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Can physical trauma to mole causes melanoma?

Forums Cutaneous Melanoma Community Can physical trauma to mole causes melanoma?

  • Post
    Zay95
    Participant
    I have a tiny light brown flat mole. I noticed a small black dot in the middle of it and *stupidly* decided to scratch it. It was simply removed but after scratching the mole I woke up the next morning with redness around the mole and something like scab on the top of it also it looks darker. So my question is could this be cancerous???
    It’s 1.5 mm in diameter but it changed dramatically in two days.
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  • Replies
      jennunicorn
      Participant

      Scratching a mole cannot cause it to suddenly become cancerous. If it was a mole that started to become itchy, then that's a reason to have it checked out. No way to know if any mole is cancerous without a biopsy.

      Janner
      Participant

      What is a normal time for a scratch to heal?  A week?  Let it heal, leave it alone.  If it doesn't start getting better, call your derm.  Extremely unlikely to be melanoma based on trauma that just happened.

      TiffanyDiamond
      Participant

      No, I don't think so.

      FeelingLonely
      Participant

      I have done this and I am curious too. I have many moles on my body, has a family history of Melanoma. But before I knew too much, I scratched and removed one of the moles on my breast area. It was a somewhat large mole, maybe like 1 cm. It was red for a while, then healed. Now it has grown back. It itches sometimes, somtimes I feel it burn a litte. I dont know if I should be worried. Any input would be appreciated. Thanks.

        jennunicorn
        Participant

        Messing with a mole will cause it to itch and feel weird afterward, even after it heals. It is best to never mess with a mole, especially if you can scratch to the point of removal. If it looks different from other moles on your body, then get it checked out. 

        FeelingLonely
        Participant

        Thank you. I should have known better. I was happy at the possibility of getting rid of a mole by myself – hey, one less mole! Litte did I knew then. I would be careful not to mess with my moles in future.

      raun cesar
      Participant

      Certainly not a cancer, and does it itch? If it does for how long?

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