Could this be something?

[Horizonhopper2021]

I know this isn't the place to go if you're concerned about your child's health but it's Sunday and I'm planning on making her a gp appointment tommorow. But lately I've just had a gut feeling that something isn't quite right with my daughter (3)

She has quite sunken eyes that have reddish purple bags. Which could be down to her diet as she has autism and has a VERY limited diet. But aside from that this bruise popped up the other day at the top of her arm and neither me or her dad can recall her hurting herself. And I've just taken a closer look at the bruise and noticed 2 more on her arm, I saw something about unexplained bruising being a symptom of other things and now I'm just a little worried really. Like I say I plan on taking her to the gp but anyone that's had a similar experience should I be worried? Or are these just normal childhood things?

Not experienced this myself but I think you are absolutely right to get her checked out if you are worried.

It may be something and nothing but if it were my son, I'd definitely go to the doctors.

Please don't think I am being rude, I promise I'm not!! She is very cute but to me, on the face photo she looks quite pale? I can see the bags you refer to but I also think she seems a bit pale. It could be that is her natural skin tone or the light though - do you think she seems paler than usual?

I hope you get some reassurance from the GP.

Yes I did mean to add that too, I've noticed she looks paler than usual recently, but she's acting normal, and plays the same it's just her skin tone, the eye bags and bruises it's all setting alarm bells off in my mind

Maybe it could be a deficiency of some sort due to her diet but you are definitely doing the right thing to get her seen. I do rely on my gut feel a lot with the kids. Hope she’s ok.

The location of the bruising is slightly unusual, with being on the inner aspect of her arm. And she does look a wee bit pale. Seeing your GP sounds reasonable.

Sensible to get her seen. Many children this age with restricted eating are iron deficient which is easy to treat in principle, but important for someone appropriate to assess she isn't sicker than she looks.

I would say this photo isn't brilliantly anonymous, I would delete once you've decided what to do? Always potential for unforeseen consequences with any photo that goes on public facing social media.

Hi OP

Most likely something of nothing or with a little help all will be ok

Yes, GP tomorrow !

Shw does seem very pale with dark under eyes. Her lips r quite pale aswell. Always going with ur intuition.

Hi OP, I hope she's ok and agree getting her checked out is sensible.

You mentioned she's autistic - some ND people have a really high pain threshold and can injure themselves without really feeling anything. Could there be something in that for your DC (ie could she have knocked herself but didn't cry out, so you didn't notice) or is she usually quite sensitive to touch?

Any food allergies? There's a symptom of food allergies known as "allergies shiners" and you get dark circles under the eyes that almost look like dark bags or black eyes

Is she a redhead? I have an 8 yo redhead with similar light red hair who has under eye dark circles and always has done- she is fit as a fiddle and sleeps and eats well, just seems that it is part of her colouring in her case.

I think you’re right to check it out especially given the restricted eating, but just wanted to put a different possibility.

How is her sleep? Does she snore at all?

She sleeps well, and no dosnt snore. But I have seen her a few times do something that I thought, god that must have hurt and she didn't cry, or even make a noise she just touched where she hurt and carried on, so it's possible that she has hurt herself somehow and no one has noticed because she dosnt react. I don't remember the last time she cried, she dosnt cry, she didn't even really as a baby. If she really hurts herself she usually has a tantrum and throws herself on the floor but there's been none of that. They are only small bruises though so if it is that she's hurt herself it would have been something minor that she wouldn't have reacted too. Do you bruise easier with an iron deficiency? She takes a gummy multivitemin everyday recommended by the health visitor because she only eats beige finger food, and baby food, only fruit and veg comes from smoothies. I also worry a lot about her nutrition.

If she is deficient is something that could explain some of what you have described. I would ask for a dietician referral and a full blood panel to look at deficiency.
My daughter has a restricted diet due to food allergies and periodically our dietitian goes through her food diary with a fine tooth comb to make sure she is getting the right balance of nutrients. She also has a multivitamin and fortified oat milk with calcium, vitamin D and iodine - based on my daughters diet these were three vitamins and minerals that our dietitian were keen for my daughter to get from either diet, fortified food and supplement. A dietician can go through your daughter's diet to pick out the key things to make sure are in the multivitamin because they all contain slightly different things and in different concentrations. It might be the case that your daughter needs even more of 1 or 2 vitamins.
The blood is perfectly honed to have the right amount of everything in. Too much of something you could have too little of something else. Bruising can come from having something out of balance and then having too few platelets required for blood clotting so small bumps will bruise when normally they wouldn't. The list is endless for the causes.

Hi OP @Horizonhopper2021 going through similar with my 11mo and getting blood tests this week. Did you get to the bottom of it? X

Hey @Horizonhopper2021 how did you get on at the doctors regarding this ?