Hi! I am having some what seem to be Petechiae on my right leg now, and sometimes they are darker than others, seem larger or smaller, etc. Theyve been worrying me, and Ive not had other symptoms, until recently, when I got a slight cough with phlegm and slight hard stool and light rectal bleeding. Im worried they could be the start of something bad! What do you think?
Hello. Thanks for writing to Chat Doctor. Petechiae especially extensive ones like you describe, indicate some dysfunction of the platelets. Platelets in the blood help in stopping bleeding, along with other factors. Your rectal bleeding may directly be a result of this while your cough may or may not indicate bleeding into the lungs. A complete blood count will demonstrate your platelet count as well as the WBC count. If you are not experiencing fever or swelling of the glands, it is unlikely that you have any infection like dengue which causes Chat Doctor.  We then have to think of other causes - most of which are liver disorders or spleen disorders. Liver disorders like cirrhosis of the liver due to any cause, decrease the platelets. Confirmation will be by a liver function tests and an ultrasound of the liver. Spleen disorders like ITP may sometimes cause such extensive bleeding manifestations, even though generally they just cause asymptomatic