Are you worried about your Petechiae?
Petechiae occur when capillaries, tiny blood vessels that link your arteries and veins, leak small quantities of blood which then causes a visible, spot-like, mark to appear on the skin. They can be caused by a variety of things, such as prolonged straining caused by exercising with heavy weights, coughing, vomiting or childbirth, or certain medications including penicillin or quinine, often used to treat malaria. Even infectious diseases like mononucleosis or scarlet fever present with petechiae, as do conditions like leukaemia or vitamin k deficiency. While some of these may be very trivial or easily rectified, others will need further investigation or treatment.
In situations where your petechiae are caused by straining, it will be beneficial to avoid strenuous activity to prevent reoccurrence, if you are suffering because of a side effect caused by medication it may benefit you to speak directly with your doctor to discuss possible alternatives or changes to your dosage. As deficiency in vitamin k is a possible cause, improving your diet could result in an improvement to your symptoms. The petechiae themselves will not need direct treatment but any petechiae caused by recent infection will simply fade after appropriate medication has been administered to treat the underlying cause of the marks.
If you or your child develop petechiae over large areas of your body, you are suffering additional unexplained symptoms, or you are concerned that it could be a rash that could indicate a serious condition or infection then it is important that you seek clarification from a doctor as soon as possible.
Here at VIDA we have expert clinicians on hand to help diagnose and treat your condition. To find out more about these services, we recommend visiting the following pages:
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
- Endocarditis
- Infectious diseases
- Leukemia
- Medications
- Meningococcemia
- Mononucleosis
- Prolonged straining
- Rocky Mountain spotted fever
- Scarlet fever
- Scurvy (vitamin C deficiency)
- Sepsis
- Strep throat
- Thrombocytopenia (low platelet count)
- Vasculitis
- Viral hemorrhagic fevers
- Vitamin K deficiency