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Birthmarks... A Sign Of A Deeper - Potentially Life-Threatening - Issue...
It occurred to me that something else that is so often overlooked may also fit into this little puzzle... birthmarks. Recently, I have noticed more and more children have red birthmarks on their faces (and I suspect in other places too). Zachary was born with a reddish birthmark on his forehead. It went from the hairline down to his nose... in some pictures, it was quite noticeable... in others, you can barely see it... now, at age 7, it has virtually disappeared. Why would that be?
Zachary's birthmark was really "nothing" compared to those seen in other children (see pictures in links below), but, clearly, a reddish birthmark would again have something to do with "skin pigmentation issues" and I suspect that iron may again somehow be involved here.
The following are pictures of Zachary ... then and now ... most of my pictures of Zachary when he was much younger are in storage right now (in process of moving)... when I find better ones, I'll post them...
The first picture shows the birthmark but the focus is not too good... the second has better overall focus but the mark is not as clearly seen... the third picture also shows it... but again, it is a little harder to make out... especially in view of the fact that Zachary often also had red ears and cheeks (as in this 3rd picture)... but if you look at it from further away, you can see there is a birthmark from top of the hairline to the nose area... as Zachary grew older, his hair often covered the mark... At times in Zachary's life, the birthmark was quite noticeable... today, it is virtually gone... only a very faint trace of it remains at the very top of his forehead... if you did not know he had a birthmark there, you wouldn't even notice what remains... you really have to look very closely to see any trace of it today. Again, I can not help but wonder as to the role of iron in such markings in children... and whether they may be an indication of a problem in children.... especially in view of the fact that lately, I see so many more children with very pronounced birthmarks... much, much worse than what I saw in my own son!
Not surprising to me... the cause of birthmarks is... "unknown"...
Personally, I suspect it is the body's way of telling us there was a problem there somehow... some of the birthmarks we see in children today are simply horrible... I've seen some covering the entire chin that were very, very red in appearance... I've seen them around the eyes of children... again, huge birthmarks are showing up in children today... but, because they "don't hurt" we don't seem to care... after all... it is only the child that will have to just "live with it"... right?
We do know birthmarks are "not inherited"... so, again, if not due to the parents' genes... what caused the mark? If not "hereditary", look like that leaves just another option... "environmental"! Could it be something "environmental" like metal toxicity... I just can't help but suspect that this is indeed the case!
"Strawberry" marks... and they are often known to disappear after a few years... but, many birthmarks do not disappear... and some even go on to form cancers... keep in mind... high levels of iron are absolutely tied... to cancer!
The other thing I've seen more of on children are horrible moles... some absolutely huge... on the forehead... and in other places... and these can look like "bubbles" on the child... again... given they "don't hurt"... I guess the medical community just thinks these are "nothing to worry about"... especially since we now have things like cosmetic surgery to remove those things we find so unsightly... just like that prescription cream I had been given to make the "redness" disappear from Zachary's face when he was an infant... what I came to call his "face mask"... only masking a much deeper underlying issue (see Book 1 : Saving Zachary, for more on that... read pages 36 - 38 on "red cheeks" and food allergies)! How very interesting that "problems" show up as "redness"... hum... a red birthmark on my son's face... a possible "warning sign" that was once again totally missed or dismissed?
For those interested in pictures of birthmarks... there are plenty of websites that deal with this issue of another "cause unknown"... could the body be "localizing" something until it can flush it from the body? Could damage to capillaries not be caused by iron? Excess iron is certainly tied to heart problems! Yes... the markings eventually "went away"... but clearly... they were a sign of "something gone wrong" in the first place as this is not "normal"... and in my opinion, doctors need to keep that in mind... the fact that the immune system was able to deal with this on its own also... in my opinion... provides for a very valuable lesson indeed!
http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/936041445.html (Comprehensive Review Sheds New Light on Birthmarks, Research by Drolet and Esterly, Medical College of Wisconsin... shows birthmarks may be an early warning sign of a more serious, potentially life-threatening problem).
http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/diseasemanagement/dermatology/birthmarks/birthmarks.htm (excellent - another article showing birthmarks can "cause" serious problems... but, again... is the birthmark "causing" the heart failure... or could it be something else... like metal toxicity?)
http://www.rogerknapp.com/medical/birth_mark.htm
http://www.birthmarks.com/Index.cfm?Page=38&Hit=1
Note that some birthmarks are more 3 times more likely to occur in females (per article entitled: Comprehensive Review Sheds New Light On Birthmarks mentioned above). Are hormone issues at play here? Note that estrogen and testosterone impact serum iron levels as discussed in the Redefining The Role Of Insulin paper [reference 61].
Note again... calcium is known to help prevent iron absorption... many birthmarks resolve on their own within a few years of birth... well... in those early years... children are usually drinking... MILK!
Parents can find online support groups such as this one to discuss issues relating to birthmarks. These parents' stories clearly show that there is a lot more going on than "simple birthmarks".
http://groups.msn.com/vascularbirthmarksupport/ourstories1.msnw
The immune system... when left alone to do what it needs to do... is an amazing thing! Unfortunately, I think all too often we think we are "helping" with all our "treatments", "vaccines", prenatal vitamins loaded with iron, etc.... when indeed, it appears we may be doing a whole lot more harm than good!
I, personally, do believe in God... and I highly doubt that God needed man to "improve on the immune system" or the way things are supposed to work in the first place! :o)