Hi everyone,

About 3 months ago I was itching my arm and picked at what I thought what a tiny scab. It started to bleed and I noticed that it was actually on a mole. It healed up after about a week and the mole appeared normal for a couple of months, but yesterday I accidentally did it again. I didn't even realise there was a scab there but it bled and itched a bit, however now it seems to be healing up. Should I worry? I read on a couple of websites that you shouldn't worry about it unless it's getting bigger, but the itching and bleeding has happened twice now and I can't help but think the worse even though it doesn't seem to be getting any bigger.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks x

Hi,

Is this mole in a place that is prone to irritaion or getting disturbed by clothing? I had one that kept getting caught on my bra stap, so I had it removed - so not to worry about it anymore. Mine never grew either, but at times it would get irritated from being scratched. I would have it checked out by a Dermatologist just to be sure - and maybe even have it removed so you won't need to worry any longer.
They will send it for testing, even if it's not susupicous (they send everything these days). Mine came back as a normal mole, just as we thought it would.

Mary

Hi Herlucyness (Lucy is my cat's name:)),

I agree that you should get it checked... by a dermatologist not a general doc.

I've had a similar experience twice. The first time was the same as the last post, a mole that kept getting rubbed by my bra. I had it removed just to aleviate the irritation. Then I had a totally normal looking mole (in a different place) that got a tiny raised portion in the middle. The skin over all of it peeled once or twice. I wondered about it, but chalked it up to dry skin. After all, it still looked totally normal. It was melanoma, very early, Stage 1b, but melanoma nonetheless.

No, I do not think you should worry at all because most things like this are completely fine. I just think you should be cautious and safe. Good luck, and please let us know how you are.

They do test just about everything these days unlike years ago. It seems that even dermatologists can't figure out whether or not some of these "things" are malignant or not just from the looks of them.

I've had many removed over time and only recently are they all biopsied. So go ahead and have the area checked out. I suspect even if there isn't much left where you've accidentally scratched, the doc can get enough tissue for a biopsy. Good luck; it's most likely fine, though.