Petechiae

Dougie's legs have been covered in vast amounts of petechiae for weeks now but he hasn't bruised at all since December - not a single one, which is really weird, especially given some of the activities he does.

I used to associate petechiae on his legs with a count of 10-15, but with the lack of bruising I am wondering whether something has changed. Does anyone get really significant amounts of petechiae at high(ish) counts? Or I guess, lots of petechiae but no bruising at low counts?

I know I could solve this by just taking him for a count, but I am trying to spin it out until his next appointment with the consultant in May - avoiding the hospital at all costs!

Thanks, Ali

Ali - I know that people can get a lot of petechiae with normal counts, depending on the activity. I had a chest full of purpura and no bruising at 50k. Have no idea what was up with that.

Let me ask you this - would you do anything different if his counts were down? If so, it might be worth the trip.

good question. Yes, but I don't think knowing one way or the other would influence his behaviour at all. I will probably wait it out till his appointment.

Thats strange that you can get purpura at those counts because I would have associated them with really low numbers

It was one of those things that if someone else made that claim, I probably wouldn't believe them. It was very odd. I woke up with it one morning and went to work, but got a count on my lunch hour fully expecting below 10k. When she told me 50k, I was surprised to say the least. I've never had purpura like that even with counts below 10k. That taught me that you can't predict counts based on symptoms all the time.

If you wouldn't do anything at low numbers, what's the point of knowing? I'd go though if it gets worse or doesn't go away.

My hematologist told me recently that bruising and petechiae can be a delayed effect.

Back in October (on a Monday), my legs became covered in petechiae over the course of about 12 hours (nothing there in the AM, but by early evening they were covered) The next morning, I got a count and it was 21k. I was surprised it was that high considering how bad my legs looked. My hematologist told me that my count was probably lower over the weekend and the petechiae was a delayed response. I was expecting my count to be below 10k as that is when I typically get petechiae.

And just last week, I had two large bruises that I couldn't explain. Got a count done - 125k.

You just never know. I agree with Sandi - I can't predict my count based on symptoms.

I get what has now been diagnosed as granuloma annulare which shows as round red patches on my legs, with the circles being filled with petechiae. Some of the circles are so large that they blend into each other and just become one big mess but some are smaller and there are bits of clear skin in between. I know it's related to the immune deficiency but have no idea if it goes along with autoimmune conditions too. Just a thought that it might not be simple petechiae.