To worry about bruising on toddler?

[TammySwansonTwo]

One of my twins (14mo) has the balance of a drunk stiltwalker and falls down about five times a minute. He falls pretty well now, rarely on his head any more, so that's something. It's very very rare that he will cry if he falls, so doesn't seem to be hurting himself.

However, the bruises on his legs are horrendous. So many of them and one really bad one on the last inside of his knee that looks really painful! He mostly seems to get them when he's cruising round the edge of the playpen and falls on to toys etc. But is it normal for a toddler to get bad bruising from this really?

BTW I am 100% sure no one is causing these bruises - the only person he's ever alone with is me, unless I'm in the toilet, and I wouldn't lay a finger on them ever. I'm more worried it could be a medical issue? His brother is much more stable, hardly ever falls down and has zero bruises.

My dd always liked like I bashed her shins with a stick daily.
Tights were the way to go!!
Some kids bruise easily, unless there are any other worries I would just keep to the long trousers!!

What is his build/colouring like? If he is a bit skinny or has very pale/thin skin they may just show up more than they would on a different person. I bruise terribly. The bruises are very dark and stay out for months sometimes. It must look like my husband is beating me. But the thing is that I rarely actually notice getting them. I've just been told that it is because my skin is thin and pale (to be fair you can seem a lot of my veins as well so I suppose it's true), certainly nothing wrong health wise.

Arnica gel is very good for bruising, it might just be he bruises easily, some people do.

If you are concerned maybe speak with your health visitor or when you next have a doctor's appointment you can mention it then. Kids tend to bruise, the more they fall the more they will bruise, it would be impossible for anyone to tell you over the internet with 100% certainty that everything is fine, if you feel it's not right then seek medical advice.

DS was (is!) like this; very clumsy, very bruisy! I went through a phase of worrying about the lines of bruises up and down his shinbones, but I've since found 101 other things to move onto worrying about as he's got more stable. As a pp said, DS is very pale.

Difficult to say for sure over the internet but I'd say it's likely normal - unless it's very clearly EXTREME - but you could always mention it in passing to your HV or nursery staff or whoever.

Thanks everyone! He is pretty pale so it's probably that. Some of them I look and I just think how on earth did you do that without it making you cry?! Will take some pics and bring it up next time we see someone.

If he is losing his balance a considerable amount I would ask for a hearing test and talk to the doctor

I can remeber taking ds to the doc about something and being covered in bruises on his legs... You wouldn't be wrong for thinking that id been beating him.... the doctor asked me about them... the witnessed him trip over a small toy right in front off him ...

My son has dyspraxia which was diagnosed when he was 7. He was always falling over and even now he’s the same due to his lack of spacial awareness! As my user name suggests I think he gets it from me I always panicked about his bruises too but most little ones are the same.

My ds has Ehlers Danlos syndrome which means scars don't heal well: he has horrible looking ones from accidents that were so insignificant they didn't even register at the time. Can also lead to bruising. But it doesn't actually mean he suffers more pain than other people: it just looks impressive.

Thanks everyone. This is the worst one, although it's been there several days already (was really purple initially and is now fading). Will keep an eye on it. He's been standing at least 3 or 4 months but is still very wobbly - he did take his first proper unaided steps today though so maybe he's coming through it.

Had to take my smaller twin for his physio appt a few weeks ago (he had IUGR so is under a physio while the bigger one isn't) - she saw how unstable the bigger one was and said it just seems like he's not concentrating and getting distracted by other things which I'd agree with. If it doesn't improve soon though I will definitely ask for his hearing to be checked again and see if there's anything else we need to do. His brother is a lot more cautious and focuses on what he's doing so I think that's why he doesn't fall so much - he's only been standing about a month, and doing things more slowly seems to mean he's better at them when he starts!

I’m pale and often get random bruises in places I don’t even remember hurting, so I wouldn’t be too surprised at a kid getting a bruise without crying. I was also a skinny kid and my arms and legs were covered in bruises most of my childhood, again mostly I didn’t know how I got them. But agree with pp if you’re worried mention it to a professional. I’d also mention the balance thing.

One of the symptoms of anaemia is bruising easily, combined with the paleness it might be worth running it past your GP just to rule it out? My son was anaemic and we didn't pick it up simply because he was always on the pale side anyway and it came on so gradually we didn't notice the paleness become unnatural.

Though if he's always running around and tripping over stuff his energy levels are obviously fine!

My Oldest was like this and it's partly clumsiness, partly pale skin but also in her case has been related to glue ear. So I echo suggestions of a hearing test. Her symptoms are always loss of balance, tantrums and sometimes "selective hearing"

If he is falling down a lot for no particular reason I would take him to the GP and ask for a referral to a paediatrician for that, I wouldn’t be particularly concerned about the bruising in itself though.

Thanks so much everyone. It's difficult as so many people say their toddlers fall down a lot and have bruises, but you don't really know what's "normal" levels of those things. Like i say, the physio didn't seem to think it was abnormal for his stage, it's even more difficult for me as he's so different to his brother it's hard not to compare.

He certainly has plenty of energy, no lethargy whatsoever. Haven't noticed any issues with hearing but will pay close attention and get him checked over.

I wouldn't say he falls for no reason - just loses his balance a lot when he's moving arohnd but he usually has a toy in each hand and is thinking more about getting to more toys than what he's doing! Will mention it to the doctor though :)

Well he is the master of tantrums so better keep an eye on that!