Non-Blanching Rash- ever nothing to worry about?

[crisscrosscranky]

Just back from out of hours GP with DD2 (14 months) - she has a a non blanching rash on her chest and a few spots on her back. Otherwise fine except for a runny nose and being a bit of a misog this week. She had a nosebleed on Wednesday that I put down to the stormy weather here.

Out of hours has asked me to book a blood test with GP tomorrow and I've made the mistake of googling. Nosebleeds are a symptom of a scary, serious illness for children as is a non-blanching rash. I've stepped away from Google now.

A bit of me wishes I'd asked them to do bloods at the hospital where out of hours is- I'm really quite worried. Please talk me round

Did OOH see the rash?

I’d call 111 again.

Yes it can definitely just be a viral rash, I've had one before, and I'm pretty sure my son had one when he was a toddler.
(That said it should be checked out just in case)

2 of my 4 have had non blanching rashes, neither of which were meningitis or septicaemia. Both were related to viruses. One child had no other symptoms other than cold symptoms and the rash cleared up in a couple of days. The other had a high temp and went floppy, rash spread all over very quickly and he was admitted for a week. Nothing showed up on tests though (had lumbar puncture and bloods) and he gradually recovered- no treatment given, just monitoring. He was just under 1 at the time.
So, yes, it can be things other than the scary ones on google. But keep a close eye, and don’t hesitate to take him back to hospital if you’re worried.

Yes, Ds spent the day on the children’s assessment unit at hospital a month ago with a non blanching rash and headache . They ran bloods and monitored him closely but nothing showed up, we were sent home with open access to return straight to the ward if he showed any other sign of illness or to ring 999.
The rash cleared up after a few days and he was absolutely fine. The doctor said it was most likely a viral rash.

I am prone to getting them when I scratch as I have very sensitive skin - DS gets them sometimes if he lies on things or as a bruise. I have one of my chest at the moment as I have been scratching a bite

When he had a scary non blanching rash (scarlet fever leading to sepsis) it spread fast started off a one and multiplied

DD had a non-blanching rash just before she turned 2. Hospitalised for 3-4 days from memory, very ill, but no firm diagnosis of meningitis etc... Just a very very nasty virus. I would keep a very close eye on her in case it worsens, but it's not necessarily a portent of imminent death!

To add... Like howmanysleeps' son, DD's rash wasn't the only issue... Very high temp, went floppy, stopped breathing normally. It wasn't just the rash that got her hospitalised.

It could be ITP where your platelets drop after a virus. Very rarely causes a problem and they just get better eventually. It is much more likely to be something benign than something nasty so fingers crossed

@805Thistle yes, OOH saw the rash but said that as she had no other symptoms to take her home and see GP tomorrow for blood test referral.

Thank you all. She's not even a PFB yet I worry about her the most! 🙄

Yes there are definitely non blanching rashes it's specifically petechial rash that is concerning.

Like this https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=petechial+rash+nhs&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=isnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjv5tfkoq7dAhXLFsAKHfUyBqkQAUIESgB&biw=320&bih=454#imgrc=fhqjqn_s3AO-M

And you can get a petechial rashes for other reasons too. Often over the face and shoulders with vomiting.

DS occasionally gets non-blanching petichial rash. No other symptoms and it resolves itself. It's happened twice in the past year and nobody knows why.
He was a bugger for getting non-blanching viral rashes when he was a toddler. It used to scare me but there was never anything seriously wrong with him.

Ds had a petechial rash and nosebleed (and bloodspots in his mouth) with ITP, an autoimmune blood condition where the platelets are attacked by the spleen. It's not great but it's certainly better than the alternatives with those symptoms. It's also most common in toddlers. ITP stands for immune thrombocytopenic purpura. The children tend to be well in themselves and it most often follows a virus or immunisation.

@oldbirdy I'll be talking to GP about ITP tomorrow- she had her MMR a few weeks back and there seems to be a tenuous link. Thank you, I hope your son is better now.

He has his final checkup in a month or so, his platelets have been slowly climbing for the past year or so. He's had quite a slow remission but he's been well out of any bleeding danger zone for ages, thanks for asking 😊

@crisscrosscranky
Any update, how did it go at the doctor's today?

Yes my dd had a viral non-blanching rash. She was about 4 months old. We were in hospital seeing the sergical team (unrelated) when the rash came up. Dd was fine apart from a slight temperature. They sent us round to A and E. We were there for about 8 hours in total. Blood tests etc done, but she was fine. They just put it down to a viral infection.

Update- GP sent us to A&E on Monday morning. A long day later and several blood tests showed nothing so they put it down to viral infection. She's got a stinking cold now so seems likely!