# Unusual bleeding....sign of???



## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I've noticed a teeny, tiny bump right in the middle of my bottom lip. It looked for weeks like someone tapped me with the tip of a ball point pen- that's how small! But just tonight, it was ever-so slightly different.

So, I did what I normally do to small bumps on my body: I squeezed it  . Well, nothing happened. So I grabbed a needle and just pricked it very lightly to see if it was a pimple on my lip (weird, I know, but I DO have acne... :shrug: )

The thing started bleeding like I had stabbed it with a steak knife! Before I could even reach for a tissue, I had blood running down my chin and dripping into the sink! I held pressure on it for just a bit, but it started running down my chin AGAIN.......

Is this a sign of something?? I don't remember the last time I bled this much; I finally stopped it with an ice cube and the little bump looks just like it did before: teeny, tiny, the size of the tip of a ball point pen.

Just for reference, I don't have a history of anemia or blood disorders, my monthlies are never unusually heavy; no other signs that I bleed too much. What could this be?

I guess I wouldn't notice it anywhere else on my body, but I see it every time I look in the mirror!


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## RoseGarden (Jun 5, 2005)

Jill, you might try googling 'angioma' or 'cherry angioma', these are little clusters of blood capillaries that form at the surface of the skin, usually as we age although they can occur any time. And yes, they bleed like crazy precisely because they are little clusters of capillaries. I have one on my thigh that I have to shave around in order to keep from nicking it, or else it bleeds like a serious cut. I have also developed two on the bridge of my nose. Yeah, real attractive  but my dermatologist said there was nothing he could or would do about them. You just pretty much have to live with them unless they enlarge or rupture on their own. They are pretty much harmless in most cases.

But it could be something else, too, so if it gets worse you need to go to the doctor with it. But an angioma would be my first guess, and keep in mind, it's just a guess.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I wonder if my doctor could cauterize it? Like I said, it's right on my face in the center of my bottom lip......great, yet one more thing to be self conscious about!  

Yes, at age 32, I am noticing things going on realted to being older....some pigmentation on my skin, thinning of the skin around my eyes, my rear end migrating downward... :help:


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## ginnie5 (Jul 15, 2003)

do you get varicose veins in your lips? that's what it kinda sounds like to me. I had them while pregnant the last time.....just not on my face. had no idea what it was but I popped it too. didn't think it would ever quit bleeding! I've got 10 years on ya...tell me about those changes!


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## suburbanite (Jul 27, 2006)

Jill, have a dermatologist look at it. While its probably a hemangioma, lower lips are also a prime area for squamous cell cancers. Even though you're really young for that problem, better to drop $100 at the doctors to be sure than to have something like that continue to go unrecognized.

There may be laser ablation or something available to help if its a hemangioma. The lip seems like a pretty vulnerable spot for one to get injured and bleed.


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## MicheleMomof4 (Jul 17, 2002)

I have what RoseGarden was talking about and it sounds like what you have, just guessing here. But it would bleed like you described if ruptured. Since mine are in areas that I shave, sometimes they get nicked. I bought these stuff, dont recall the name off hand, from Wal Mart that instantly clots the blood so it will stop bleeding. It's a powder. Maybe someone here will tell you the name. It is a good thing to have just in case. 
And Im 37....my grits of the migrating type as well. LOL
God Bless,
Michele


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Styptic powder, comes in a little tube. At least it did last time I saw some. Cornstarch is supposed to work too.


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## Nancy (May 14, 2002)

Our son was born with hemangioma on his whole lower lip plus some other spots on his face plus on below his vocal cords. Only the interior one caused major trouble. Anyway the exterior one went down as he got older. Once when he was about 5 or so he took a nose dive over the handle bars of his bike and landed on his lip. Talk about blood. But the emergency room doctor didn't stitch it because of the location. Just put pressure on until the bleeding stopped. He healed nicely. If it is a hemangioma it will bleed profusely but should stop on it on eventually !


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Yes, I do think I should talk to the doc; I just use the VA and everything's a hassle, so I like to "stock up" on maladies before I unload them at an appointment!  

I DID just notice a varicose vein next to my knee! Never had THAT before! When DH gets home from the road, I guess we'll have to do a whole body search for little changes so that I'm armed for the VA doc!

Thanks for all the ideas!


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## A'sta at Hofstead (Sep 20, 2006)

jill.costello said:


> Yes, I do think I should talk to the doc; I just use the VA and everything's a hassle, so I like to "stock up" on maladies before I unload them at an appointment!
> 
> I DID just notice a varicose vein next to my knee! Never had THAT before! When DH gets home from the road, I guess we'll have to do a whole body search for little changes so that I'm armed for the VA doc!
> 
> Thanks for all the ideas!


The body search sound like a very sound idea! Have fun, and do go to the doc.


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## RoseGarden (Jun 5, 2005)

A few varicosities aren't any big deal, just another sign that you're getting a bit older and you probably stand on your feet all day. I've got a few light ones on my legs, just below the knee too. I sometimes lay with my feet elevated on pillows and it seem to make my legs feel less restless.


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## texastami (Sep 13, 2002)

I have the same thing on my lip.... and did EXACTLY what you did... it was on my upper lip and WOWZY!! talk about bleeding like I had been stabbed! Took that little thing awhile to quit but its almost gone now.... (or i just don't notice it anymore!) 

My mom says these things come with age... are heriditary and will also come when you have an increased amount of stress... (stress? Who has that?) My mom has several and my grandmother and aunts all have some too....

I have several on my upper body... and learned the hard way to just LEAVE them alone or prepare to bleed for awhile! :


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