Samwesty999
27 May 2009, 02:05 PM
Well, when I was a new born baby I had a prominent red strawberry birthmark on the right side of my forehead. The doctors told my mum that it would disappear by the age of 7 or 8, since that is the age when most are supposed to disappear.
Gradually over the years it got smaller, lighter, flatter and more faded, but it was still there. I really didn’t like it and I felt very self-conscious about it, leading to me having a fringe most of my life, due to the fact that I didn’t like it showing. Whenever it did show, some people curiously used to ask what it was, thinking it was a bruise or an injury - luckily no one ever mocked me or teased me about it. Maybe this is because it wasn’t very noticeable to others, but I felt like it was, probably due to being self-conscious.
I often said to my parents that I wanted it removed, but they didn’t think it looked that bad and were always put off by the idea for an unknown reason. Perhaps the reason was because they thought it would be a good way to identify me if I was missing or dead. Anyway, after years of asking, I went to the hospital a few months ago to inquire about it. The doctor said that I would need to see the laser surgeon and that the hospital wouldn’t pay for my treatment, saying it could cost a few hundred or thousand pounds.
So today I went to the hospital with my parents to see the laser surgeon, expecting him to speak to me about the treatment available. I was very surprised because he said I could have the laser surgery today! And that it would be totally FREE! He explained that the only main risk would be damage to my eyes if the bright laser got into them. This made me worry that the laser might blind me.
After a few more minutes of talking, I jumped onto the surgery bed and put some really tight glasses around my eyes, which would prevent the laser from getting into them. The laser didn’t hurt at all; it just felt like lots of electrical shocks being zapped onto the birthmark area, which made me jump every time.
When it finished, I looked in the mirror and saw that it was huge and purple. The doctor said that it was just the bruising and swelling, and that my birthmark should look like the rest of my skin in a couple of weeks. The big purple bruise made me feel more self-conscious in the short-term. On my way back home on the London underground, I kept moving my fringe around to make sure that no one on the busy train could see it.
Anyway, I feel very happy today and maybe I could have a shorter haircut in the future. By the way, it wasn’t a really big in recent years; it was flat, pale and around this size:
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r36/samwesty999/Birthmarksize.png
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, do you have a birthmark? What type of birthmark is it? Where is it? Is it noticeable? Would you consider treatment?
Gradually over the years it got smaller, lighter, flatter and more faded, but it was still there. I really didn’t like it and I felt very self-conscious about it, leading to me having a fringe most of my life, due to the fact that I didn’t like it showing. Whenever it did show, some people curiously used to ask what it was, thinking it was a bruise or an injury - luckily no one ever mocked me or teased me about it. Maybe this is because it wasn’t very noticeable to others, but I felt like it was, probably due to being self-conscious.
I often said to my parents that I wanted it removed, but they didn’t think it looked that bad and were always put off by the idea for an unknown reason. Perhaps the reason was because they thought it would be a good way to identify me if I was missing or dead. Anyway, after years of asking, I went to the hospital a few months ago to inquire about it. The doctor said that I would need to see the laser surgeon and that the hospital wouldn’t pay for my treatment, saying it could cost a few hundred or thousand pounds.
So today I went to the hospital with my parents to see the laser surgeon, expecting him to speak to me about the treatment available. I was very surprised because he said I could have the laser surgery today! And that it would be totally FREE! He explained that the only main risk would be damage to my eyes if the bright laser got into them. This made me worry that the laser might blind me.
After a few more minutes of talking, I jumped onto the surgery bed and put some really tight glasses around my eyes, which would prevent the laser from getting into them. The laser didn’t hurt at all; it just felt like lots of electrical shocks being zapped onto the birthmark area, which made me jump every time.
When it finished, I looked in the mirror and saw that it was huge and purple. The doctor said that it was just the bruising and swelling, and that my birthmark should look like the rest of my skin in a couple of weeks. The big purple bruise made me feel more self-conscious in the short-term. On my way back home on the London underground, I kept moving my fringe around to make sure that no one on the busy train could see it.
Anyway, I feel very happy today and maybe I could have a shorter haircut in the future. By the way, it wasn’t a really big in recent years; it was flat, pale and around this size:
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r36/samwesty999/Birthmarksize.png
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, do you have a birthmark? What type of birthmark is it? Where is it? Is it noticeable? Would you consider treatment?