What Causes Speckled Bruises On Lower Inner Calves?

Posted on Wed, 18 Mar 2015

Question: What could speckled bruises indicate on my sons lower inner calves? They appeared on right leg yesterday and same area and pattern on left leg now. He's been on Singulair for 5 months. He is 4.9 years old. I'm not giving him Singulair again until we know more. The bruises are flat and light brownish in color. Looks very much like bruising but speckled.

Answered by Dr. Arun (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
bruises possible. Any trauma

Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for writing to us.
Bruises can e speckled as they tend to change shape with gravity in legs.
Was there a trauma?
Did he fall down and hurt himself ?
If so dont worry will settle soon.
But if spontaneous occurring without any injury, it could indicate a significant problem with his platelets or clotting factors in the blood. Certain medicines (eg, aspirin, Plavix, Coumadin, others) can also cause it.

You should get an appointment promptly with your doctor for a complete history and physical. The doctor will then know what specific tests need to be ordered to figure it out.
As you are certainly aware, some of these things can be quite serious and may require early treatment. So contact your doctor right away. S/he may want to order a basic blood panel of tests before your visit to get a quick start on this.
Wishing him speedy recovery
Regards
Dr Arun

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar