Hello, 

My six year old son suddenly got the flu on Sunday.  We were outside in the  
snow all day and at night he complained of an ear ache followed by vomiting  
approximately 30 minutes later.  He only vomited once but since then he has  
these little red spots all over his face.  Kind of like pimples/dots  
combined.  None on his torso.  They go from his forehead to his chin and  
cheek to cheek.  I don't notice any improvement and its been three days.   
Please help if you can. 

Thank you, 
Nancy

Hi Nancy,

If they are flat red-purple pin-head like dots, then they sound like petechiae. Petechiae is a Latin term which means "flea bites", because they are so small that they look like flea bites.

They are NOT from fleas in actuality. They are tiny broken blood vessels.

They can occur when the pressure is increased in blood vessels in the face, because of forceful coughing or vomiting. They also can be a sign of a bacterial illness caused by a bug called a meningococcus.

Meningococcus can be deadly, but easily treated with antibiotics. Meningococcus generally presents with other symptoms: headache, neck pain, vomiting, dizziness, high temperature and irritability. The petechiae usually are not limited to the face, but spread all over the body.

If I were your doctor, I would want to make sure that your little guy does not have any bacterial infection (as I mentioned above). If he checked out okay, I would attribute the petechiae to forceful vomiting.

Petechiae will go away in a few days, with no long term effects. The blood vessels repair themselves, and leave no scarring.

I hope that helps you. Dr. Mike

This article was reviewed 04/23/2010 07:24 AM

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