DEAR DR. GOTT: In my mid-40s, I started getting little red dots on my arms, legs and trunk. My doctor called them cherry angiomas. They are becoming quite numerous and are growing larger. Is this simply a cosmetic inconvenience or something significant?
DEAR READER: A cherry angioma is a benign growth composed of small dilated blood vessels that appears as a smooth red skin lesion — thus the name. On rare occasions, a dark brown/black color may be present, giving the potential appearance of a malignant melanoma. While there doesn’t appear to be any connection to race or the sex of an individual, light-skinned older people are more inclined to have them. Lesions can appear anywhere on the body but are commonly found on the trunk.
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