Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Solitary Mastocytoma



Hello everyone! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Stella had a great time, but was very exhausted by the end of the day.
So you may be wondering what the title of this blog is all about....solitary mastocytoma...what is that?? That is what Stella has been diagnosed with. If you do not know, Stella has a small oval marking on her head. We noticed it when she was 7 weeks old. I did not think anything of it and thought maybe it was cradle cap. When she was 12 weeks old something very scary happened. We were in California at my Grandmother's home when Stella started to turn red in the face, all over her body and head. She wasn't crying or acting like she was in pain. The redness went away in a matter of minutes but then the marking on her head started to turn white...then bubble into a blister! We were referred to a dermatologist by our pediatrican (who had NO idea what it was). The dermatologist took a biopsy and it came back as solitary mastocytoma. Here are a few facts on it:
What is Mastocytoma? Mastocytoma is the name given to a localised form of mastocytosis. Mastocytosis occurs when there are too many mast cells in the skin. The cause is unknown.
What do they look like? Mastocytoma usually appears in early childhood at a few months of age. One or more red, pink or yellow lumps, which may vary in size from about one to 5 centimetres in diameter and can appear anywhere on the skin. Rubbing causes mastocytomas to redden and swell for 15 minutes or so. Often there are no symptoms but they may be itchy and sometimes they may blister, especially when rubbed. Occasionally flushing may occur when the mast cells release chemicals such as histamine into the skin.
Treatment? If the mastocytoma is causing a lot of itching, this can often be relieved with oral antihistamines. No other treatment is necessary as mastocytomas usually disappear as the child grows older.
There are "triggers" that can bring on an outbreak. This can be certain foods, stress, too hot, too cold and her rubbing the spot. The only times we have seen an outbreak is when she rubs her head on something. I am posting this because she just had an outbreak yesterday :( She had gone about 6 weeks without one. She has a mat that has soft polls above it with toys. She rubbed her head on the polls resulting in an outbreak. Before you go googling this please beware, there are some really scary pictures, but this is not the form Stella has. There are different forms of masto where it is all over the body, this is not what Stella has. The doctor informed us not to worry and that it will be gone by 2 years of age (or a little later). There is no cure, but hopefully one day there will be! Okay, this is the longest post ever. Hope you are still awake!

Merry "almost" Christmas
Candace