My niece, 8 years old, has been suffering from spontaneous bleeding and unexplained splits/cuts/scratches for the last 3 months, ever since having the flu jab. The condition started the day after the flu jab, when my niece told her Mum that her finger tips "were going to explode" - each finger started bleeding soon after. This was followed by bleeding from her toes. Since then, she has been experiencing splits in her skin. These 'scratches' appear mainly on her legs and arms, but also on her tummy, back and the back of her neck. This week they’ve started on her face. She knows exactly where the 'scratches' are going to appear - my sister has taken photos of each stage - redness followed by splitting skin. These scratches are nearly always a series of three very straight parallel lines, very close together, usually about 3-5" long. My niece is just a little girl, and is extremely frightened, because no-one seems to be able to help her; she is also in a lot of pain and feeling ill. My sister has taken her to numerous specialists: she has had the whole spectrum of blood tests for everything from leukaemia/platelets/ vasculitis/lupus/red and white cell counts - all have come up negative. This is good news, BUT no-one can tell us what IS causing the bleeding. She is definitely NOT self-harming. The condition improved slightly when she was prescribed steroids - 5 days after the first pills, the bleeding stopped and she felt much better. The doctor wants to get her off steroids ASAP though, and every time the dosage is reduced, the bleeding starts again - this week she’s gone down to 1 pill, and the bleeding has started on her face - something that hasn't happened before. This week she has also had blisters appearing on her body - it looks like the herpes virus rash my niece had before (she was diagnosed with shingles(?) in early autumn, before she had the flu vaccination, is there a connection?). We are desperate for ANY help that ANYONE can give us. Thank you.