Blood on cot sheets - gross picture included

[Hullabaloowho]

Posting in hope of reassurance as I know we need medical advice...

About a month ago my 14 month old appeared to cough up what seemed like quite a bit of bright red blood shortly after I put him down to sleep for the night. I was shocked enough to call 999 and we were taken to hospital by ambulance although even with the paramedics he seemed in very good spirits for anything to be seriously wrong. We spent a few hours in A&E where no further bleeding happened and he was discharged with antibiotics for an ear infection (unrelated) - no-one could really explain the blood.

Since then most mornings I've gone in to find patches of blood stained saliva on his cot sheets. It's never been the same colour or volume as the first incident but I'm still unsettled and also his cot sheets are all looking pretty gross now... We have finally managed to get a GP appointment next week to discuss his recurrent ear infections and I will bring it up then but I'm wondering if anyone experienced this with their little ones. Could it be teething related? I never notice any blood in his mouth during the day. He sleeps on his front.

It’s not the main issue, but I have no advice relating to the medical issue. Op mentioned the sheets so it clearly bothers her, albeit much less so. Not everyone knows soaking in cold salt water will get rid of blood stains.

Hi Wearywithteens - does your baby breast-feed?

I wouldn't be washing the sheet every day if it was just a small bit that had dried in. What I found handy was always using two sheets. One smaller moses basket sheet across at the top of the cot end. Then I could just remove the top one if there was a bad stain or other spillage. Saves a lot of time at night too.

Op
For the blood stains, get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide from chemist, about £1 - it lifts the stains out before your eyes. You must do it though before you wash the sheets.

On the medical front - I’d be going back to the quack

Hey @Hullabaloowho just wondering where you got to with this? I have the same issue with my toddler (who is waiting for ENT referral with suspected glue ear/hearing impairment). He’s had a perforation in the past. But the waiting list is very, very long and I’m not sure whether we should be GPing in the meantime.

But I’m pretty sure it’s often from his mouth due to saliva and how it is on his sleeping bag too (both shoulders)

PS secretly here for some judgey laundry advice 🙄

My bet would be nose bleeds. Happened to one of my DC on a regular basis and it was an awful shock when I saw the cot sheets. Good news is that it is not serious.

But the doctor should be seeing this baby immediately to rule out other (remote) possibilities and to re-assure you.

@CrankyFrankie we're also waiting for ENT and just had our February 22 appointment cancelled to May

I can't help with the blood, though it does look quite similar to the patterns my daughter leaves on the street when she has a runny nose and wipes it on the sheet as she sleeps, but a miracle worker for removing blood without any soaking faff is Ace bleach. It's amazing and super cheap.