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sons lips frequently turn blue?
Hi,
I was wonder if someone could advise me on my son, He's 16months old now and apart from being a handful is usually well except his lips (nowhere else) turn blue from time to time and I'm getting concerned as it is happening more frequently now! it does happen when he is cold but I've also noticed it at other times.I also have a 5 year old but his lips never turn blue ?
When he was 8 weeks he was admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis and at the doctor who examined him found a murmur? but said it was nothing to be concerned about and needed no further tests.
Should i now be worried?
Please reply as i'm unsure what to do.
I was wonder if someone could advise me on my son, He's 16months old now and apart from being a handful is usually well except his lips (nowhere else) turn blue from time to time and I'm getting concerned as it is happening more frequently now! it does happen when he is cold but I've also noticed it at other times.I also have a 5 year old but his lips never turn blue ?
When he was 8 weeks he was admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis and at the doctor who examined him found a murmur? but said it was nothing to be concerned about and needed no further tests.
Should i now be worried?
Please reply as i'm unsure what to do.
My son is 9 yrs old he also had a heart murmur. Doc's said he would grow out of it. When he was young the health dept gave him all his shots at once I was getting him in daycare and he normal doctor could not get him in for his chicken pox shot so I took him to the health department. Without my permission they gave him all his shots that he should have gotten over a period of time till he was 5 yrs of age. He became very Ill. he was sick for about a month almost lifeless, fevers and all. Docs said he would be fine and about a year later is when he started turning blue,Lips fingers and toes, cold to the touch. Docs gave me no incite to this. By the time I got him there he had no signs of anything. They thought I was crazy. He turned blue in the morning after swimming at school, sitting eating. As he grew older I realized with the blue spells he would spike a fever and then his body temp. would drop and he told me he was very cold. I started to warm him at that point and the blues would go away. Had him in er they would send us home untill one doc was releasing us and he had a spell I was so thankful he seen this only because I thought I would get and answer. At children hospital they watched him for 24 hours and sent us home saying i was crazy.I begged them to talk to the er doc that seen this. But they had never took the time to call him. I can say that he does not have them as often anymore he is always cold and in mid summer has a sweat shirt on and I always send a blanket with him were ever he goes even in 100 degree weather. I noticed that drinking milk and being around any one that smoked would worsen the blues. He has been wanting milk lately I let him start drinking it again and he has been swimming and went to a friends house over night and the parents smoked I let them know please don't smoke inside your home if he stays. But im sure they did. Because his blue spells are back. I still have no answers form doctors just that all tests are normal I monitor what he eats and keep him warm after swimming and baths. He stays out of air conditioned rooms and does not go to his friends house if there is smoking. The only answer I have found by doing research is Reynauds Syndrome. They say it is rare and no explanation for it. I am so amazed that so many of you are having the same thing going on. After all my years of worry I finally found people with the same issues as mine. I feel that it came from all them shots that he got at a young age. I hope all of you will find an answer soon. I am still searching.
Hi there,
Like many others on here I am shocked at how many people are experiencing this with their children and only slightly relieved. I tried to read as many as possible, I connect most with those whose children had pneumonia and will share with you my story of my, now 5 year old, daughter and my six month old son.
It was June 2007, I live in Northern Alberta Canada and its warm here during that time. One morning my daughter woke with a mild fever and she vomited clear fluid once. We were supposed to go to a BBQ that night but I figured I had to cancel as she was coming down with the flu. But a couple of hours later and no more vomiting episodes she was completely normal. We went to the BBQ, had a great time. When we came home I was dressing her for bed and I thought I noticed a faint blue line around her lips. She was happy, alert, normal. I asked my husband his opinion and we both determined it was likely the lighting. But mother's instincts are powerful and I didn't sleep a wink because I knew something was not right. The whole night I walked into my sleeping baby's room and picked her up and held her under the bathroom light, no more blue. I cannot remember what prompted me to call the health nurse line for advice, it was a new minor symptom and the details of the night before. Coincidently as I was on the phone with the nurse I fed my daughter raspberries for breakfast, let her out of the highchair and she set off to playing and then came up to me and she was purple. It was the most horrifying moment of my life and I still have nightmares about it. It looked as though she was sucking on a purple popsicle while in a bucket of ice water. Her nose to her chin, her lips, her hands, nails, feet, were absolutely purple. But she was alert, she was playing, she was talking, she was obviously breathing. The nurse told me to call 911 immediately. I did but they arrived 20 minutes later. At that point all that was left were blue feet and a dark blue line around her lips, as if I drew blue lip liner on them. The paramedics told me my child likely had a tantrum or held her breath and they would not take her to the hospital but if I wanted her checked out I could take her in my own car. I was confused and started doubting everything. I hopped in the car and went to the ER, the nurses looked at me like I was an idiot and didn't even assess my daughter for the next two hours because she was pink and happy. No oxygen stats were taken, no stethoscope was put to her lungs. My friend called while I was waiting in the ER and said "I got you a doctor appointment, go now." I showed up at the pediatrician's office, she listened to my daughter's heart and said she thought it was the cause. We went back to the hospital for an EKG and all was normal. The next morning the very same thing happened, minus the vomiting and zero fever but she has never ever been as purple as she was on that day. Nonetheless, this time she was a bit lethargic. I ran into the pediatrician's office and she admitted us to the hospital. All oxygen levels were normal, she was no longer blue at the hospital and never went blue the whole time we were there. Xrays came back that she had pneumonia. She was treated, life went on, but she continued to go blue every single day for months upon months. A second pneumonia only a couple of months later made us obtain a referral to a respirologist. He was determined that she was a chronic aspirator, inhaling fluid/food into her lungs continuously. He said, she has two of the three symptoms - her lungs make noise, they have "feathers" in the xrays, now lets see if she has the third symptom. For the next week you pay attention every time sheats and let me know anything abnormal. So I watched her like a hawk waiting for the light bulb moment that never seemed to happen. At a weeks end I called his office and told him I noticed nothing different, except that every time she drinks from her sippy cup she coughs. That was the exact answer he was looking for and from there she was diagnosed with Chronic Aspiration Syndrome. For the next year we thickened EVERYTHING to a pudding consistency, including her water. She had only one pneumonia the whole year. We were told she would out grow the aspiration around the age of 3.
To make a long story short, in the last 5 years my daughter has undergone an MRI, a million chest xrays, barium swallow test, endless blood tests, EEG, EKG, holter monitor, echocardiogram, neurologist evaluations, allergy testing, all absolutely normal.
My daughter now suffers from chronic lung disease, undiagnosed. It is frustrating, angering, and heart wrenching. Living a relatively "normal" life, she has at least one to three pneumonias a year on top of other respiratory infections like asthma attacks (although she is not a formally diagnosed asthmatic because she doesn't express the classic symptoms), pneumonitis, bronchiolitis, etc. She is hospitalized every single year yet still no answer has been found, no prevention possible.
Last December (2010) she suffered from the worst infection she's ever had and when she showed up at the hospital, which was a casual decision between my husband and I because she didn't appear to be that ill, her oxygen levels were so low she was oxygen dependant for the next 24 hours.
Last month we saw an ENT who is going to perform a sleep apnea test. I have demanded a new pulmonologist, and finally a pulmonary function test which takes place next week.
In the mean time, my fourth child who is now 6 months old not only looks like my daughter, acts like her, he has started to turn blue like her. I believe he is an aspirator, we see the specialist next month to confirm. He coughs frequently, he turns blue after he eats, but nothing more. This morning his lips were purple so I went into the ER knowing I would be treated the same as I was years ago. I was hoping a chest xray would be performed, but it wasn't. He sweats very easily, but it's always cold despite the temperature and can soak a blanket if he cries for more than a minute.
I understand the frustrations of every parent who has gone to the doctor with a blue child in tow only to have that child be completely normal when the doctor sees them. It's like a child trying to tell an adult something they saw and the adult saying, "yah, uh huh, okay sure honey," and not truely believing them.
My word of advice is persistence. Second, third, fourth opinions. I research continuously, I've demanded tests, I've bought an oximeter which I know has helped immensely in my care for my daughter during times of illness. She is resistent to two types of antibiotics now because of all her infections. There is a reason, there is an answer, I just have to find it.
Like many others on here I am shocked at how many people are experiencing this with their children and only slightly relieved. I tried to read as many as possible, I connect most with those whose children had pneumonia and will share with you my story of my, now 5 year old, daughter and my six month old son.
It was June 2007, I live in Northern Alberta Canada and its warm here during that time. One morning my daughter woke with a mild fever and she vomited clear fluid once. We were supposed to go to a BBQ that night but I figured I had to cancel as she was coming down with the flu. But a couple of hours later and no more vomiting episodes she was completely normal. We went to the BBQ, had a great time. When we came home I was dressing her for bed and I thought I noticed a faint blue line around her lips. She was happy, alert, normal. I asked my husband his opinion and we both determined it was likely the lighting. But mother's instincts are powerful and I didn't sleep a wink because I knew something was not right. The whole night I walked into my sleeping baby's room and picked her up and held her under the bathroom light, no more blue. I cannot remember what prompted me to call the health nurse line for advice, it was a new minor symptom and the details of the night before. Coincidently as I was on the phone with the nurse I fed my daughter raspberries for breakfast, let her out of the highchair and she set off to playing and then came up to me and she was purple. It was the most horrifying moment of my life and I still have nightmares about it. It looked as though she was sucking on a purple popsicle while in a bucket of ice water. Her nose to her chin, her lips, her hands, nails, feet, were absolutely purple. But she was alert, she was playing, she was talking, she was obviously breathing. The nurse told me to call 911 immediately. I did but they arrived 20 minutes later. At that point all that was left were blue feet and a dark blue line around her lips, as if I drew blue lip liner on them. The paramedics told me my child likely had a tantrum or held her breath and they would not take her to the hospital but if I wanted her checked out I could take her in my own car. I was confused and started doubting everything. I hopped in the car and went to the ER, the nurses looked at me like I was an idiot and didn't even assess my daughter for the next two hours because she was pink and happy. No oxygen stats were taken, no stethoscope was put to her lungs. My friend called while I was waiting in the ER and said "I got you a doctor appointment, go now." I showed up at the pediatrician's office, she listened to my daughter's heart and said she thought it was the cause. We went back to the hospital for an EKG and all was normal. The next morning the very same thing happened, minus the vomiting and zero fever but she has never ever been as purple as she was on that day. Nonetheless, this time she was a bit lethargic. I ran into the pediatrician's office and she admitted us to the hospital. All oxygen levels were normal, she was no longer blue at the hospital and never went blue the whole time we were there. Xrays came back that she had pneumonia. She was treated, life went on, but she continued to go blue every single day for months upon months. A second pneumonia only a couple of months later made us obtain a referral to a respirologist. He was determined that she was a chronic aspirator, inhaling fluid/food into her lungs continuously. He said, she has two of the three symptoms - her lungs make noise, they have "feathers" in the xrays, now lets see if she has the third symptom. For the next week you pay attention every time sheats and let me know anything abnormal. So I watched her like a hawk waiting for the light bulb moment that never seemed to happen. At a weeks end I called his office and told him I noticed nothing different, except that every time she drinks from her sippy cup she coughs. That was the exact answer he was looking for and from there she was diagnosed with Chronic Aspiration Syndrome. For the next year we thickened EVERYTHING to a pudding consistency, including her water. She had only one pneumonia the whole year. We were told she would out grow the aspiration around the age of 3.
To make a long story short, in the last 5 years my daughter has undergone an MRI, a million chest xrays, barium swallow test, endless blood tests, EEG, EKG, holter monitor, echocardiogram, neurologist evaluations, allergy testing, all absolutely normal.
My daughter now suffers from chronic lung disease, undiagnosed. It is frustrating, angering, and heart wrenching. Living a relatively "normal" life, she has at least one to three pneumonias a year on top of other respiratory infections like asthma attacks (although she is not a formally diagnosed asthmatic because she doesn't express the classic symptoms), pneumonitis, bronchiolitis, etc. She is hospitalized every single year yet still no answer has been found, no prevention possible.
Last December (2010) she suffered from the worst infection she's ever had and when she showed up at the hospital, which was a casual decision between my husband and I because she didn't appear to be that ill, her oxygen levels were so low she was oxygen dependant for the next 24 hours.
Last month we saw an ENT who is going to perform a sleep apnea test. I have demanded a new pulmonologist, and finally a pulmonary function test which takes place next week.
In the mean time, my fourth child who is now 6 months old not only looks like my daughter, acts like her, he has started to turn blue like her. I believe he is an aspirator, we see the specialist next month to confirm. He coughs frequently, he turns blue after he eats, but nothing more. This morning his lips were purple so I went into the ER knowing I would be treated the same as I was years ago. I was hoping a chest xray would be performed, but it wasn't. He sweats very easily, but it's always cold despite the temperature and can soak a blanket if he cries for more than a minute.
I understand the frustrations of every parent who has gone to the doctor with a blue child in tow only to have that child be completely normal when the doctor sees them. It's like a child trying to tell an adult something they saw and the adult saying, "yah, uh huh, okay sure honey," and not truely believing them.
My word of advice is persistence. Second, third, fourth opinions. I research continuously, I've demanded tests, I've bought an oximeter which I know has helped immensely in my care for my daughter during times of illness. She is resistent to two types of antibiotics now because of all her infections. There is a reason, there is an answer, I just have to find it.
I may have a possible consideration that you may want to explore. I am an adult. I do have allergies and asthma and my lips tend to get blue when I have an asthma attack. I don't always wheeze when I have one. I know I am having one when I get super tired or my lips turn blue or I am short of breath.
You have mentioned all the gamet of tests run on your children, those that posted, that rule out the other possibilities. The last one I am considering would be possible food or airborn allergies? Process of elimination or getting the child tested for it might be a good idea. My thought is that if they are allergic to something in the air or that they have eaten or drank that this could cause some asthma and that could create lack of oxygen and that could attribute to the symptoms. Many reasons a baby could have blue lips though. Many. That could be a possibility. Go to an immunologist and discuss the possibilities of this and what kind of tests can be run.
As for Perioral Cyanosis, that is a condition where the "around" the lips turn blue. Not the inside. It is important to note when checking the child that you also look at the tongue, gums, nails, and under feet. ER doctors can only do so much. It is best to go to a specialist. Since they don't have blue doctors, and you have went to the heart doctors and so forth, the next course should be to speak to a doctor dealing with allergies.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
You may not realize this, but allergies can be fatal if left untreated. Not always but anaphalactic(sp?) shock can be a sudden symptom. It would be a good idea after you have ran the tests on heart and blood to go for testing of food allergies. Speak to an immunologist. I believe that is the category of doctor that could help with allergies and treatments.
When I think of blue lips what comes to mind are lack of oxygen, lack of circulation or anemia. Blood or air disorders come to mind. It is not normal for lips to turn blue. You may have to research many conditions and ask that your child be tested for various things.
Did the child eat anything with barely, peanuts, strawberries, yeast, etc? Do you have animals in the house or a lot of dust?
You have mentioned all the gamet of tests run on your children, those that posted, that rule out the other possibilities. The last one I am considering would be possible food or airborn allergies? Process of elimination or getting the child tested for it might be a good idea. My thought is that if they are allergic to something in the air or that they have eaten or drank that this could cause some asthma and that could create lack of oxygen and that could attribute to the symptoms. Many reasons a baby could have blue lips though. Many. That could be a possibility. Go to an immunologist and discuss the possibilities of this and what kind of tests can be run.
As for Perioral Cyanosis, that is a condition where the "around" the lips turn blue. Not the inside. It is important to note when checking the child that you also look at the tongue, gums, nails, and under feet. ER doctors can only do so much. It is best to go to a specialist. Since they don't have blue doctors, and you have went to the heart doctors and so forth, the next course should be to speak to a doctor dealing with allergies.
I hope this helps. Good luck.
You may not realize this, but allergies can be fatal if left untreated. Not always but anaphalactic(sp?) shock can be a sudden symptom. It would be a good idea after you have ran the tests on heart and blood to go for testing of food allergies. Speak to an immunologist. I believe that is the category of doctor that could help with allergies and treatments.
When I think of blue lips what comes to mind are lack of oxygen, lack of circulation or anemia. Blood or air disorders come to mind. It is not normal for lips to turn blue. You may have to research many conditions and ask that your child be tested for various things.
Did the child eat anything with barely, peanuts, strawberries, yeast, etc? Do you have animals in the house or a lot of dust?
unbeleivable how many kids are going through this- with such similarities! and there doesn't seem to be an answer for it. so bizarre! my daughter is 15months, has been congested quite alot (more than normal, i would say) since she was 6months old or so, has had purplish and cold hands and bottoms of feet several times since newborn, and has been on soy formula w/added omega3 and 6 (she had some digestive/gassy issues as a newborn). it has happened about 3 times over the last couple of months when i have noticed her lips and fingernail beds turn bluish/purple. it has happened twice after she ate in the morning, yesterday it was accompanied by her chin trembling. i picked her up out of her highchair to hold her and get a closer look at her. she was acting totally normal, so i let her go play thinking (hoping) it was just maybe she caught a chill. when i layed her down to change her diaper a few minutes later, her lips and nailbeds were still purplish and her chin trembled again. it went away a couple of minutes later, but i noticed also that as she was running around her tongue looked purplish as well...i have to look that up. i kept a VERY close eye on her all day and she was just as playful and energetic as usual. she did just get over a serious bout of congestion last week (very runny nose, clear mucus) and had a mild fever two nights ago which came and went for reason being i thought might be her teething. taking her to the doc tomorrow- will post if i have any new info. my heart goes out to those babies having seizures and passing out- and to their parents... i can't imagine how scary that must be! let's hope for some answers SOON!!
Amazing - my daughter is 16 months old and her daycare has witnessed 4 episodes where right after lunch her lips and hands turned blue, got cold (temp was 96.4). Her attitude and activity level was normal and it disappeared in under 10 minutes. One time her arms turned ashen in color. Two pediatricians are trying everything and are stumped, cardiologist says heart sounds great and EKG is perfect. Pediatricians now want us to have a camera at the daycare to take pictures of the episodes. I have never seen it at home and was wondering if it was something related to the daycare. I have also been told of Raynauds, which I will be talking to the peds about on Tuesday. I was recently told about a book called China Study and how episodes like these may be related to diet....
I am researching everything - why hasn't a study been put together so we can find the common denominator!
I am researching everything - why hasn't a study been put together so we can find the common denominator!
The most sense I've heard in a long time. Thank you. My 30 month old son frequently has very blue lips and chin when he is cold, especially in the mornings. He is very pale skinned so its probably made more noticeable by that. He is also very rarely ill and even on the 2 occasions he has had a cold it never seems to get him down and he has never had a raised temperature. I am sure that he is perfectly well and yet the wealth of information about, regarding symptoms, makes it easy for me to worry. My GP has also advised me that his heart and lungs sound fine. I do always worry however and feel it prudent to keep on checking.
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