Red Blood Spots on Hands, HELP

[mark36]

My Father who is almost 70 has these blotches or bruises and red blood spots on his hands for almost 6 months. They come and go? There is no pain or itching? They usually appear when he is out in the sun working and disappers after few days when he avoids the sun. Can sun cause such damage to the skin or is it something internal disease to worry about. Please help.

Regards
Mark

[Dr.Deepak]

Welcome to the forum mark. Few questions, is he on any medications (including pain medications like aspirin) recently or in the pasts months (recent 1 year)? Any other associated symptoms like fever, rapid weight loss, black stool,swollen lymph nodes or any other you could describe? If possible some pics would be great.

[mark36]

Thank you dr.deepak. I uploaded some pics, please check. No my father is not on any medications currently or was in the past 1 year. No other symptoms, weight loss, no black stool, no swollen lymph nodes. He is very healthy and active. Its just these rash that come and go.

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[Dr.Deepak]

Well... if everything is normal then its a good news. Your father condition looks like Actinic Purpura to me, which is harmless condition resulting from chronic sun damage. It is commonly seen in elderly people and no treatment is necessary besides sun-protection.

Photo-protection is a must, so try to avoid sun exposure and always wear long sleeves. When going out in the sun always apply broad-spectrum sunscreen. During old age minor trauma to the skin can also result in such purpura, so ask your father to avoid such.

[mark36]

Thank you doctor for your help. That exactly looks like Actinic Purpura. I'm relief now, thank you again for your support. Dermatalk is a great forum.

[addisoncave]

Known as petechiae, these tiny red or purple spots often appear in clusters -- typically on the chest, back, face, or arms -- and are a side effect of the blood's failure to clot. They may be confused with a rash, although they're really broken blood vessels and capillaries resulting from low platelet count.