ideas on what child''s greenish, blue pallor might be?

[TravelingGal]

OK, I am thinking of calling the doc, but thought I'd put it out here too.

Today and one time in the last couple of weeks, I've noticed she has a very faint greenish blue pallor to her skin. She's active, happy, and not having any issues. She's also very very pale generally speaking. Eating, and going #1&#2 are all fine. No fever, no nada. She just looks slightly green, and it's hard to tell, except I know her skin tone.

I thought about taking her to the doc when I first saw it, but of course it went away. I searched the net and am not finding much. I know if I call the doc's office, they'll tell me to come in, and they won't be able to see anything if she's not green at the time. They'd probably run tests on her, I imagine if it actually means anyhthing. It's just that it's the only strange sign I see...NOTHING else seems wrong. It could be that she's so butt white, her blood makes her look blue from time to time...

I know we have some peds here so I thought I'd put it out here to see if I get any leads. I've already had one PSer correctly diagnose my daughter when two doctor's did not.

 

[lover in athens]

that''s a toughie...
only things that i can think of would be jaundice, which gives you a slightly yellow tinged skin, usually from liver damage. how do the whites of her eyes look?
or cyanosis/methemoglobinemia which could make her slightly blue... how do the mucous membranes look (lips, mouth, etc)??

while it would be possible to have no other symptoms with either of these, it wouldn''t exactly be probable if you know what i mean...

hopefully a pediatrician or internist can chime in. i''m sure they''ll have more ideas than me!!!!

 

[meresal]

Is she using any new blankets that could be rubbing off on her skin?

 

[CNOS128]

Date: 1/5/2010 7:33:34 PM
Author: meresal
Is she using any new blankets that could be rubbing off on her skin?

That was my thought, too. Or new blue clothing? I have some dark jeans that give my skin (hand, legs, face if I touch it) a bluish green tint.

Or has she been wearing a lot of base-metal jewelry?

 

[HOUMedGal]

I''m a Pedi resident, so still with somewhat limited experience, but I''ll take a crack at helping.

Hmmmm....that''s a puzzler. Of course, heart disease is the number one thing we think of when we hear "blue baby" but Amelia''s story totally doesn''t fit for that, thank goodness! If she was a newborn and turned blue on day of life #3, I''d be very worried about her heart, but the fact that she''s a healthy toddler who has never been blue before makes heart disease very unlikely.

Like LIA, one of the 1st things that came to my mind was jaundice, but that would generally be a yellowish discoloration, and as she said, it would also be noticeable in the whites of her eyes (they generally turn yellow before the skin does)...what do they look like?? Also, what do her nail beds and mucous membranes look like? Where exactly do you see the discoloration (i.e. only in specific places or all over)? I also thought about methemoglobinemia, which can definitely cause a bluish discoloration.

Have her stools or urine changed in color at all? Does she take any medicines? Is there any chance she could have been exposed to anything strange (i.e. chemicals) or gotten into anything? Have you noticed any pattern to when it happens (i.e. is it related to any other events, like eating/drinking, exerting herself, etc)? If it happens again, try to take a picture! That way you''ll have something to show your pedi.

Which brings me to the next thing...I''d probably take her in to see her doc. At the very least, they may want to check a few basic things (I would want to). Parents know their children waaaay better than we as doctors ever will, and you should trust your mommy intuition if you think she looks different!

 

[HOUMedGal]

Date: 1/5/2010 7:42:12 PM
Author: TheBigT

Date: 1/5/2010 7:33:34 PM
Author: meresal
Is she using any new blankets that could be rubbing off on her skin?

That was my thought, too. Or new blue clothing? I have some dark jeans that give my skin (hand, legs, face if I touch it) a bluish green tint.

Or has she been wearing a lot of base-metal jewelry?

Ooooh, good thoughts!!!

 

[split_shank]

I know too much carrots cause orange skin... not sure if any other food does that and causes green...

 

[TravelingGal]

Thanks ladies.

No, the whites of her eyes are normal white. No new blankets and I could only see the tinge in her face. lips and mouth are fine. Nails are pink and fine. No meds and all stools and urine is fine. I''ll take a photo if it happens again...didn''t get a chance to today.

The green I see in the thin areas around here eyes and cheeks. It''s very very faint, and in fact is gone now. I was thinking, maybe she''s cold? Hm.

If it happens again, I will call the doc and have the photo. Thanks everyone...I can''t figure out if it''s my eyes playing tricks on me.

 

[shimmer]

Tgal, my DH is korean and both my niece and nephew on his side had this when they were toddlers. His mom has a korean name for it I think so I will try to ask her if you would like.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/5/2010 8:03:23 PM
Author: shimmer
Tgal, my DH is korean and both my niece and nephew on his side had this when they were toddlers. His mom has a korean name for it I think so I will try to ask her if you would like.

Shimmer, my mom was saying something too, but of course, I have no idea what she''s talking about. I''d love to know if you can translate it at all...

 

[shimmer]

haha I will try and get back to you...all I know is 'kamsamnida' so I'll ask SIL to translate

 

[Jas12]

Tgal, she is probably cold !

as a northern gal, i am often blue-tinged.
Some mornings Co gets up and his lips are blue & scary looking. He kicks of his blankets and somehow sleeps thru the cold! It goes away once he gets moving. Next time it happens, get Amelia nice and warm and see if it goes away...

 

[shimmer]

Well I asked BIL and it's called 'mongolian spots'...google it for info, I haven't had time to research it yet. So interesting, I always wondered if my future possible half-korean babies would have it.

ETA: In a quick overview, it appears they are present from birth and is due to pigment concentrations

 

[jewelz617]

Could it be something she is eating or drinking? My daughter is extremely pale as well, and she turned (no joke) BRIGHT orange once as a baby after a few days of being on a carrot kick.

 

[TravelingGal]

Jas, I wondered if the cold could be it, but not likely today, as it was a warm day...75 degrees (what''s that...about 22C?)

Shimmer, no it''s not Mongolian spots, but thank you for checking into it for me. I know what those are...my friend''s kids had them too. Very common among asian babies like stork''s bites/angel''s kisses are in caucasian babies. I laughed when Amelia was born because she had the stork bites and no mongolian spots. I said to TGuy, this is definitely a white kid.

PinkAsscher, that is interesting! I don''t think it''s the food either...she did eat edamame (soybeans) today, but she eats those from time to time and has never turned this weird hue. I''ll watch for it again, and next time go to the doc with the pics and report back. She''s eaten well and is happy as a lark today so I am not too concerned. I just think that some PS moms are better diagnosers than the docs, hahahaha. And of course we have a few docs around as well who are so helpful.

 

[lulu]

One of my granddaughters turned orange as a baby. It was all the orange food she was ingesting-loved her carrots. But there isn''t much in the way of blue food.

 

[Dreamer_D]

Spinach??

Hunter also looks orange from carrots. He loves them so he is always a little tinged

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 1/5/2010 10:03:22 PM
Author: dreamer_dachsie
Spinach??

Hunter also looks orange from carrots. He loves them so he is always a little tinged

I wish. This kid has veggie radar. Tonight was the first night I was able to sneak green beans into something.

 

[janinegirly]

That''s a tough one, what did your doc say? This is not probably related, but I did have a friend who woke up one day with 2 black eyes, it was the weirdest thing ever! We made alot of jokes (I asked if she punched herself in her sleep--I was young back then!) and they spontaneously disappeared just as they appeared. It stuck around for 24 hrs and she used alot of cover up in that time span.

Anyway, perhaps it''s something to do with the thin skin around those areas and veins?

 

[fieryred33143]

Does she by chance have a history with anemia?

 

[qtiekiki]

Thanks to PS. I now know M has Mongolian spots. I was wondering if she will always have that big bluish are on her lower back and butt, like into adulthood. Good to that it usually fade within a few years and disappear by teenage years.

 

[gailrmv]

Hey Tgal,

Just wanted to say that my A sometimes looks sorta blue/green to me in the face. I keep thinking it''s a trick of the light or my imagination because it''s here and then it''s gone. He''s breathing fine, acting fine, everything fine just like you said. Let me know if you figure out what it is.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Thats a new one. If it is around her eyes, could they be dark circles, perhaps from seasonal allergies? I would wonder about a history of eczema, or history of frequent episodes without fever.

I was thinking about jaundice too, but I have never seen jaundice be green on the skin.

It is worth at least calling your doctor. Getting a pic is a good idea too.

Just my random thoughts.

 

[Mrs Mitchell]

TGal, this is a thread I''m reading with interest because iit happens to my A too.

Amelia goes incredibly pale sometimes, with greenish circles under her eyes and a bluish tinge to her skin. It''s obvious enough to be alarming, but she has no other problems other than slight reflux to her kidneys- she sees her doc every three months for that and blood work doesn''t show up anything abnormal. I was really worried the first few times I saw it because both DH and I have a family history of leukemia and I moved straight into panic mode, convinced she had a serious illness.

Maybe not relevant, but what do you look like when you''re very tired? I ask because a few people at school wanted to get me to the doctor in the week before Christmas because I went greenish and very pale a few times (like, they could see the colour change in a few minutes). I felt fine, but I was tired. DH confirms that I do this often when I''m tried. I''m guessing that my A has inherited that from me.

 

[LtlFirecracker]

Date: 1/6/2010 12:10:01 AM
Author: TanDogMom
Hey Tgal,


Just wanted to say that my A sometimes looks sorta blue/green to me in the face. I keep thinking it's a trick of the light or my imagination because it's here and then it's gone. He's breathing fine, acting fine, everything fine just like you said. Let me know if you figure out what it is.

Just thinking (my own thoughts, not based on anything I had read/learned). Does your kid have yellow undertones? If there were to be extra blood flow to the face (seasonal allergies, being tired ect) the venous blood tends to be bluish in color. I know my dark circles can be a blue/purple color and I have pink undertones. Could the same thing on a yellow under toned person look green?

I might be totally in left field just so you all know.

 

[njmom8285]

T=Gal~

I know I''m a bit late to this thread, but thought I would lend my thoughts in case it could help. I don''t want to put fear into your mind but couldn''t pass your thread up without telling you about my son. I am a Mom of a now almost 28 y/o son who LIVES with congenital heart disease. He was luckily diagnosed early and got the best of care. I am also a registered nurse of 28 years...OK so I''m 50!

It could be a hundred things and it could be nothing; but for your own peace of mind a trip to the doc won''t hurt. It seems that you have a ton of support here and that''s great! I''m not an active poster but do come on every few weeks. More lately as I am getting ready to reset my e-ring and some other pieces!

Anyway....I read through so many of the replies and you have gotten a lot of great advice. But one thing people tend to forget is that not all Congenital Heart Disease is noticed at birth or even in the first couple of years. Some kids don''t get diagnosed till they are in high school and start running track. My son was the Gerber baby, perfect in every way including his clear pink complexion. But he had a serious problem that was only picked up by chance when a peds fellow listened to his heart at just the right moment and caught a run of tachycardia called PVC''s. They were intermittent and my son had absolutely no symptoms.

If it were me; I would bring her in for some blood work to check her rbc''s and wbc''s and a few other things that the docs know what to order~just basic stuff. And have her blood oxygenation checked~that''s done with the little clip they put on your finger~totally painless. If the pediatrician sees anything else then you go further. But in the meantime you can then feel a bit relieved that she is getting checked out; "just in case" you would have found something. The only other things I would ask about and someone probably already did~is her fatigue level, if and when she gets short of breath, and if you ever see her squat down while in the middle of active play. That is an autonomic response to pull oxygen into the system. Also her appetite~it could be something as simple as anemia from not eating enough.

Please rest assured that you are a great Mom and are doing the best you can for your little one. Be her voice, get the answers you need to ~ and don''t let anyone, any doctor dismiss your concerns.

Take good care~please post back if you can.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Clearly I''m not a mom, but my husband is so pale that he takes on a bluish pallor sometimes when he catches a chill. Sometimes it doesn''t even need to be a drastic chill where he feels cold, but just chilly air on his skin.

I definitely think a trip to the ped would be a good idea. It''s most likely nothing, just a quirk of being fair skinned, but better safe than sorry.

 

[radiantquest]

Have you taken her in yet? I am concerned and want to know that she is ok.

 

[mrssalvo]

tgal, I''m not one to rush my kids to the dr. my oldest has only gone 2 times in her 7 years for reasons other than wellness visits. But, I would say that since this is something your concerned enough about to post on PS that a trip to your ped. surely wouldn''t hurt. sometimes i think the copays are worth the peace of mind just hearing the confirmation from the dr. that everything is okay. please keep us posted. we love our little A!!

 

[TravelingGal]

I haven''t taken her in yet. I have oral surgery today and will be out of commission for the next couple of days. I''ll keep you all posted!