Bruising on child legs with no explanation

[worriedMum1123]

I’m really worried about my daughters legs they have bruising on them. I am of course going to call my GP in the morning but right now I’m going crazy googling and finding all sorts of diseases it could be a sign of. Please tell me if you’ve experienced similar with your kids please. She has been with me all week so no chance of anyone doing this to her. She’s doesn’t remember how it happened and it doesn’t hurt when I touch it. What could be the cause?

Has happened to me (looks just the same) all my life. At times I was anaemic. Just get her a blood test

I’m not a medic but have seen leukaemia bruising in a close relative - it didn’t look like that at all. Those look very much like normal childhood shin bruises. DD is very active and her shins always look like that! A GO once said to me that they consider shin bruises to be very normal in children to the point that they’d be surprised if an active child didn’t have any.

All the very best to you and your family but it isn’t relevant to the op

Not when you are as anxious as OP. Everyone in the world could reassure her it's just normal bruising and she would be unconvinced. I judged that if she could see how different really worrying bruising is, that might be more helpful. To see what a non blanching rash looks like (nothing like a bruise).

My own view is that those recommending a glass test on a bruise or suggesting a GP visit are being less helpful and reassuring than me.

I guess OP would need to say whether she found comparing her pictures with "actually worrying bruised leg" pictures was reassuring or not.

*GP not GO!

@Callimanco OK, you carry on sharing your photos if you think you are being helpful. Still entirely irrelevant but hey, if it makes you feel better, display away

Yes it is - by showing her a picture of worrying bruising, and non blanching rash on legs, she can see that her dd's bruises are very different indeed from them and thus gives more "evidence" that she need not worry.

This is one of mine after I decided to climb up a tree as an adult

Do you have a dog? Not sure but they look similar to some bruises I’ve gotten off heavy dogs standing/jumping on me

Well I already have, so not much I can do about it now.

All I can say is that as a parent who has had severe health anxiety in relation to my kids, I could be told repeatedly that something was not a worry and I simply didn't believe it. I needed better evidence. The intention of my post was to provide "better evidence" of the difference between "normal" shin bruising and shins covered in a non blanching rash and spontaneous bruising. No way could OP see ds' leg pictures and think that her dd's bruising is in any way similar. I thought that might help her. It would have helped me when I was suffering with severe health anxiety.

I think of it was something serious there would be other signs. When my little cousin had leukemia he was deathly pale, very lethargic and bruisnig easily. He could barely carry his school bag and this is when they brought him to the GP. The bruising came after the other symptoms and there were big bruises.

Your daughters brushing is at the same time side of each leg, it looks like she's knocked them. It doesn't have to be a big knock to bruise, I have random bruises all the time on my legs and no clue how I got them. I'm am anxious mother too but honestly I don't think you've anything to worry about.

I was just going to suggest this.

Pedals on a bike are brutal - and they don't necessarily hurt that much at the time of doing it.

My DD6's shins are covered in bruises from her bike and other unknown sources.

Often bruises don't become visible until some time after the bump, by which time they tend not to be painful.

As far as the 'glass test' is concerned- that is for rashes that could be symptomatic of meningitis, not for bruises.

Children -and many adults, like me- do get bruises all the time, but if speaking to the GP might reassure you, please do so.

I have, and always have had, unexplained bruises, particularly in this area! All tests are always fine. It’s got to the point now where every time I bang a knee, walk into something, hit an elbow or whatever, I make a mental note to remember later when I inevitably start freaking out and claiming the bruises are unexplained! The location of the bruises indicates she’s walked into something - easy to forget, and not always especially painful in this area! Watch and wait before freaking out too much (says the hypocrite of the year over here who always freaks out and Googles everything and then becomes convinced everything is deadly serious!)

Take photos just incase but they look like completely normal bruises to me. Some people bruise more easily than others. I have a few right but now, I couldn’t tell you were they are from.

OP if you looked at the shins of a class full of regular 7 yr olds, you would be hard pushed to find any without bruises like that. Even if they haven’t been climbing or bike riding etc, it could be from something as simple as doing a cartwheel or a handstand, and kicking their own leg on the way down. They really do just get them from anywhere at that age, so try not to stress about them.

All brusing is bleeding under the skin, OP. It could be burst capillaries from running around, or when she's asleep if she's slept with one leg folded over the other this can also happen.

The fact they are at a similar level makes me think it's from resting her leg atop the other and swopping over during sleep, lightly bumping them on the bed frame and not realising etc. It can also be caused by an iron or vitamin deficiency. Trust me - 3 children. Always had mysterious bruises between the ages of 4 and 10. They are all fine. :)

You can ring your GP and ask for an E-consult. They can even give you an E-mail to send those pictures to. Be prepared for vigorous questioning because of changes to safeguarding practices, though. It's part of their checklist.

I think I am more concerned by your anxiety, or maybe I am thinking this is your 1st and only child? Which could also explain the anxiety and worry. Perhaps speak with your GP, at the same time, for help with the anxiety and how it made you feel. They may offer better coping mechanisms, or even look into mindful thinking exercises, OP.

Your baby will be OK. :)

This is insane. She's 7 years old, just because she can't remember banging into something (it probably happens all the time) doesn't make any bruises unexplained!

Don’t waste your GPs time with normal bruises in places you would expect a young child to get bruises 🙄

Looks like perfectly normal childhood bruising.

Unlikely to be picked up as a safeguarding issue at school. We do have to report unexplained and unusual bruises and marks. There are some places where it's common for children to have bruises whereas others are 🚩🚩🚩
These wouldn't raise alarm bells.

All bruising is bleeding under the skin, purple is just older or deeper than red.

No harm getting it checked but the pattern of them looks like a bump. Do you have a bit of health anxiety in general? I do and every bruise is leukaemia, every headache is meningitis etc as my first thought. My eldest has a health condition which set this off but being aware of it and forcing myself to think rationally helps.

That said, yes, there are conditions that can cause bruising and getting checked isn't hugely unreasonable

@Callimanco the point of your post was immediately obvious even before scrolling further and seeing your explanation (to be reassuring). I don't know why anyone's first thought is that it would make OP feel worse because I know I have found it reassuring, without even being that concerned about the state of my sons legs in the first place (and they are a state!)

@worriedMum1123 , my sons shins and knees are covered in bruises. When I happen to notice a new one I will ask him what happened and if it hurts, he usually says he doesn't know and that it doesn't. (I am pretty sure most are actually from climbing at the park, he can't always reach to step on the bars of the climbing frame so sort of kneels on them.) Over many years of working in early years with its small furniture I know it's very easy to walk into things and not register it (it didn't take too long to figure out where they permanent bruise on my leg was coming from but I still haven't fully learned to avoid those tables!).

I really don't think you need to worry, but I also know that is easier said than done once something is in your head. If you do still want to discuss with the GP, take some better lighting pictures in the morning to send via online consultation. Please don't book an emergency appointment. They are so scarce- if the doctor was concerned on seeing your photos they would get you in quickly anyway.

Yeah, I had no idea I'd done it. Didn't notice, didn't feel anything. It wasn't til days later I was getting in the shower and my shins were the same kind of red as OP's daughter's.

I stopped riding my bike for a week coincidentally and they went away, so I knew they were nothing.

They look exactly like the bruises most kids get from going to the play park, riding their bike, catching the side of the bed etc. I wouldn’t give it a second thought.

Glass test is for rashes. A bruise doesn't blanch as it's bleeding under the skin.