getting a little freaked out - unexplained bruising

[miscelster]

My son has had this one bruise on his shin for the past few days, that I've noticed, although by the time I noticed it, it already looked old. Tonight, I noticed what looked like a string of bruises moving up from this original bruise, but the odd thing is none of these bruises look new, they all look the same "old" color as the original bruise. When I press them, my son says it hurts.

Of course I googled, and of course I am completely freaked out now. Has anyone seen anything like this before or have any explanation?

[MamaMolly]

Sorry you are having to deal with this on a weekend! But trust your Mommy instincts and call your ped. It is probably nothing, but won't you feel better hearing it from the experts?

Hugs,
Molly

[lisams]

DD's ped said that bruises on the legs - the knee and below are totally normal and a good sign of a healthy, active young child. He said that if you start finding them in places that normally don't get bumped hard then it's time to look into other things.

DD will get a string of bruises along her shin just like this - it's almost always related to spending some time at the park or on her climber out back.

I would contact your ped and see what he says, but in the meantime try and not let the internet scare you.

[BeachBum]

Well if it makes you feel better I've never been able to explain any bruises my child has had except for a black eye.

My son often has bruises on his legs. My ped said she worried if kids didn't have bruises. It was a sign they weren't getting to play enough.

That said, I don't know how old your child is--if he's not mobile that obviously changes things :) Also, only you have seen the bruises (not us). If you really do think it is something weird--then by all means call your Ped.

[dogmom]

My son has these all the time. I'm always curious where they came from. Looking for the shin level stuff he was bumping into, never figuring out the mechanism of injury. I gave up. They always look old also. I decided if he wasn't bruising easily other places and/or not having bloody noses I wouldn't worry about it. Just waiting for my DD to start now.

Jeanne
Mom to Harvey
1/16/03
& Eve 6/18/06