Red spots (petechiae?) Should I be worried?

[rivierliedje]

For a few months now I've found more and more tiny red spots. They definitely look like tiny drops of blood, not freckles. Some are a bit bigger than others and they're all over my arms, legs and I've just noticed some on my chest.

I've also been incredibly tired lately. I've never needed much sleep, always been a morning person and I've been sleeping for up to 12 hours these past few months.

My mind immediately jumped to leukemia (because I'm a worrier and my mind always jumps to doom and gloom diagnoses ). That's unlikely, isn't it?

Other options I had thought of are vitamin B12 deficiency (but I take vitamins so that shouldn't be the case), some random viral infection (no fever, no other symptoms) and anemia (but I'm not particularly pale and I haven't noticed being shorter of breath when running).

No need to worry yet, right? Any ideas?

[MyNameIsArthur]

I would suggest anyone who has noticeable amount of petichiae, gets a full blood test done. Is probably nothing but can be a sign of blood cancer. I had many petichae and also unexplained bruising which turned out to be MDS.

[KoalaRabbit]

I have loads of these but any time have full blood count its normal.

[sdenave]

My daughter has them too. Just like the photo and a couple appear on the abdomen and disappear in 2 days, did you know the cause?

[nolovelost]

I used to get tiny red spots (faint pink and very regular shaped), clusters and very close together. (I can't find the old photos). I had blood tests and was positive for certain antibodies and have two autoimmune conditions.

The impression I get is that the darker red ones seem to be the Cherry Angioma ones, which are more random and you get less of them. But I could be wrong.

If in doubt, get them checked out.

[Lavinavemelgar]

My daughter has them too...sometimes is a single red dot ...then it fades away...we did blood test and all normal...Dr says no worry about it...maybe its fragility but Im still worried😶

[Dinkydonut1]

@moosemama

I know this is a zombie thread, but saw that two people have asked about the purpura and thought I might be able to help.

My 16 year old son is being investigated for recurrent petechiae (which sometimes develop into smallish purpura). He gets them mostly on his arms, hands, lower legs and feet, but occasionally on his face as well.

Haematology found his clotting (Prothrombrim?) time was slightly prolonged, but borderline, everything else tested normal so, thankfully, there doesn’t seem to be anything scary going on.

He has been referred on to gastroenterology, as he has had gastro issues since weaing, for which they haven’t found a cause. Haematology think the cause of the petechiae could be malabsorption, resulting in deficiencies in vitamins that assist clotting, ie Vitamin K.

Our family also has connective tissue disorder (some have Hypermobile Ehlers Danlos and some Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder) and apparenlty this can cause leaky veins due to over stretchy tissue. Anecdotally, via support forums and groups, etc, petechia seem to be fairly common in people with connective tissue disorders.

It’s worth a quick trip to the GP, as there is also a condition called Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) that they may want to rule out.

It’s worth noting though that some people just have fragile capillaries and will get bruising resembling petechia from relatively mild pressure, eg cuffs on socks, etc. My middle son has HSD and gets great big stripes of petechia type bruising down his arm, from the cuff, every time they take his blood pressure.

Basically, if you are at all concerned, take her to the GP and get it checked out. Typically, my son had no spots when I took him, but we had photographed some and were able to show both the GP and Haematologist the pictures.

Hiya, I know this is an old comment - but you have basically described my son. Recurrent petechiae, all blood tests normal minus a slightly prolonged prothrombin time. Did you ever find out the cause of this?

[PermanentlyDizzy]

@Dinkydonut1 (Moosemama here) My son saw the Gastro, who wanted to do an endoscopy. Unfortunately, as a result of him having ASD and OCD he couldn’t cope with the idea, so it was shelved.

They did say they felt malabsorption, due to Coeliacs was a distinct possibility. (Long story short, he refused the biopsy part of the that diagnostic procedure as well, so instead of a diagnosis the put in his notes that he should be ‘treated as Coeliac’ based on severity of reactions and close correlation with a carefully kept food diary.)

Haematology were happy there was nothing worrying going on, based on extensive blood tests and gastro said without further investigations their hands were tied, so he was discharged with advice to get back in touch if anything else cropped up.

I did a bit of research into the possibility of K2 deficiency and it did seem to fit, so we started him on over the counter Vitamin K2, taken alongside Vitamin D and his regular multi vits. He is now almost 20, has been on the K2 for about 18 months and doesn’t get the petechiae anymore, so it certainly seems like the Haematologist may have been on the right track. Of course it could also be that he just grew out of it, but to me it seemed a bit too much of a coincidence that the petechiae stopped once he was on the K2 supplement. An added bonus of K2 is that it increases the effectiveness of the Vitamin D, so it’s worth taking anyway imho.

[Justilou1]

Did this start happening after a cold/flu or even Covid? There is a post-viral syndrome that causes symptoms like this that usually affects kids but can affect adults. I will put the wiki link below to see if you have the symptoms. (The photo they have is an extreme case, though!) It is worth going to doctor because these marks can be symptomatic of liver or kidney issues anyway…

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henoch–Schönlein_purpura

[PermanentlyDizzy]

@Justilou1 absolutely agree you should consulted a doctor asap if you notice petechiae or purpura, but in the case of my ds and Dinkydonut1’s they have had the necessary haematological tests and only been found to have slightly prolonged prothrombin time, which can explain delayed clotting, hence petechiae.

In my ds’ case the GP didn’t hesitate to make an urgent Haematology referral. He was seen really soon after the referral was made and had a lot of specialist blood tests done, which ruled out the scariest options really quickly. The GP said If he had had a sudden/acute presentation or he seemed at all unwell. he would have sent him straight to hospital to be seen that day, but he was well in himself and actually didn’t have any petechiae by the time we saw the GP, although we had photographs to show them.

They initially thought ds may have had Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) which I had never heard of at the time, but thankfully he didn’t. (Bizarrely though, my dog developed serious autoimmune ITP a year later!)

[Lavinavemelgar]

Omg! My Ds has petechiae, sometimes a single dot...other one here, one there, no rash. GI made a blood test and platelets and protombin time in range...her explanation was is due a weaknnes capilaries, nothing to worry ..but Im still worried...everytime I see the dots...but all the test in range, made twice..

[Justilou1]

@rivierliedje any petichiae should always see a doctor, as could be meningitis/meningococcal/septicaemia, etc… doesn’t sound like this child is that unwell though. First sign of a temp, I’d be bashing down the door of A&E though.

[PermanentlyDizzy]

@Justilou1 this is a zombie thread. I only responded because I was notified someone asked me a direct question about whether we got to the bottom of the problem for my ds.

rivierliedje started the thread in 2014 to ask advice for themselves not a child.

@Lavinavemelgar, my ds was referred to haematology because he was having regular, fairly extensive petechiae across his arms, legs, abdomen and back, rather than just the occasional dot or two. If your ds is otherwise fit and well and the GP has had bloods done that were all clear then that is reassuring that it’s nothing worrying and fragile capillaries is possible. People/children with fragile capillaries can get mild petechiae from coughing fits, the strain of vomiting eg if they catch norovirus, scratching themselves, cuffs on clothing/socks etc.

Obviously if a child is unwell with a non-blanching rash or even just a couple of petehciae, you should always seek medical advice straight away, but it sounds like in your ds’ case it’s a regular, minor event in a child who is fit and well, has had bloods checked for anything worrying and was found to be healthy. If you are seriously concerned or it’s more severe than it sounded from your post you can request a haematology referral, where they will basically repeat the bloods tests, but also have the option to do more specialised ones if they are at all concerned.

[Justilou1]

@PermanentlyDizzy - ah fudge! Thanks for telling me!

[Dinkydonut1]

[quote PermanentlyDizzy]@Dinkydonut1 (Moosemama here) My son saw the Gastro, who wanted to do an endoscopy. Unfortunately, as a result of him having ASD and OCD he couldn’t cope with the idea, so it was shelved.

They did say they felt malabsorption, due to Coeliacs was a distinct possibility. (Long story short, he refused the biopsy part of the that diagnostic procedure as well, so instead of a diagnosis the put in his notes that he should be ‘treated as Coeliac’ based on severity of reactions and close correlation with a carefully kept food diary.)

Haematology were happy there was nothing worrying going on, based on extensive blood tests and gastro said without further investigations their hands were tied, so he was discharged with advice to get back in touch if anything else cropped up.

I did a bit of research into the possibility of K2 deficiency and it did seem to fit, so we started him on over the counter Vitamin K2, taken alongside Vitamin D and his regular multi vits. He is now almost 20, has been on the K2 for about 18 months and doesn’t get the petechiae anymore, so it certainly seems like the Haematologist may have been on the right track. Of course it could also be that he just grew out of it, but to me it seemed a bit too much of a coincidence that the petechiae stopped once he was on the K2 supplement. An added bonus of K2 is that it increases the effectiveness of the Vitamin D, so it’s worth taking anyway imho.[/quote]
Thank you for responding! Our situations sound very similar. My son also has ASD (not that I think petechiae is related to that) but it really does sound like your describing my son. He's actually been prescribed some vitamin K (Neokay) to take for 5 days and then we go back for a repeat clotting test. His APTT was in range it was just the prothrombin that was slightly out of range. It's meant to be between 11-14 on our doctors system and Leo's was 15.1 so only borderline. His platelets are always above 400 so definitely not ITP although that was a consideration for us too. They seemingly pop up out of nowhere - not just from scratching or a friction burn but he can be asleep and have them pop up completely spontaneously. He doesn't bruise any worse than a normal person though. It is bizarre

[PermanentlyDizzy]

@Dinkydonut1, yes my ds1’s were random as well. Ds2 is diagnosed with hEDS and gets petechiae from pressure/friction, but ds1 would have them appear out of the blue, with no pressure or pattern. He doesn’t bruise excessively either, whereas ds2 does. That said, ds1 is the most hypermobile member of the family - but was refused assessment for EDS, as they insisted his hypermobility was ‘just part of his ASD’. (It’s since been suggested that, actually, ASD is a common comorbidity of hEDS.)

I don’t have the figures in front of me, but iirc, ds1’s prothrombin was also just out of range, so not massively out. His platelets were well within normal range as well.

Fingers crossed the Vit K helps your ds. I do think it was what made the difference for ds1, as he no longer gets the petechiae since he’s been taking it.

[CharliesSlimyPinkSnake]

i noticed a couple very tiny red dots on my arms, and i looked it up and immediately started crying bc google told me i have leukimia and i started freaking tf out and now im severly scare...what do i do..?