Pinpoint red dots on skin causes skin#

Infections / illness affecting blood coagulation.

Birth (increased pressure due to passage through the birth canal can result in petechiae in the newborn).

Events causing an increase in pressure such as sneezing, laughing.

Other common predisposing factors include: This is important to rule out in children, especially if due to menigococcus – a causative agent of meningococcal septicaemia. They may be a symptom of septicaemia, which manifests as an illness with fever. However, petechiae are a sign of low platelet counts and other disorders of coagulation. Events such as lifting heavy objects can lead to petechiae on the shoulders. There are certain factors that can predispose someone to developing petechiae.

Pinpoint red dots on skin causes skin#

They may be more commonly found in the elderly and in children, due to conditions such as injury, trauma, aging skin and from bacterial infections affecting the body. The presence of petechiae usually warrants further investigation if no readily identifiable cause is present. However, they are more commonly found in patients with underlying disorders involving the platelets – a cell which helps us stop bleeding when we are cut, and also in patients with problems with coagulation factors (substances in the blood which help change blood from a liquid to solid state). Petechiae are commonly found within the population, due to events that occur every day and from minor trauma. Thus if you or your child have any petechiae, you should seek your local health professional, to see if there are any reversible causes.

However, petechiae represent bleeding into the skin or mucous membranes and may be due to a cause that is reversible. An even larger area is called an ecchymosis (known as the common bruise). If blood collects under the tissues, and reaches a centimeter or more in diameter, the area is now referred to as a purpura.