensive but… Anyway, if you are worried I would get another opinion. Doctors are normally correct, but if it is a concern go for it. I would add I am not a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/24 "2014-09-20T09:32:28Z")
This was not my usual Doctor who diagnosed this but although the Doc seemed confident, I am still feeling a bit worried. I’ll see what the Doctors on the Dope think about it and decide then whether to see a dermatologist, who is fairly reasonable priced in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/25 "2014-09-20T09:40:09Z")
See you are in Mlb. I now live in Bne and we do have a lot of skin cancer experts. Check it out if only for the peace of mind. As others here can tell you, it is not something you can ignore. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/26 "2014-09-20T14:16:51Z")
They appear to be seborrheic keratoses. Harmless. ---
**Author:** ![tchunga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tchunga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tchunga)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/27 "2016-08-02T01:30:07Z")
Hi gaffa, I happen to have a very similar spot on one of my fingers. I’m going to visit a dermatologist but in the meantime I would really appreciate if you could tell me what it turned out to be in your case. Thank you very much, I hope you can answer soon as I am very worried. Cheers ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/28 "2016-08-02T02:09:59Z")
I was going to start a dermatology thread, but since someone has revived this zombie, I think I’ll ask my question here. I have LOTS of moles. On my torso and legs, more on my right side than on my left. I also get them on my face–they might not technically be “moles,” but they’re bumps, same color as the skin they are on. All of my friends regularly go to the dermatologist for the “mole patrol” (as Grace Adler of _Will & Grace_ calls it). But I never did. No particular reason. A couple of years ago, I finally went to a dermatologist thinking she was going to go over every inch of my body, because, as someone posted, melanomas can show up anywhere, even where the sun don’t shine. I stripped down to my bra and panties and she gave me a very quick once over. She unhooked my bra and glanced at my back, but never looked at my abdominal area, let alone my genital area. She definitely did not look at my feet at all. Where was the thorough once-over I was expecting? \ She identified a place on my nose that looked suspicious to her (I didn’t see anything at all) and used liquid nitrogen on it. Okay. The following year I still wanted to get all of my moles at least looked at, so I went to a different, highly recommended, dermatologist. Same story. I expected him to at least glance at basically every square inch of my body. I wasn’t particularly looking forward to that…but I figured that was what he was supposed to do. Once again, the cursory glance at the exposed areas of my body (I was in a paper gown, so I had some of my clothes off). I had a large brown round, well-defined, perfectly symmetrical mole on my left side right at my waist line. He removed it, and in the last few months it has come back, again perfectly symmetrical, but with four little heads instead of the original one (like a perfectly formed four-leaf clover). He removed another one on my other leg that took forever to heal and there is still a scar in that spot. Am I getting the right kind of service from these dermatologists? ---
**Author:** ![Vicsage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e68b1a/32.png) [@Vicsage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vicsage)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2016, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956/29 "2016-08-02T04:11:08Z")
You do realize you gave your thumbprint to everyone on the internet. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-spot-has-appeared-on-my-thumb/474956.md?page=1)