The sinister and fatal meaning behind this “innocent” red mark on a child’s leg: the nurse’s warning to the parents
- Mom noticed a small red mark on her child’s leg
- It was an initial sign of meningococcal disease
When a mom recently noticed a small red mark on her baby’s leg, she jumped into action and took her baby straight to the hospital.
And she’s lucky she did because of the rash It ‘didn’t turn white’ when pressed – an early sign of bacterial meningococcal disease that can lead to death if not treated quickly.
The small mark on the infant’s leg could easily have been mistaken for a spot or a bruise, but it was a symptom of the deadly disease—something the mother learned in first aid class.
Australian parenting group Tiny Hearts Education shared the woman’s story on Instagram to alert other parents about the initial warning sign to be taken seriously.
Other symptoms of meningococcal disease in infants and children can include: fever, nausea, drowsiness, irritability, extreme tiredness or confusion, and diarrhea.
Scroll down for the video
A mother took her child to the hospital after discovering a small mark on his leg (pictured). Turns out it was a sign of meningococcus
The infant has been treated and Tiny Hearts Education has warned other parents of the warning sign
If a spot appears, Tiny Hearts encouraged parents to test if the rash ‘lights up’ by ‘using a clear glass and rolling it over the rash’.
If the rash turns white, then it is brightening. A non-bleached rash does not turn white when pressed,” the caption read.
If the rash is not whitish, that means there is bleeding under the skin and there are tests that need to be done to rule out anything serious causing this.
What makes meningococcus so dangerous is the fact that blood “leaks” under the skin and is not where it should be.
To demonstrate this, a small rectangular piece of hard gel was prodded with an ink needle—the gel representing body tissue and the ink representing ‘adherent’ blood.
Other moms have thanked Tiny Hearts for sharing the life-saving information, and some have even shared their own horror stories.
‘Thank you! I have no idea what the non-bleaching rash was like, but I’ve seen it get talked about regularly. This was really helpful, someone commented.
“As a mother with thrombocytopenic purpura (a blood disorder), it is very important to look out for it in your little ones who can’t stand up for themselves!!” Another added.
A third wrote: ‘My six-year-old had a small non-whitish rash on his arm with no other symptoms, so because of the information I posted about this, we took him to hospital… It turned out he had streptococcus. throat!
“I wouldn’t have known to have taken it on without your page, so thank you.”
If the disease is left untreated, death can occur in as little as a few hours.
Each year in Australia, meningococcal infection causes 700-800 hospitalizations and 35-40 deaths (10 in children aged zero to four years).
According to the Immunity Coalition, the disease is transmitted by close and prolonged household contact, and it can spread through infected secretions from the back of the nose and throat.
Adolescents have the highest rates of transmission, peaking at the age of 19 years, and therefore play an important role in transmission.
Vaccinations are the best way to prevent meningococcal infection.
