My 3-year-old baby gets blue discoloration around the mouth, lips, and nail beds. What is her problem?

Question

Hello doctor,

My daughter is 4 years old. She has been having blue spells since she was 9 months old. It occurs for about 20- 45 minutes. The left ventricle murmur was found when she was 3 years old. She goes blue around the mouth, lips, nail beds when the capillary refill is delayed. And sometimes she has mottled skin and purple discoloration. What could the issue be?

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Thanks for sharing her picture (attachment removed to protect patient identity). Please avoid worry. She will be fine. Based on your explanation, her symptoms are consistent with congenital heart disease. They often present with these symptoms. These defects are of various types. I advise you to upload her investigations or repeat an echo and get to me. There is a high chance of finding some abnormalities in the test to suggest exactly the type of defect.

Answer 2

Hello,

Welcome back to icliniq.com.

She most likely had a ventricular septal defect. This has resulted in a hole in the walls of the heart. The echo most likely did not pick up the defect because it was of a tiny size. It is common for the defects to either grow larger or smaller as the children grow older. Often, the hole will grow small and will not need surgical repair or medication. But if she continues to suffer these spells, she might need corrective surgery in the future. But this has to be confirmed by doing a repeat echo. After which treatment option can be confirmed. I hope this helps.