My 10 year old daughter has what appears to be stretch marks on the side of one of her hips. Unlike the "normal" stretch marks that some of us moms have (vertical lines that run across our belly) as a result of growing too quickly during pregnancy, these are HORIZONTAL LINES that run in a vertical path up the side of her hip. She's got about 6 of them, varying in length from 1/2 - 2 inches each. They're purplish in color, and have the "feel" of stretch marks when you run your finger across them. She says she's had them for about 2 months. Any thoughts? Have you ever heard of this?
She's a healthy, active kid, and not overweight, but she is very tall for her age and has very fair skin (so their purple appearance is very noticable).
If they are stretch marks, any solutions to minimize the long-term appearance of them?
Hi V.,
I know that some boys when they are in their young teens they shoot up in height very quickly and get stretch marks. Because she is tall maybe this is what she has too? You may want to try a stretch mark cream for her just to see if it helps.
Debra
Like most of the other moms have mentioned they come from growth spurts. As in adults when growth happens quicker than average the skin can tear in places and create stretch marks, but they should fade in time. I got some during those years and again in college and I'm fair. They just look like white, thin lines that aren't noticeable unless the skin around it gets very tan.
My son has horizontal stretch marks on his back (and not just a couple). He also has some on his legs. They are from a growth spurt he had a couple of years ago. The direction of the stretch marks has more to do with the way the skin was stretched.
Like some of the other mamas, I had these when my hips started growing about your daughter's age. Until I was in college and finally saw that other girls had them, too, I was extremely embarrassed of them. You're probably already normalizing it for her, but I hope she knows this is a normal thing that bodies do to compensate for growth spurts. And just a word of caution, and I mean no offense, but if you make a big deal of getting rid of her stretch marks, she may be even more self-conscious of them. I used all kinds of creams and vitamin E oil with no success. Time was the biggest way to help them get less noticable.
I agree you should get her checked out. Make sure also she is not growing too fast with some kind of disorder. On the more positive side, I was very thin growing up and when I got hips after puberty I got stretch marks in my upper /hips (where legs meet the torso)sideways just because I went from like 50-60 lbs to 90 lbs. I was very active, athletic, and very slim but not as skinny, just closer to normal. :-) I still have them but they are very unnoticeable. I never got stretch marks during my pregnancies and I am only 5'3 and had 6 babies ranging from 7lbs, 14oz to 9 lbs. 9 oz. Best wishes and God bless!
M.
I am the only person who is going to suggest this, SO I DON"T WANT to alarm you, but please have a blood count done at her Pedi. or PCP just to be certain that her Platelet levels are normal. I had dark purple lines across the front of my legs when I was 10 and ended up needing a bone marrow transplant. My mother was told, that had I been cut by anything at all, I would have bled to death, so she caught it just in time. AGAIN, this is probably dark stretch marks, but a simple blood test is cheap and does no harm.
V.
i started getting those at age 11 when my hips widened. wearing a bathing suit at that age was embarrassing,they do fade with time but I have no solutions but I do believe it is normal for some girls.
Sounds normal to me. I had the same thing at that age due to growth spurt/puberty. If she's embarrassed about it, get her some Palmers Cocoa Butter lotion for stretch marks to help diminish them.
Completely normal in a growing healthy girl. I was was extremely thin as a child and when I started going through puberty and my hips started spreading, I also got stretch marks on my hips. Growth spurts can trigger them because the body is growing faster than the skin can keep up with. Also, your daughter is probably prone to stretch marks. To help you can try Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Skin Therapy Oil; I've heard that it works really well :-)
I got stretch marks on my lower back and hips as well as on my breasts when I started going through puberty. None of them were purple at all, just really wierd clear looking lines that are still there to this day (I'm only 23, lol)
There are lots of creams and oils out there for stretch marks. I use Tummy Honey Butter to prevent them when I am pregnant and have never gotten a new one, so I would think that maybe their other creams might help too. Here is a link to them at Wal-Mart
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7386265
This is completely normal. I had a lot of growth stretch marks throughout growing up. Obviously, I still have them, but they are faded now. Many people in the world get stretch marks growing up, esp. if there are rapid spurts.
I also started getting them around 12 or 13. I got them on my hips & thighs. I was average size. I guess it was just the rapid growth. They are not very noticable now, but I was very self concious when they were dark. Keeping the skin moisturized helps. Also, taking Ester C, rubbing cocoa butter & vitamin E oil helps. The vitamin E oil has helped the most to prevent them in pregnancy. There are some other things that a dermatolagist can prescribe, but I've never tried them. There are laser therapies also. Prevention to the best of your ability is the best thing you can do. It's mostly genetics & the type of skin we have.
I agree with the others that these are normal. I got horizontal stretch marks on my lower back across my hips as a teen. They are pretty noticeable now. I wish I had rubbed lotion in them early on. However, what I think works the best and prevented me from getting any pregnancy stretch marks is pure vitamin E. Take a vitamin E capsule (these are in the vitamin section) and break it open. There is a thick oily substance inside. Rub the oil on the stretch marks. It should help.
Same thing happened to me when I was about 12 or 13. I wasn't overweight and average height. The doctor told my mom it was from a normal growth spurt. My BIL got odd stretch marks across his back when he was about 11. At first my mother in law thought he had scratched himself. At the nest check up they asked about it and he said that they were from a growth spurt as well.
I second everything that everyone has stated: Growth. I got them to when I developed hips. A few on the inside of my thighs from dance at that time too. I was normal size. One good thing is .... I didn't get any during either of my pregnancies. :-)
Recently I bought Dermalmd Stretch Mark Cream for my 14 years old daughter, she has some stretch marks on her hips and it works. You won't see results in one week but after 4 weeks really works perfectly.
