When To Get A Mole Checked

I am now going to talk about how to check a congenital mole. Congenital moles are important in general practice because sometimes, they can be indicative of melanoma skin cancer. Melanoma skin cancer is one of the most fast-rising cancers that we see in practice and it is the most common cause of cancer death of the ages between 20 and 40 years old.

Its incidences doubled in men in the last 30 years. It's probably related to the amount of sun exposure we give ourselves. With sun holidays and with the wonderful British summers that we have been having recently, checking on moles should be everyday accounts.

If you do have pale skin and plenty of moles, there are some simple things to look out for to check whether a mole changed congenital. About half of melanomas occur from new moles and about half of melanomas occur from existing moles. When checking your moles, it is very easy to remember the A B C D E rules of checking your moles.

The “A” stands for Asymmetry - does the mole have an asymmetrical shape? Most moles should be round and regular. "B" is for Border. Is the edge of the mole nice and smooth or is it ragged and irregular? "C" - what's the color of the mole? Is it uniform and nice and brown in color, or are there lots of different colors within the pigment of the mole? "D" - Diameter, Is the mole bigger than 6 millimeters? And "E"- are there any evolving changes? Is the mole changing? If you have two or more of those, it is very important to see your GP so that they can check the moles for you.

On the whole, most moles are nothing to worry about even if they do show these features, but it is always best to get them checked. So, as a recap, just remember the A B C D E, Asymmetry, Border, Color, Diameter and Evolving changes. And that is how to check if a mole is congenital. .