There have always been individuals who see these marks as the sign of some maternal misconduct or in a superstitious sense the sins of the father being visited on the child.

This is not the medical viewpoint. We do know, however that child born to alcoholic mothers who have drunk heavily throughout pregnancy are more likely to have birthmarks. It is worth consulting your doctor before disguising the marks cosmetically. By skin surgery much can be done to treat these marks or to make them fade considerably, especially when they are not too large.

Apart from medical treatment almost every birthmark or scar can be disguised now with a wide range of cosmetic covering creams available available in the markets. Ask your chemist or cosmetic counter for a covering cream and this will hide most of the marks. Everyone gets the odd spot from time to time.

They could be caused by a tummy upset, constipation or indigestion. You could over tired and run down and your resistance to infection lowered. Often it is just particles of dandruff, falling from the hair and irritating the skin. You have then a septic spot, red and painful. Often it becomes a white a whitehead if not treated properly. Treatment for this trouble is very simple. Bathe the spot with cotton wool drenched in hot water.

Dry with a tissue paper and dab it with an antiseptic cream. Never insert a needle into a spot. Left alone it will dry out by itself. A skin coloured medicated cream available from a chemist applied to it will dry the spot.

Keep your skin very clean and do not apply any nourishing cream on the infected area. Some birthmarks are caused by abnormalities in the blood vessels. If the capillaries (the smallest blood vessels of all) are wider than normal the skin will look red. Small red areas are very common on the back of the neck and less often on the forehead or upper eyelid. Fortunately those on the face usually disappear within a few months but on the back of the neck may remain throughout life.

Treatment is rarely required for these innocuous blemishes but if one persists in a visible area it is easy to cover with make-up.