By Carina Stathis For Daily Mail Australia
01:39 10 Apr 2023, updated 01:42 10 Apr 2023
- Mom noticed a small red mark on her baby’s leg
- This is an early sign of meningococcal disease
When a mother noticed a small red mark on her baby’s leg recently she sprang into action and took her bub straight to the hospital.
And she’s lucky she did because the rash is gone ‘doesn’t turn white’ when pressure is applied – an early sign of meningococcal bacterial disease which can lead to death if not treated quickly.
A small mark on a baby’s leg can easily be mistaken for a spot or bruise, but it is a symptom of a deadly disease – something the mother learned in a first aid class.
Australian parenting group Tiny Hearts Education shared the girl’s story on Instagram to alert other parents about the early warning that needs to be taken seriously.
Other symptoms of meningococcal disease in infants and children may include: fever, nausea, drowsiness, irritability, excessive fatigue or restlessness, and diarrhea.
Scroll down for the video
If a spot appears, Tiny Hearts encouraged parents to test if the rash is ‘red’ by ‘using a clear glass and rolling it over the rash’.
‘When the rash turns white, it means it’s red. A non-blanching rash does not whiten when pressed,’ the caption read.
‘If the rash does not turn white it means there is bleeding under the skin and tests should be done to rule out any serious cause.’
What makes Meningococcal dangerous is the fact that the blood ‘seeps out’ under the skin and not where it should be.
To demonstrate this, a small rectangular piece of solid gel is pierced with an ink needle – the gel representing body tissue and the ink representing ‘stuck’ blood.
Other moms thanked Tiny Hearts for sharing life-saving information and some shared their own horror stories as well.
‘Thank you! I just have no idea what a non blanching rash is but I see it talked about regularly. It really helps,’ commented one.
‘As a mother with Thrombocytopenic Purpura (blood disorder), this is very important to look for in your children who cannot support themselves!!’ one more.
A third wrote: ‘My six year old developed a small rash on his arm with no other symptoms, so because of the information you posted about it, we took him to the hospital…turns out he has bacterial strep throat!
‘I wouldn’t have known to get him without your page, so thank you.’
If the disease is not caught death can occur in as little as a few hours.
Every year in Australia, meningococcal infections cause 700 to 800 hospitalizations and 35-40 deaths (10 in children aged zero to four years).
According to the Immunization Coalition, the disease is transmitted through close, prolonged household and intimate contact, and can be spread through infected secretions from the back of the nose and throat.
Teenagers have the highest carriage rate, reaching around 19 years of age, and thus play an important role in transmission.
Vaccination is the best way to prevent meningococcal.