Stork bite

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Classification according to ICD-10
Q82 Other congenital malformations of the skin
Q82.5 Congenital non-neoplastic nevus
ICD-10 online (WHO version 2019)

The stork bite , nevus Unna (-Politzer) , nevus occipitalis or Bossard's spot is a red patch of skin, or nevus flammeus ( fire mark ), which occurs mostly on the back of the head, more rarely on the forehead, over the sacrum or on the eyelids of an infant.

The stork bite got its name from the most common placement on the lower hairline at the back of the head. It looks as if “the stork that brings the children” was holding the child with its beak.

Emergence

A stork bite on the neck of a baby a few days old

The red color is caused by increased and enlarged veins ( capillaries ). Characteristic is the intensification of the color with increased blood flow such as excitement or screaming.

The stork bite may be caused by minimal malfunctions when the neural tube is inverted during the fetal period .

frequency

Stork bites are harmless and occur in around 60 to 70% of all newborns. This reddening of the skin usually disappears in the first year of life, but can also persist for a long time, especially in the neck and above the sacrum .

Similar diseases

The stork bite should not be confused with the hemangioma , a ball-like benign tumor of the blood vessels, which is not a flat reddening, but is slightly raised from the skin level and is therefore also called "blood sponge".

literature

  • BA Cohen. Pediatric Dermatology: Textbook and Atlas , Elsevier, Urban & Fischer Verlag 2007 ISBN 3-437-24250-4