petechiae

Petechiae are pinpoint-sized hemorrhages of small capillaries in the skin or mucous membranes.

 

Petechiae result from tiny areas of superficial bleeding into the skin. They appear as round, pinpoint-sized dots that are not raised. The color varies from red to blue or purple as they age and gradually disappear. Petechiae commonly appear on the lower legs, but may be distributed all over the body.

 

When a person has petechiae, the healthcare professional will ask questions, including but not limited to:

 

There are many possible causes of petechiae. Common causes include: injury or traumaallergic reactions to medications autoimmune disorders, which are conditions in which the person's body creates antibodies to its own tissues for unknown reasonsliver disorders, such as cirrhosis infections, such as mononucleosis and endocarditis bone marrow disorders, such as leukemia thrombocytopenia, a deficiency of plateletsnutritional deficiencies, such as a deficiency in vitamins C, K, or B12, or folic acid medications, such as blood thinners or aspirin therapyrecent blood transfusions medical treatment, such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy for cancer aging skin sepsis, or blood infectionviolent vomiting or coughingchildbirth

It is not always possible to avoid petechiae. Avoiding trauma will help prevent petechiae caused by injury. If allergy to a medication is the cause, avoiding the medication will help prevent the condition.

Diagnosis of petechiae begins with the history and physical exam. Blood tests are usually done, including: bleeding time, or the amount of time it takes for the blood to clottests that measure clotting abilities, such as a prothrombin time or partial thromboplastin time complete blood count, or CBC platelet count. Platelets are blood cells that aid in blood clotting. If a person has too few of them in the blood, the person may be more likely develop petechiae. A bone marrow biopsy may be done in some cases.