Splinter Hemorrhages

[Carebear]

Dear friends,

For the last four years or so I've experienced splinter hemorrhages in my fingernails.   It can happen on any finger, maybe once or twice a month.

Does anyone else have this?  I know it's benign.  I am just curious.

I also had a couple spots on my face that looked like a small red starburst but they fainted after a day.  Another type of hemorrhage I am guessing.  And yesterday I woke up with a grouping of small red spots on my chest.  They are still here.

My doctor saw them all.  She seemed unconcerned but had no answers.  Any thoughts?

[Reanne]

Look up spider veins.  That is what my rheumatologist calls the ones on my face.  Telangiectasias is the proper name. 

[Carebear]

Thanks, Reanne.  Does it look like thread or small veins?

Mine look like a drop of ink that went "splat" on a piece of paper.

[Tivia]

I have the splinter hemorrhages under my nails, had them for a while, I also for about 2 years now been getting cherry spots all over, and the broken blood vessels on my face. I attributed those to my graves/thyroid disease since they came up after it when I would get really overheated and red.

I do know I asked the doctor about all of it, he said the blood vessels could be related to AI, liver problems, too much sun etc. The nails are the thing that is hard to say, if they are like black little splinters that grow out with you nail usually they are from some trauma to the nail. If they are big blackish or dark streaks it can be melanoma, if they are blacking brownish or reddish, it can still be trauma or a heart infection. If you have tiny blood or brownish spots in the nail fold or the skin at cuticle that is normally some connective tissue disease. Sjs lupus sclero RA etc they can all produce that. 

This is a decent site to identify many skin hair nail issues. http://dermnetnz.org/ 

This is the patterns of nailfold abnormalities. http://www.capillaroscopia.it/html/cnt/en/rheumatology.asp

[trector]

Years ago.I had a heart processor. Weeks after I had the splinter marks on my nails. They thought they were from blood clots they said my heart was bleeding. But they were not blood clots.but I was in hospital for a while on blood thinners anyway.