what is petechiae
A petechia, plural petechiae, is a small (1â2 mm) red or purple spot on the skin, caused by a minor bleed (from broken capillary blood vessels).Petechia refers to one of the three descriptive types of bleeding into the skin differentiated by size, the other two being purpura and ecchymosis.Petechiae are by definition less than 3 mm.he most common cause of petechiae is through physical trauma such as a hard bout of coughing, holding breath, vomiting or crying, which can result in facial petechiae, especially around the eyes.