Anyone else have a very pale child?

[wobblymum1]

Just this really.
my dd6 is sooooo pale. As in Snow White pale. Every time we see a dr whatever reason (tonsillitis, uti, normal viruses) they all immediately say “she’s anaemic” and order bloods. I’ve had 2 pretty amazed when they came back normal, and worst one was a junior dr who prepared me for leukaemia die to a cough + pallor.
she does look Ill, she is very pale with dark eye circles that appear when she’s tired. But she is ok! i increasingly (madly) find myself looking in envy at ruddy / olive /rosy skinned kids as they just look so healthy!
she has also been tested for coeliac as is
small for age but that was clear too.
i just hate that she looks poorly when she’s not. It makes me second guess all the time and wonder if she is ☹️

yeah mine is really pale - but so am I!

people always think I’m unwell but really I’m just deathly pale and usually wear blush/bronzer to look less dead. It’s a running joke that I make Casper the friendly ghost look tanned - and I’m not even beautiful snowy white pale I’m just morgue white pale. When I’m actually ill I get more colour because I get a wee flush!

my 5 year old gets dark circles round her eyes and is practically transparent. Just how we are made!

I know a child who was super pale and it turned out she had a hole in her heart. Maybe ask for an echo of her heart to get it checked? (It was easily fixed and they are fine now).

One of mine had this, you could see lots of veins under the skin, she grew out of it.

Same here (and with very dark hair that makes me look even paler)- when I was pregnant with DS I think I had 4 separate tests for anemia, completely normal evert time. It's also difficult to get makeup to match as most foundations just come up orange on me.

Dd9 is super pale. Much paler than me but similar to Dh. She does look ill or tired and rundown. We have to be careful with the sun as she burns easily!

I was like this as a child (well still am but use makeup/fake tan!). My youngest sister was too, and my nieces are. It too is particularly noticeable if we are tired and we can all get easily ‘run down’ which we all tend to get a few times a year, but on the whole we are ok if we eat well, keep active and look after ourselves. There is some history of autoimmune disease/s in our family and stress doesn’t do us any favours but it doesn’t mean there is anything majorly wrong. Some of us are just less ‘robust’ than others. It may be your daughter is similar but it sounds like you keep a close eye on her so I’m sure you’ll be able to spot if anything was really wrong.

Yes me and DC. Blood tests for all confirm iron deficiency

Floradix helps them. One dose of this and their freckles reappear.

I need an iron infusion before my colour comes back though 😂

so nice to hear it’s not just her!
yes she just looks I’ll, not pale beautiful! I always know when she’s Ill with a temp as it’s the only time her cheeks are rosy! Can spot it a mile off!

(And yes, our high iron diet doesn't make much of a difference. Before someone suggests spinach! 😂)

That’s interesting, you can see lots of her veins under her skin too

Thanks for this. I don’t think they’d refer for a heart echo just based on her being pale? Most she’s had is bloods for anemia and when they came back fine they just shrugged and said wow I didn’t expect that but great, discharged.
i don’t know what other grounds I’d have for requesting a heart echo? And no private paediatrics where we live just nhs.

Ha yes bizarrely my dd LOVES broccoli and veggies and steak so simply can’t be low in iron!

@wobblymum1 Did they say her bloods were "normal"

Or did they give you a range?

E.g our range is from 13-49 or something and DS's was 14 and we were told "normal"

Definitely worth knowing x

Thank you for this.
my worry is I spend TOO much time staring at her wondering if something is wrong, and if for eg her brother (who is more ruddy) says his head hurts I don’t worry a jot, I give him some water and get him to rest and give calpol if needed.
with my dd if she says her head hurts I’m full blown panic stations wondering if it’s a sign of leukaemia 🤦‍♀️I can’t work out if it’s just because I’ve had so many scares from drs gasping at her paleness and mentioning it as a possibility that I’m just overreactive to it but I hate feeling on edge all the time ☹️

Good question. No I didn’t get any numbers just told “bloods normal, not anemic”

@wobblymum1 I'd ask them for the numbers. DS was particularly fatigued and pale even though according to the NHS he was deemed "normal".

Floradix is amazing though! Everything fell into place. More energy for school = focus = producing better work. Better at PE and smashed his swimming lessons. These freckles appeared that we didn't know he had and his eyes were sparkly again. Little rose cheeks.

Amazing stuff. Available in Boots. 😊

Dd is extremely pale, but her doctor looks at me and sees she is not nearly as pale as I am. Dd looks practically tan in comparison. No one has ever suggested there is anything wrong with her as it is clearly genetic.

Really??? Huge thanks. I shall hit boots tomorrow!

I was and still am the pale one.

My skin is extremely pale white. I have ill health now but it’s not related.

Forgive creepy pic 😂but tried to colour out eyes for anonymity but keep in the circles that are always there (but get way worse when tired)

Ah ok. I think other way round for me. I’m fair skinned but not pale white and I guess I wear make up normally so look more tanned / bronzed in front of drs next to her.

One thought - is she hypermobile?

The easiest test is whether she can bend her thumbs back to her wrist/ bend any other joints in funny ways/ often dislocates her knees and shoulders.

If so, look up hypermobile ehlers danlos syndrome. Very pale, thin, stretchy skin is a common trait.

It's not a worrying/ life threatening condition as such and a lot of people have it without realising, but it's worth knowing if you do have it as you can look after your joints properly from a young age.

No I don’t think she is.
never seen her do any of these things and she (bless her) tries the Splits each day and gets hardly anywhere 😂)

Paleness on its own I wouldn’t be too worried about, especially as it sounds like it’s normal for her. Some of us just are naturally pale/wan/washed-out/ghostly white/glow-in-the-dark-white(delete as applicable)!

Mine was extremely pale and got even paler when she was cold or asleep. I worried about it but she's an adult now and nowhere near as pale.