Pulmonary Hypertension Support Group

Mornin'! I was trying to find who it was that sais they had discovered tiny red pin dots on their arm. I should have replied to them when I read it. I went to look and mine are still there on my upper arm. Don't know what they are from or how long they've been there.But..they're there. Any ideas abt what they are?I was sitting in the sunlight of my room and saw them last week. Was gonna ask my Dr abt them,but of course, the visit was too short and quick. Need to write my ?s down again before I go so I'll get all my ?s answered. memory is pitifully poor. Scaring me some abt that. piddler [img]

There are plenty who read this post and ,yet,no one else has familiararity with the pin-dots? Just wondering why so many read abt it and no one wrote for comment. Cannot wait to ask the DR. May not have anything to do with the PH. Never know! Later.Jackie

I did finally ask the lung Dr abt the blood dots on my upper arms. He put his glasses on and took my arm in hand and looked and touched carefully. He is puzzled abt them. Not freckles.He said. He did say they could be "something" I CANNOT RECALL. But he still is not so sure what they are. I told him some of my meds say not to get into the sun for long periods of time. (I've been outside many years with same meds and no red pin dots on my arms.) I asked could this be because of being in the sun? He shook his head NO. He is curious abt them. Maybe I will ask him again in my next month appt to tell him how the C-PAP machine is doing. I get the machine wednesday after I get the co-pay to the,=m. Hate having to wait but they need their $$ first before bringing it out.Later ya'll. Take care of yourselves...Jackie

Hey, so i have the same issue with the little red pinprick looking dots under the surface... some of them are bigger or brighter than others, and some appear for a relatively short time, others i've had for as long as i can remember. Most often, its broken capilaries (sp?) or busted blood vessels. i had a really big bright one on my chest/collarbone area (when i say big, it was probably about the size of the head of a pin, not the point) and it made me uncomfortable because it was smack dab front and center for everyone to see, so i tried to poke a hole into and it bled out, healed and disapeared.so if your spots look like actually blood spots, you can probably poke them and make them bleed out... but for others, it could be a symptom of something, i know it could be called petechai ot something along those lines, however most pictures i saw were not what i have. its common for people to have bleeding under the skin if its been traumatized(bruised, pinched, etc) I hope this helps. Regardless, if its really freaking you out, ask a dermatologist or doctor. if the doctor brushes it off, asked for a referral to a derm. It could be nothing but it could be something.

Thank you Britvand21 for the response. I might try what you did. I still have them. If I am in the sunlight I can see them much better.In the light of my room...nope.Nah! Not really freaking me out that much. Just something that is new and odd and want no surprises right now. Freckles they aren't.Moles..no way.No texture.But like you said blood spots. Thanks again.Will ask my heart Dr tomorrow abt them.Take care,Jackie

These little red dots sound like telangiectasias. Check to see if they blanch with pressure. Telangiectasias do, petechiae do not. If they do, then you should be aware that both telangiectasias (on the face or fingers or in the mouth) and pulmonary hypertension can have a common cause - CREST scleroderma. Other signs of CREST include calcium deposits under the skin, Raynaud's, difficulty swallowing (food lingers in the lower esophagus) or gastric reflex, and swelling fingers.

If you think this sounds like you, you need to be under the care of a scleroderma specialist. There is a list of such specialists at:

http://sctc-online.org/usa.htm#maryland . Scroll up or down until you find your state. Some states have none - it's a rare condition.

Hi DaisyDo! I can see these blood dots in the light of my home but they can be seen much better in sunlight. Blanch? Do you mean to spread or dissappear? I used a cuticle stickto lightly touch the dots.They slightly faded a bit then came back. Just seconds. Had to do this several times cause of my skin flaking a tad and me not being able to see what they did if anything. They come back the same as they were before I touched them. Thanks,Jackie

Yes, the blanching (disapperance of the red color) is only as temporary as the pressure. I'm sorry I didn't make that clear. When the pressure is relieved, they refill with blood. The way my dermatologist checked it was to press against them with the flat side of a glass microscope slide. That way you can see what's happening in response to the pressure.

If pressure causes the blood to leave them, then what you have is either telangiectasias or angiomas. But I read where cherry angiomas don't usually crop up all at once. So if that is the case, they are probably telangiectasias.

I have CREST scleroderma, and a few summers back, a whole bunch of these red dots (that blanch under pressure) cropped up on my trunk and arms. These are apparently a sign of the vasculitis which occurs in CREST. I started taking fish oil (at the rate of 6 grams daily), and alpha lipoic acid both in the hopes of reducing inflammation. The new red spots all disappeared. I reduced the fish oil to 4 grams, and a new red mark is starting to show on the tip of one of my fingers, where they are said to be especially indicative of CREST. The fingerts are mildly swollen (2 wedding ring size changes), and they burn and hurt.

If any of this sounds like you, you should get to a rheumatologist and get the anticentromere B antibody test. You can still have CREST without these antibodies, but if positive, it usally clinches the diagnosis right then and there.

Thank you DaisyDo! I appreciate your help with this. I have no spots on my fingertips.The only other place I have blood spots is to the left of my right nostril.Been with me for many a year now. Have yet to test it though.May not be the same type spot,eh? Besides what you wrote abt your fingers what all does CREST do to you? Is it painful for you? Take care and have a good weekend. Jackie

Yes, I live with constant pain: in my joints (degenerating), in my bones (vertebrae fusing from inflammation), in my flesh. Skin-nerve biopsies show my nerves are ill (morphologic changes seen microscopically), and dying in my legs. The fingers are swollen and in pain. The ankles swell and I get phlebitis. The toes first get very painful and then go numb. Then the process reverses. I also have Sjogren's, and Hashimoto's. There's more, but that's enough to describe right now. I am still coming to terms with the recent diagnosis.