Help with cause of death please...

[janben]

I have the following on a death cert as cause of death for a six year old boy in 1865; Purpura Haemorragiea 5 weeks. Does anyone know what this could be? I have tried googling but that just tells me that 'purpura' is a rash caused by spontaneous bleeding into the skin and that wouldn't seem to be serious enough to cause death - or would it?

Thanks
Jan

[WendyPusey]

Purpura - LoveToKnow 1911


Read the last but one paragraph.

[janben]

Purpura - LoveToKnow 1911


Read the last but one paragraph.

Thanks, Wendy. Goodness it sounds awful, doesn't it? This little boy died on the 11th July - his father had died on the 2nd July aged 34 from 'an accident' (no other details on death cert) and his Mum, my 2xGGmother, was left with two small boys aged 2yrs and 4yrs.

Jan

[WendyPusey]

I assume the 5 weeks means he slowly bled to death over that time. Poor boy.

[Little Nell]

My gt grandmother had a son who died of this in 1878, aged 2 yrs 5 months.

Purpura Haemorrhagica
This is a rash due to spontaneous bleeding in to the skin i.e. bruises. There are many causes. The age of the victim would be relevant. Pinhead sized bruises are called petechiae
In the first month of life, the likeliest cause is haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Caused by deficiency of vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting. Much of our requirement of vitamin K comes from bacteria in the bowel, but babies do not have enough of these bacteria in the first few weeks of life. Human breast milk is a poor source of vitamin K. All babies born in the UK receives an injection of vitamin K shortly after birth. Another rare cause of purpura in a neonate is congenital toxoplasmosis.
In older children there are very many causes, so without a lot of info it would be difficult for me to give a precise cause of death (deaths in the family at the same time may be relevant) haemophilia is an unlikely cause as in this condition bleeding occurs after trauma (albeit minimal) rather than spontaneously
A book of 1564 includes in it's description of purples "butterfly rash" which could mean systemic lupus erythematosis or acne rosacea
[from /www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm]

[janben]

My gt grandmother had a son who died of this in 1878, aged 2 yrs 5 months.

Purpura Haemorrhagica
This is a rash due to spontaneous bleeding in to the skin i.e. bruises. There are many causes. The age of the victim would be relevant. Pinhead sized bruises are called petechiae
In the first month of life, the likeliest cause is haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Caused by deficiency of vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting. Much of our requirement of vitamin K comes from bacteria in the bowel, but babies do not have enough of these bacteria in the first few weeks of life. Human breast milk is a poor source of vitamin K. All babies born in the UK receives an injection of vitamin K shortly after birth. Another rare cause of purpura in a neonate is congenital toxoplasmosis.
In older children there are very many causes, so without a lot of info it would be difficult for me to give a precise cause of death (deaths in the family at the same time may be relevant) haemophilia is an unlikely cause as in this condition bleeding occurs after trauma (albeit minimal) rather than spontaneously
A book of 1564 includes in it's description of purples "butterfly rash" which could mean systemic lupus erythematosis or acne rosacea
[from /www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm]

Thank you for the info, Little Nell. My OH thinks I am morbid but I find death certs fascinating and thought provoking. They usually throw up something interesting to widen your knowledge about the social history of the times as well as the family circumstances.

Jan

[Little Nell]

Jan

In the midst of life we are in death.

I too find death certs interesting - they throw light on our ancestors' lives. The boy who died of purpera haemorrhagica in my family was one of 6 children, out of 9 pregnancies my gt grandmother had.

2 other sons died of tabes mesenterica (form of tb of the stomach associated with poverty). Only 3 children survived- one son from each of my gt grandmother's 2 marriages and her only daughter - my grandmother.

[Paris01]

My gt grandmother had a son who died of this in 1878, aged 2 yrs 5 months.

Purpura Haemorrhagica
This is a rash due to spontaneous bleeding in to the skin i.e. bruises. There are many causes. The age of the victim would be relevant. Pinhead sized bruises are called petechiae
In the first month of life, the likeliest cause is haemorrhagic disease of the newborn. Caused by deficiency of vitamin K, necessary for blood clotting. Much of our requirement of vitamin K comes from bacteria in the bowel, but babies do not have enough of these bacteria in the first few weeks of life. Human breast milk is a poor source of vitamin K. All babies born in the UK receives an injection of vitamin K shortly after birth. Another rare cause of purpura in a neonate is congenital toxoplasmosis.
In older children there are very many causes, so without a lot of info it would be difficult for me to give a precise cause of death (deaths in the family at the same time may be relevant) haemophilia is an unlikely cause as in this condition bleeding occurs after trauma (albeit minimal) rather than spontaneously
A book of 1564 includes in it's description of purples "butterfly rash" which could mean systemic lupus erythematosis or acne rosacea
[from /www.paul_smith.doctors.org.uk/ArchaicMedicalTerms.htm]

I see you mentioned congenital toxoplasmosis as a rare cause of purpura. I have never heard about that fact before. Having congenital toxoplasmosis as a parent could mean you are a threat for your own child. Does it mean the mother had passed it on to his son?

[Olde Crone Holden]

Toxoplasmosis is rare, but is now a well known (rare) cause of problems in the newborn.

This is why expectant mothers are advised not to handle animal faeces, particularly from cats, at any time during pregnancy and that includes not emptying cat litter trays etc.

Congenital toxoplasmosis indeed means it has been passed via the mother to the infant.

OC

[Little Nell]

Golly I thought I was in a time warp when I saw this thread again!