Small patch of what I think is petechiae on DD back. I am spiralling with healt anxiety

[miniworry]

Just noticed this on my daughters back- it doesn't blanch. I have health anxiety and I'm now i'm spiralling it could be something like leukaemia.

No temp, she does bruise easily but not in unknown places really.

Can anyone tell me what I should do next- should I call 111?

I mean on my DC I wouldn't have thought anything of it and gone to bed. Kids get marks on them.

Has she not just scratched herself?

I also wouldn't give this a second thought.

If mine had that I’d assume she’d just been itchy and overdone it scratching herself… might put some savlon on it but then put her to bed as normal and see how it looks tomorrow (will probably be gone).

I noticed something similar on DS today. I assume it’s where he’s been scratching or something.

It doesn't blanch under a glass and looks like tiny purple pin pricks so that's why I thought it was petechiae it's about the size of a 10p.

My DD is very slim and has always had these kind of marks on the back of her shoulders. I put it down to her having literally no fat and pale skin! I didn’t even consider it was something to worry about…

If she's otherwise well and eating, I'd assume she bumped into something and out her to bed.

What would you do if you had to pay at the point of delivery, a bill for healthcare? £200 for the consultation, £600 for tests?

How is she in herself? The sort of rash you're talking about is normally a 'late sign'. So usually, someone would be quite unwell before you would see a rash.

@RosesAndHellebores the trouble is I have paid this in the past for blood tests privately for her for bruising 🤦‍♀️ she's eating well, doesn't seem any more tired or anything and was flipping around on her gymnastics bar earlier.

She's banged it on the gymnastics bar. Put her to bed.

Maybe she bashed it on gym bar?

@miniworry do you have health anxiety generally?

There you go, she’s banged herself. You need help for your anxiety.

@Lougle I suffer with it terribly since my DS caught meningitis at 4 weeks old. All he had was a temperature. All the nurses kept saying over and over was 'well done for following your mummy intuition.' Anything I see on them now sends me spiralling to the worst case like it was back then. 🥺

@rainbowsandraspberrygin she said she doesn't remember bashing it on anything.

Kindly, are you doing anything to help your anxiety? It sounds like it is more of a risk to your child than any bruises / scrapes etc she gets.

The mark in her skin is nothing, she is fine and well.

If she’s still got loads of energy it’s highly unlikely she has leukaemia. If her platelets were low, her Hb would also be very low, as would her neutrophils and she’d be very poorly. I don’t blame you for being worried after your experience.

@miniworry I've a whopping bruise on the side of my knee. I don't recollection whacking it, but must have done. I'm not sitting here worrying about leukaemia. My dad died off acute myeloid leukaemia, his little bruises were nothing like that mark on your dd's back. He was also 71.

Ok, so let's go through it together:

• She's breathing normally (you've said she's eating well - you can't eat if you can't breathe)
• Appetite is good.
• Behaviour normal
• Active and happy to do physical activity

She's ok, this time. You need to trust the 'she's ok' instincts as well as the 'something is wrong' instincts.

She's ok. Yeah, her shoulder has a little mark. But if she was ill, you'd know it, because you knew it with your DS. So you can trust yourself.

You're worrying because you've forgotten to trust yourself.

You do have a good reason to have health anxiety but you really need to seek help for that, you want to enjoy your kids, not be spiralling like this for every little thing. And this is a little thing, you’ve lost your mummy intuition and you need to get it back.

Active kids get marks on them, she’s fine, have a cuppa and watch some light TV for half an hour. Seek help for your anxiety first chance you get tomorrow.

OP leukaemia related petechiae look like clusters of tiny spots that don't fade when pressed. They are about 1-2mm across, flat, under the skin - not raised and not rough to the touch. Think freckle like. They usually appear on the trunk, arms, hands, legs, and feet in clusters resembling a rash. A family member was diagnosed with leukaemia several years ago and there were other signs that something was wrong long before the rash appeared, including extreme tiredness, unexplained bruising and nosebleeds. But if you’re worried get it checked out by your GP. A blood test would indicate low platelets if there was cause for concern about leukaemia.

@Lougle thank you so much for this- I just now always replay that over and over about 'mums intuition' as the first doctor tried to send us home with my DS and I refused- it was only the second doctor in the morning doing a lumbar puncture that found it. Ever since then I worry constantly about any bruising.

Everything I'm reading on Google about petechiae says take them for medical assessment immediately so I'm sat here feeling sick. She's fast asleep now

@BankfieldForever I really do just want to enjoy them being kids more than anything but I just can't stop worrying that I'm going to miss a symptom that is serious 🥺

Kindly, you need to look at the full picture - rashes accompanied by lethargy, flu like symptoms etc yes gp or out of hours gp, possibly a&e but scrapes, rashes etc without any other symptom is likely to be something they touched in the garden / park (nettles give me a horrible rash) something they walked into etc. I’m covered in marks I don’t remember getting (I’m really clumsy)