We understand that children bruise and that this is very often accidental and as a result of natural causes, playing and clumsiness. Where a child sustains a lot of bruises, professionals can become concerned as to whether the bruises are caused by everyday life or whether they have been inflicted on the child.
Medical professionals are trained to identify concerning bruises and will look out for signs of inflicted injury, which can include:
- Bruises in a particular shape such as a linear bruise, a bruise in the shape of an instrument, or a bruise showing imprints of a hand or fingerprints;
- Multiple bruises or a cluster of bruises;
- Bruises on non-bony parts of the body such as the face or ears;
- Bruising in a non-mobile child.
It is now widely accepted that it is not possible to age or date bruises because each person reacts differently and there is no set pattern as to how a bruise will develop.
Some children can have conditions where they bruise more easily than the average child.
- Coagulopathy – this is a medical condition which can lead to excessive bruising and haemarthrosis due to the blood’s ability to clot being impaired. As a minimum, you should ask the doctors to conduct coagulation screening to identify whether your child is more prone to bruising than the average child.
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (including similar connective tissue or heritable collagen disorders)- easy bruising and bleeding can be a prominent feature of EDS.