(Helpful Tip) Purpura

As I post this, I realize I have two sons and have suffered from many illnesses I had never heard of before. When my older child was in third grade of elementary school, suddenly a spot appeared on his ankle. At the same time the spot appeared, he said his stomach hurt. Since stomach aches are common when raising children, and because he had constipation, I told him to go to the bathroom and gave him some stomach medicine.

But I was in pain all night and it subsided, so I went to the hospital the next day, and they said there was nothing abnormal. However, the child continued to be sick... even after taking medicine, there was no significant effect... The next day, we went to a larger hospital again. From that point on, spots appeared on the ankle, and the doctor said it looked like purpura. What is purpura??

When they explained it to me, I didn't understand a word. They said it was because of a problem with the immune system... I felt like I got hit in the back of the head. Since her immune system developed late, she was born and kept catching colds. So, to boost her immunity, I fed her a lot of different things... We received a prescription and went home, but the spots kept spreading and getting darker, and her stomach kept hurting. The stomach pain was the biggest issue. She was in so much pain.

Based on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 is the worst. The medication had little effect. Since I have a young child, hospitalization was difficult, so I chose outpatient treatment. I stayed up all night massaging my son's stomach, but it didn't help much; I had nothing else to do. In the morning, I sent the younger child to school and went to the hospital for an IV drip. The medication to soothe the stomach pain... painkillers, right? After two hours of infusion, the pain slightly subsided. Then I went back home to rest and took medication. The next day, the pain returned. Strangely, the effect of the medication didn't last a full day. So I went back to the hospital for another IV drip, then returned home... After about ten days of this, the stomach pain improved significantly. So I continued taking medication and visited the hospital every 2-3 days. The spots gradually darkened and spread up to the hips. It looked very disgusting. Sometimes they burst and scabbed over. I was told not to touch them. They said it might be itchy, but luckily, there was no itching. I was very fortunate.

The spots last for more than a month. They gradually increase in number and become darker, then when they disappear, their color gradually lightens and fades away.

The child was under a lot of stress every day because of their swollen legs. The mom asked, "What if my legs stay like this forever?" and I felt very upset. I told her that it would never happen and reassured her every day, saying that I was working on it. Fortunately, since it's winter, she's wearing long clothes, so I made sure she couldn't take them off, and I quickly helped her wash so she wouldn't see her legs for too long.

Only after time passes and the clear signs disappear do I feel at ease as a mother.

Henoch-Schönlein purpura has many causes, and it can't be pinpointed to just one. There are also many treatment methods and tests. Luckily, the child only has stomach pain symptoms, should I say that's fortunate?

The time that lasted over a month was really too long, but I am only left with gratitude for my son who endured it well^^