Holy Mole-y, it's National Mole Day: What you need to know about this skin condition

 

Today is National Mole Day, but its purpose is probably not what you think. This unofficial holiday takes place on October 23^rd of every year from 6:02am to 6:02pm, to commemorate a basic measuring unit in chemistry.  The holiday was created as a way to inspire worldwide interest in chemistry. As far as we can tell, it’s largely unsuccessful.... however, we'd like to take this opportunity to talk about the moles we're more familiar with, and we're not talking about the hideous, blind, burrowing creature pictured here.   We're talking about the skin condition, a typically benign brown or black growth appearing on the skin. 

Q. And why, besides the fact that it’s National Mole Day, do we want to talk about moles?   

A. Because it’s important to know what to watch out for in these growths, as well as when, and how often, to visit a dermatologist. 

There are two types of moles:

• Congenital nevi is the medical term for moles that are present at birth. These moles are more likely to become cancerous. On average, they occur in 1 person out of 100. 
  • This type of mole should be checked by a dermatologist regularly if it’s larger in diameter than about .2 of an inch, or 7mm, which is smaller than one of the keys on your computer’s keyboard. 
  • If you have this type of mole, you should particularly watch out for the “ABCDE” characteristics of melanoma, listed later in this article.
• Dysplastic nevi is the medical term for moles that are large and may be uneven in color and shape. “Large” is considered more than a quarter inch, about the size of the end of a pencil. 
  • People with dysplastic nevi are more likely to have many moles present on the skin, although the others may be small. 
  • Individuals who have over 100 moles of any size are more likely to develop melanoma than those who do not.