Vasculitis Awareness Month

Last spring, I got back from a concert to find my legs covered in red spots. My first thought was some sort of bug bite, but they didn't really seem like bug bites. After returning home, I made an appointment for the doctor the next day. The doctor identified it as a petechiae rash. A petechiae rash is spots caused from bleeding under the skin. A petechiae rash can be a sign of many different conditions. So they did blood tests. And I waited. Nothing came back. So they did more blood tests. And I waited. This continued through the summer. Finally I was referred to a detatologist. And I waited. With not much left to test for the demotologist took a punch-biopsy. The punch-biopsy identified my problem as, and a second one identified it as HSP or Hench-Schönlein Purpura. A type most common in children. I going on the old range for this type so I was thankful to have as my doctor put it "a good kind to have". This is because it mostly impacts the skin and joints-- though sometimes it impacts the kidneys-- and more importantly often does not come back in children. For almost a year I have been going to see that dermatologist for blood tests and urine samples every few months. Gladly it has been four months since I had a petechiae rash. Though, I still have on-and-off knee pain from inflammation in my knees.