Children seem to bruise very easily and very often. The fact that your child gets easily bruised may be normal, or an indication of a serious illness. If you think that there is something abnormal about your child’s bruising pattern, then this HealthHearty article will give you some helpful information on the possible reasons for the same.
As parents and guardians, we tend to get concerned about the fact as to why our child is so prone to bruising. The reasons for easy bruising could be mild to severe. Unless the bruises are way out of proportion and larger than the size of a quarter due to unexplained reasons, bruising in children is quite normal because of their constant falling and bumping on an everyday basis. Mentioned below is a list of reasons that may be responsible for making your child susceptible to wounding.
Reasons for Easy Bruising
The reasons may include falling while running, playing, or accidentally bumping into things. Even mild to severe blood disorders, or perhaps, a case of child abuse should be considered while evaluating the causal factors. These are elaborated in the following points.
Falls and Bumps: We all are aware about how active children and toddlers are. Their activities include running all around the house, experimenting with everything that they come across, therefore, making them prone to an injury, especially on the shins, elbows, and knees.
Amount of Fat in the Body: The degree of bruising in children also depends upon the fat percentage in the body. If there isn’t enough layer of fat in the body of the child, then bruises tend to appear even with the slightest hit. This is also one of the reasons why the elderly get bruised easily!
Hemophilia: This is an inherited clotting disorder. Hemophilia is of two types, hemophilia A which is the most common type and hemophilia B. In hemophilia A, there is decreased production of factor VIII which is required to form blood clots; in hemophilia B, there is decreased production of factor IX. In both cases, there is absence of clotting factors that help the blood clot. Clotting factors are responsible for helping the platelets to clump together and prevent bleeding in the wounded area. Hemophilia can range from being severe to mild.
Von Willebrand Disease: According to Medline Plus, this disease is reported to be the most common inherited bleeding disorder in children. It is usually mild in nature. The Von Willebrand factor helps the platelets to stop bleeding by clumping together. This disease is found more in Caucasians as compared to others.
Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia (ITP): ITP occurs in children within the age group of 2-4 years. It is caused due to low platelet count, which may lead to vulnerability towards bruising. ITP is also responsible for occurrence of extremely small red dots on the skin called petachiae, which occurs due to the bleeding of capillaries under the skin. ITP stays for a period of 6 months or less and then spontaneously disappears, as per Family Doctor, the American Academy of Family Physician‘s site.
Vitamin K Deficiency: This is seen in newborns/ toddlers who didn’t get a shot of Vitamin K. Deficiency of vitamin K affects the platelet count in the body, and therefore a child must be given a Vitamin K shot to prevent blood disorders.
Leukemia: Leukemia is a severe form of childhood cancer and hampers the production of blood cells in the bone marrow, therefore making the child more prone to bruising. It normally occurs when the child is within the age group of 2-6 years, wherein the immature blood cells grow out of proportion and create a crowd in the production of platelets, white cells, and red blood cells. Children with genetic disorders such as Down Syndrome are more likely to suffer from this fatal disease.
Low Level of Platelets: Platelets are these small, sticky, and extremely tiny cells in the body that clump together to heal the wounded area of the body. If platelets are less than required, or if they break down very quickly, this leads to frequent bruising.
Low Levels of Clotting Factor: As mentioned earlier, clotting factors are nothing but the blood proteins that combine together with the platelets to clot the wound in the body. Clotting factors may be low due to various reasons including infection, certain medication, birth defect, liver problem, and so on. It may also be an indication of some bleeding disorder, such as hemophilia.
Child Abuse: Well, the reason why I am including this cause in the list is because many children tend to get abused by relatives, friends, or even at school, and remain quiet about it. As parents, it is your responsibility to make sure that your child is safe in his school, playground, or even when at home.
Other Causes: Other causes include reasons such as sensitive skin, which allows even the slightest hit to turn into a bruise. A major trauma can also be the cause.
While some of the aforementioned causes can be quite normal, some can be extremely serious. The key to make sure that your child is well protected from fatal bleeding disorders is to take your child for regular medical checkups. Give your child a complete diet. If the bruises occur without any reason, a blood test is advisable. Also, seeking medical attention is strictly advised if there is a family history of a bleeding disorder.
Disclaimer: This HealthHearty article is meant for informational purposes only and should not be considered as a replacement for expert medical advice.
