They often become more common with age.
A person may have only one, or they may gradually develop numerous lesions over the years. They can occur on the torso, arms, shoulders, and other areas of the body.
In most cases, cherry angiomas do not require treatment.
However, people sometimes choose to have them removed because they catch on clothing, bleed after being scratched, or are cosmetically bothersome. Dermatologists can use several methods depending on the lesion, including electrocautery, cryotherapy, or laser treatment.
Importantly, you should not try to cut, burn, or puncture a red skin lesion at home.
Because these lesions contain blood vessels, attempting to remove one yourself can result in bleeding, infection, scarring, or an incorrect assumption about what the lesion actually is.
There is another important point: not every red bump is a cherry angioma.
If a spot looks substantially different from your other skin lesions, changes rapidly, repeatedly bleeds without obvious trauma, becomes painful, or develops an unusual shape or color pattern, it is worth having it evaluated.
A dermatologist can often identify common vascular lesions simply by examining them. In uncertain cases, dermoscopy or a small biopsy may be appropriate.
People sometimes become particularly concerned when they see online posts claiming that red dots are evidence of serious internal disease.
That conclusion is generally unjustified.
Skin findings can occasionally accompany systemic illnesses, but a handful of red spots by themselves do not prove that something is wrong with your liver, blood, heart, or another internal organ.
The correct approach is to look at the whole clinical picture.
Are the spots new?
Are there many of them?
Do they blanch?
Are they associated with fever?
Are there unexplained bruises?
Is there unusual bleeding?
Are you taking a medication that affects clotting?
Have you recently had an infection?
These questions are much more informative than simply counting the number of red dots.
For most people, an isolated, stable red spot is not an emergency.
Still, changes in the skin should not automatically be dismissed either.
The safest approach is balanced: don't panic, but don't diagnose yourself from a photograph.