Birth marks linked to seizures in children????

Amanda - posted on 12/02/2012

I was told that same thing by my sons ped. My son has 37 birthmarks.. That was 3 years ago and he has yet to show any other symptoms...

Cynthia - posted on 12/14/2011

Somehow the dermatological system and neurological systems are linked when they are developing -- so vascular issues with the skin can signify neurological issues like seizures.

Sarah - posted on 12/14/2011

hi. i took my 16yr old daughter to the dr,s yesturday. with symptoms of vacant seizures. we wer told there is a link with birth marks an beth has a port wine birthmark on her face. we are waiting for further tests in the nxt few weeks. sarah

Jesse - posted on 11/25/2011

Thank you all for your responses. It's interesting to know that there just may be a link between the two. My friend's son luckily doesn't have seizures at this time, and hopefully will not in the future, but she had mentioned it to me because my daughter started to have them about 2 years ago. And it just so happened that my daughter does have a few of these birth marks. I would estimate about 5 or 6 of them. I'm still researching for information and causes for my daughters seizures since all the tests are coming up with good results.

Dee - posted on 11/25/2011

Our daughter was born with several white patches where the melatonin never filled in. We never thought anything of it as she has always been healthy and even asked the pediatrician about them. She just said to keep an eye on them. Last month she had a mild seizure. Short story is after initial visit, EEG and an MRI she has been diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis. I would tell your friend to take it seriously, Its not that the birth marks themselves cause them its what they are associated with that can cause seizures.

Brenda - posted on 10/07/2011

My daughter who is 18 had a seizure and they are doing testing on her. She has quite a few birthmarks of larger size. We don't anything as of yet, but it is weird coincidence.
Brenda

Karen - posted on 07/06/2011

Hi yes i also have heard of that, we just seen a speacialist the other day and he asked me if my son had a birth mark. My son has epilepsy too

Tina - posted on 05/30/2011

Hi. My son has cafe au le (sp?) birth marks that spread. I read that they may be indicative of seizures, but that was many years ago and I don't remember the connection. He has had seizures since he was very young.

Jillian - posted on 05/20/2011

Michelle that's exactly how it was explained to me as well. A greater risk does not mean a person with a cafe au lait will have a seizure. Both of my kids seizure and both have these spots. They have absence, tonic clonic, and generalized seizures. They are being tested for NF1. if you google cafe au lait spots or neurofibromatosis it might be helpful to understand more about this.

Michelle - posted on 05/20/2011

My son started having seizures a little over a year ago. He has numerous cafe au lait spots and keeps getting more. He also has hypopigmentation of the skin. He was diagnosed with Waardenburg Syndrome and there are no know seizures in patients being directly linked to the syndrome it's self. The way he explained it to me was that any time there is birthmarks or discoloration of the skin that usually means that the brain is not sending correct signals. I'm sure it was a little more in depth than that. Basically he said patients who have birthmarks/skin discoloration are at a higher risk for seizures.

Tina - posted on 05/20/2011

Never heard of this before either,but very interesting!!My 6 yo has had a huge Mongolion birthmark on her back and a small one on her hip and her arm,and she started having Petit Mal seizures last year.In saying that my 14 yo son has been having grand mal seizures since he was 11 and he has no big significant birth marks.Is there a link or not???

Tiffany - posted on 05/19/2011

Yes I was told the same thing.about 9yrs ago..my son has seizures he suffers from lennox gastaut..and he has a birth mark on his forearm. Ido believe there is some connection..it does look like coffee stains too. His father suffered from seizures when he was young. He also has a hugw birth mark on his leg.

Jillian - posted on 05/19/2011

It's specificaLly cafe au lait spots. They look like coffee stains on the skin. They have to have at least seven spots larger than a quarter.

Carly - posted on 05/19/2011

never heard of that but my daughter has always had a huge Mongolian area on her back/bum

Jillian - posted on 05/18/2011

Neurofibromatosis. (nf1 or nf2) it's a condition that has a common symptom of seizures. Doesn't cause seizures, but are both symptoms of the same disorder along with learning delays and other things like skin nodules.

Cynthia - posted on 05/18/2011

My daughter has Sturge-Weber Syndrome, which is usually three things: a facial birthmark (although not necessary), seizures (caused by more extra blood vessels on the brain itself) and glaucoma. Check out the SW foundation at www.sturge-weber.org for more info. To diagnose for sure I believe they need a CT scan or MRI. I don't think it has anything to do with whether they change in size. My daughter wasn't diagnosed even though she has the birthmark on her forehead until she had her first large series of seizures at age 6. They are controlled now with medicine and she is doing great. But would have been good to know ahead of time, if only to be mentally prepared. Good luck!

Patricia - posted on 05/18/2011

In a way, yes. My son has leaf-shaped areas of skin that have no pigment (oak leaf clusters). They only show up if he is really tan or under an ultraviolet light. His neurologist says that the skin forms in close connection to the neurological system...so if he sees skin abnormalities, he looks for POSSIBLE neurological issues. He says it isnt a definite sign of neuro problems, but can be an early warning. He also said that a birthmark does not mean you definitely have a neuro problem...but a slightly higher chance. My son is 29 and has severe grand mal seizures.

Sara - posted on 05/18/2011

Never heard of that one!

Amanda - posted on 05/18/2011

They maybe looking for Tuberous Sclerosis, as well. My daughter has TS and has a few white spots that only show up under a Wood's Lamp or when she tans in the summer. Hers weren't found until she was 2.5yrs despite checking at every neuro visit since age 4mos. TS is a genetic (tho' not necessarily inherited) condition that causes excessive growth of tissue, like tubers in the brain which cause seizures, as well as growths in the heart, lungs, kidneys, eyes, skin, etc. The skin spots vary, and may be unpigmented, cafe au lait, rough patches, or something else. A person may have no signs, just one, or many, so level of involvement is varied with each individual. You can find more information at www.tsalliance.org.

Sorry if this is scattered, I keep getting side-tracked by an goofy 3 yr old. :)

Paige - posted on 05/18/2011

My son has seizures and the neuro doctors asked if my son had ash leaf spots or birthmarks (or cafe au lait spots) on his body. These spots if you have a certain number can be a neurological disorder. The name of the disorder is NF (neurofibromatosis) My son has some light birthmarks but not the kind they were looking for... Hope this info helps

Jess - posted on 05/14/2011

I have never heard of birthmarks being linked to seizures. But my daughter has white ashy marks on her skin, like small areas of no pigment, and that is how the doctor discovered that she has tuberous sclerosis.

Jesse - posted on 05/12/2011

Thanks, Ladies. I'm going to continue my research. I've never heard of anything like this before either. My daughter has a few tiny small birth marks, but none I would consider large and there aren't that many. She started having seizures about a year and a half ago.

Angie - posted on 05/12/2011

That's interesting because when my son 1st got diagnosed with seizures at 3 yrs old - one of the questions the neurologist asked was if he had any birth marks. He does have one small one, but it never increased in size.

Stacey - posted on 05/12/2011

Hmmm. Not sure on that one. The only thing I can think of is a Wood's Lamp that we used on my daughter when she first had seizures. I don't remember the name of the thing they were looking for but she didn't have it. Apparently apparently the spots only show up under that light. I know they also checked her cafe au lait spots in regard to her seizures. Again, she doesn't have any. Maybe if you google these it might help? Sorry...that's all I've got.