What is going on with a brown spot on my chest?

Café au lait spots are a relatively common skin disease. Generally, café au lait spots can appear in many parts of the human body, and the chest is a place where café au lait spots are more likely to appear. Café au lait spots are generally caused by genetics and have different symptoms. When seeking further treatment, the treatment plan should be chosen based on the patient's condition and constitution. Below, we will introduce you to the relevant knowledge about coffee stains in detail.

1. Overview

Café au lait spots, also known as cafe au lait spots, are similar in color to the mixture of coffee and milk. They are a common pigmentation skin disease. 10% to 20% of the normal population can have a single café au lait spot at birth. The color of coffee spots ranges from light brown, tan to dark brown, but each spot is the same and very uniform in color. The depth is not affected by sunlight. The size ranges from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters. The boundaries are clear and the surface skin texture is completely normal.

2. Causes

This disease is a hereditary skin disease whose pathogenesis is still unclear. It can be a manifestation of various systemic diseases, such as neurofibromatosis, Albright syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, Watson syndrome, Russell-Silver dwarfism, multiple lentigo syndrome and ataxia-telangiectasia.

3. Clinical manifestations

Café au lait spots are light brown, tan to dark brown spots ranging in size from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters. They are round, oval or irregular in shape, with clear boundaries and a smooth surface. Most are present at birth or infancy, and their number increases during childhood. It is more common on the trunk and may occur singly or multiple times and will not resolve on its own. It is generally believed that if there are 6 coffee-coffee spots with a diameter greater than 1.5 cm, it indicates the possible combination of neurofibromatosis type 1. Café au lait spots that appear in different diseases may have different characteristics and be accompanied by other abnormal manifestations.

IV. Treatment Methods

Usually no treatment is required. Laser treatment may be used for those who suffer from cosmetic problems, but there is a risk of recurrence.

The principle of laser treatment for coffee spots is selective photothermal effect. Treatments include 755nm alexandrite laser, intense pulsed light, Q-switched 1064nm ND:YAG laser (532nm wavelength, such as MedLite C6, etc.), pixel laser (532nm wavelength), and fractional laser.