Are these bruises excessive in a sporty active 12 year old?

[pharmachameleon]

My 12 year old DS is super active, sporty but clumsy and often has bruises on his legs. He was at scout camp this weekend and when he was going into the bath tonight I was shocked with the state of his legs. They are completely covered in bruises but they are a reddish colour too. Should I be worried? They are only on the bottom of his legs and nowhere else on his body.
I'm trying to put the thought out of my head and not think about awful blood diseases. Anyone else have a child with so many bruises? I should add he's blonde and really pale usually.

Take him to the Dr. Just in case.

The little bruises look like he's knelt on stones or something. My toddler always has bruised legs but maybe less red than that.

My DDs legs are like this, 10 yo sporty and also clumsy. Can she tell you how she got them so you know each one has been made not developed on their own.

Thanks all. He's well in himself but I'll maybe take him to the GP for bloods if they continue.

I think, but I'm not medically trained, that as they're not on the rest of his body then it's probably fine. The people I know who did have a bigger issue had bruises in unusual places-like the inside of their mouth.

However, they do look excessive, so I would get him checked unless he comes up with a reasonable explanation as it's better to check and be fine than the other way round.

They are a little extreme, but doctors expect kids to have bruised legs. Take another photo in the morning, try and count them if you can. If he starts getting bruises elsewhere then take him straight in - a&e if you have to.

But just bruised shins are probably nothing to worry about particularly if he's been at a scout camp.

Does he know how he got them?

Does he know how he came about them? Did they happen when something brushed his leg or when he fell and rolled down a rocky slope or something? Are there similar bruises elsewhere or only the lower legs?

I'd probably suggest a GP appointment, but worth having the answers available while your son can remember them.

Well on Scout camp anything could happen, but that really does look like a lot.

Does he have any other symptoms? Fatigue, bleeding gums, night sweats, feeling tired and achy to the very bones, recent weight loss?

Or can he account for what he was doing to get them?

If he can't, then yes I think you should consult GP who should get a Full Blood Count done.

Chances are it's something and nothing. But unexplained bruising, esp if accompanied by other symptoms should always be checked by a doctor

Do they hurt to the touch like bruises, or are they just marks?

I think he's been kicked. Time for a quiet chat.

Is it before or after the bath?

I've got 3 sporty boys who are frequently covered in bruises from one thing or another - but that really does look a lot to me op.

I would take him to the GP ASAP tbh...I wouldn't wait and see, I'd want bloods done just to be safe.

That's a lot of bruises. Fresh bruises are usually red like that and then they turn the purple/grey colour usually a day later.

As they're all red it looks like he got them all on scout camp.

Does he know how he got them? I'd want some sort of explanation from him like lots of football, climbing trees, rolling about on stoney ground etc. If he's not really done anything to explain that many bruises I'd be wanting him checked by a GP. If he's spent all weekend playing karate games then I'd just keep an eye on them healing OK and watching for any unexpected new ones.

He's crashed out in bed now-I think he slept a total of 4 hours over the weekend at camp! I'll see how they are in the morning. He was abseiling, canoeing, ghill scrambling and climbing over the weekend so I think that explains the bruises.
He doesn't have night sweats or anything else I'm concerned about. He does does say he's tired sometimes but school is full on and he does sports after school every day, during PE and also some lunch times plus rugby on a Saturday so it's no wonder he's tired.
He's not got any bruises anywhere else that I can see.

ouch !!!

@Lindy2 I didn't realise fresh bruises are red. I think he would have got them all this weekend doing all the activities.

@5zeds this is him just before he got in the bath.

Bruise expert here. My DS (9) always has bruises on his legs. Falling, bumping into stuff etc. I often get told 'dunno' when I ask how he's got them. Although there's a lot of bruising I wouldn't worry too much from a medical point of view as they are all the same age (red colour) and he's been at scout camp. However, there's something a bit odd about the bruising - it looks a bit symmetrical - particularly towards the knees - I would maybe contact Scouts and ask what they were doing, if he had any accidents / falls. The large bruise on the shin is also a bit concerning as it suggests a fall with impact or something hitting him with impact.

Have you checked he isn't being bullied?

The marks are strangely matched across both legs. Sometimes you do get a line like that (across both) if you hit a bar hard, but so many times? It looks too much to me. (I have twin teenage boys). Do they hurt? Can he tell you what even one came from eg “that was the edge of the canoe”?

Funnily enough a similar photo recently popped up on my FB memories, I was horrified as 10 year old DS had come home with legs like that after playing in the park with his friends & I was asking my friends with older boys if this was ‘normal’ for boys. I thought someone had purposely hurt him or something!

My 2 boys were regularly covered in bruises particularly on their shins etc but it does look like quite a lot although ghyll scrambling etc could certainly be the culprit.

Those bruises are larger in size and greater in number than you would expect from ordinary accidental injuries sustained in the course of normal activities. Even a very active scout camp should not give bruises like that.

He needs to see the GP to exclude an underlying medical cause.

(Btw, despite what other posters have said about these bruises being recent because they are reddish, the research shows that you cannot accurately age bruises by their colour)

My DD gets the same bruises in the same place. GP took it very seriously, did blood tests and spoke to a paediatrician about it but couldn't find anything. It really put my mind at rest though, because you do think the worst.
I recently read that people with hypermobility bruise very easily and I think this might be the cause for DD.