Petechiae "A rash that should never be ignored"



The photo above was taken about 3 weeks into Max's admission at RCH. The red spots on his face are petechiae. These are the same red dots that appeared 2 days before he got sick. In Max's case it means that his platelets are severely low.

I wanted to write a post about petechiae, not because I think I'm an expert in it but because I want every mother/father/medical professional/person in general to know what it is and what it looks like. If me or the GP that saw Max had known what it was, then everything could have been prevented with one simple blood test. When the petechiae appeared, I didn't know how to google it, so I typed something like 'red spots on baby'. The word petechiae came up, along with images like this-

and this

Petechiae is a non-blanching rash (ie doesn't disappear when pressed). If you have a rash that is non-blanching it could be nothing or it could be a sign that something is wrong. Get it checked out.
A petechial rash should never be ignored.


I'm not going to give any medical advice and open myself up to potential lawsuits so here are some links-
http://www.bettermedicine.com/article/petechiae/causes
http://www.healthblurbs.com/petechiae-causes-tiny-red-skin-dots-little-red-skin-spots-pinpoint-red-rash-symptoms/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petechia