Q:
Since I was a little kid I have had a section of my right arm that is covered in smooth, red dots. It looks like when you prink your finger and it bleeds a little. And every once in a while I'll get those dots else where on my arms. What are they? The ones on my arms will go away, with the exception of that section on the back of my arm. I am curious as to what they are, and where they come from.
A:
From your description, these sound like petechiae, which are broken capillaries forming red dots that don't blanche or go white when you press on them. They can form because of trauma, low clotting factors such as platelets, or in genetic inherited blood disorders.
Do any other family members have these kind of skin dots? Have you had a blood count done at any time to determine that your cell counts are normal? Do you bleed easily if cut?
You certainly can come in to show a health care provider what it looks like so we can be more specific about the potential causes.
~The Doc
