# Bloody Moles **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 27, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783 "2009-05-27T08:37:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Quell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Quell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Quell)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/1 "2009-05-27T08:37:45Z")
My mother told me once upon a time that if you picked at a mole on your body, and it started to bleed, then you would get cancer. Is this true? Can someone really get cancer if they pick at a mole and it starts to bleed? ---
**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/2 "2009-05-27T08:59:59Z")
My mother said the same thing. I have also heard that moles with a tendency to bleed are more likely to be cancerous - i.e. picking a mole to make it bleed will not change it from a benign to a cancerous mole, but that the fact that it is prone to bleeding is a bad sign. Disclaimer: This all just stuff I have heard. I am neither a doctor, mother or a mole - so what do I know šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![natterj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dbc845/32.png) [@natterj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/natterj)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/3 "2009-05-27T16:16:12Z")
I have a mole on my neck, which Iā€™ve cut and caused to bleed while shaving dozens of times over the last 30+ years. I did not get cancer. Sounds like an old wivesā€™ tale. (disclaimer: I am not a doctor. etc. etc.) ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/4 "2009-05-27T16:40:29Z")
IAAD. Skin lesions which bleed should be evaluated. They are at a higher risk for cancer than many other lesions. If mild to moderate manipulation (picking) makes a skin lesion bleed, this could indicate itā€™s at higher risk for cancer also. But the picking doesnā€™t cause the cancer. Cutting skin or skin lesions with a knife/razor/scalpel will cause bleeding, as will severe manipulation (picking). This generally has no bearing on cancer at the site of cutting. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/5 "2009-05-27T16:45:20Z")
I guess Iā€™m repeating **Qadgop** to a point here but I was just at the doctor yesterday getting a dermatologist referral for some moles my wife wants checked out. The first question the doctor asked was ā€œHave they been bleeding?ā€ So Iā€™d guess bleeding moles is a classic sign of trouble but artifically making them bleed (poking them with a needle, etc) isnā€™t want makes them cancerous. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/6 "2009-05-27T16:52:40Z")
I clicked on this assuming you were some British person having trouble with burrowing animals. Do you know the acronym [TMI](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tmi) perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/7 "2009-05-27T19:14:15Z")
So long as weā€™re asking questions about moles, Iā€™ve got one. Say you have a mole with a thick, dark hair growing out of it, and you wanted to get rid of the hair. Is hair growing from a mole a sign that it is or isnā€™t cancerous, or is it just gross? Would shaving the hair do anything to make the mole more likely to be cancerous? What if you went with something more permanent like laser hair removal? Would that work on a hair that comes from a mole? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/8 "2009-05-27T20:58:41Z")
This is the [first hit](http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/cancer/canc4280.html)I got when I Googled ā€œWarning signs of cancerā€ [QUOTE=University of Iowa] The American Cancer Society has identified 7 symptoms which could be a sign of cancer. A change in bowel or bladder habits A sore that does not heal Unusual bleeding or discharge from any place A lump in the breast or other parts of the body Chronic indigestion or difficulty in swallowing Obvious changes in a wart or mole Persistent coughing or hoarseness [/QUOTE] (emphasis added) I can see how mothers everywhere could consider ā€œbleedingā€ to be an ā€œobvious change.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/9 "2009-05-27T22:15:33Z")
If you have a history of skin cancer, you want to get ANY suspicious-looking spots/freckles/moles, etc. checked out. I had an appointment yesterday for a spot on the sole of my foot that looked sort of scary. What a relief it was to hear the dermatologist (knowing I had 3 melanomas in the last 10 years) say ā€œOh, thatā€™s not anything to worry about.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/10 "2009-05-27T22:24:55Z")
> [@blondebear](#): > > What a relief it was to hear the dermatologist (knowing I had 3 melanomas in the last 10 years) say ā€œOh, thatā€™s not anything to worry about.ā€ I had a dermatologist appointment recently that ended with the diagnosis: ā€œYouā€™re a collection of meaningless symptoms.ā€ Delivered, Iā€™m happy to say, with a smile. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/11 "2009-05-28T05:02:24Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I clicked on this assuming you were some British person having trouble with burrowing animals. Glad I wasnā€™t the only one. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/12 "2009-05-28T05:12:23Z")
> [@Anne\_Neville](#): > > So long as weā€™re asking questions about moles, Iā€™ve got one. > > Say you have a mole with a thick, dark hair growing out of it, and you wanted to get rid of the hair. Is hair growing from a mole a sign that it is or isnā€™t cancerous, or is it just gross? Would shaving the hair do anything to make the mole more likely to be cancerous? What if you went with something more permanent like laser hair removal? Would that work on a hair that comes from a mole? IANAD, but I do have more moles than a British lawn. Iā€™m evaluated quite often, and have had about a dozen removed and biopsied (no malignancies, knock wood!) None of the ones flagged for removal had hair, but several of the ones I still have grow hairs, and the doctors have never mentioned hair as a warning sign of anything. Size, shape, bleeding, pain, change over time and more than one color on a single mole, yes, but hair no. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/13 "2009-05-28T05:43:12Z")
Not moles so much, but my dentist told me not to bite my lips (I have a bad habit of chewing my lips when Iā€™m nervous, without being aware of it), because he said the healing tissue could eventually form a cyst, and possibly lead to oral cancer. Was he merely trying to scare me? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/14 "2009-05-28T19:51:57Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > I clicked on this assuming you were some British person having trouble with burrowing animals. > > Do you know the acronym [TMI](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tmi) perhaps? I did too! In my case itā€™s because I have noticed some mole holes in my front yard over the last few days. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2009, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/15 "2009-05-28T19:59:55Z")
Ditto to thinking this was about some more animals that Britain got but Ireland lacks (to the best of my knowledge). To the OP, my sister tore one completely off my face with her nail when I was a kid, still here over twenty years later. Actually a bit better looking too for it šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/16 "2009-05-29T10:04:43Z")
> [@Pushkin](#): > > Ditto to thinking this was about some more animals that Britain got but Ireland lacks (to the best of my knowledge). > **[BBC NEWS | UK | Northern Ireland | Blindingly obvious... mole repellers useless](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7335006.stm)** > > DIY retailer B&Q is recalling sonic mole repellers from its Northern Ireland stores - because the mammals do not exist in Ireland. ---
**Author:** ![TheBaptiste](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f6c823/32.png) [@TheBaptiste](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBaptiste)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bloody-moles/497783/17 "2009-05-29T18:59:43Z")
My derm told me the hair in the mole is actually a good sign and that it means the mole is healthy. If the hair falls out that could be bad.