What Is a Bruise?
A bruise, also called a contusion (pronounced: kun-too-zhen) or an ecchymosis (pronounced: eh-ky-moe-sis), happens when a part of the body is struck and the muscle fibers and connective tissue underneath are crushed but the skin doesn't break. When this occurs, blood from the ruptured capillaries (small blood vessels) near the skin's surface escapes by leaking out under the skin. With no place to go, the blood gets trapped, forming a red or purplish mark that's tender when you touch it — a bruise.
How Long Do Bruises Last?
You know how a bruise changes color over time? That's your body fixing the bruise by breaking down and reabsorbing the blood, which causes the bruise to go through many colors of the rainbow before it eventually disappears. You can pretty much guess the age of a bruise just by looking at its color:
- When you first get a bruise, it's kind of reddish as the blood appears under the skin.
- Within 1 or 2 days, the hemoglobin (an iron-containing substance that carries oxygen) in the blood changes and your bruise turns bluish-purple or even blackish.
- After 5 to 10 days, the bruise turns greenish or yellowish.
- Then, after 10 or 14 days, it turns yellowish-brown or light brown.
- Finally, after about 2 weeks, your bruise fades away.
Who Gets Bruises?
Anyone can get a bruise. Some people bruise easily, whereas others don't. Why? Bruising depends on several things, such as:
- How tough the skin tissue is
- Whether someone has certain diseases or conditions
- Whether a person's taking certain medications
Causes and Risk Factors
Anyone can get a bruise. Some individuals, including women, are more prone to bruising than are others. Easy bruising in women is thought to be due to hormonal changes. As an individual gets older, several factors may contribute to increased bruising, including aging capillaries and thinning skin. Over time, the tissues supporting these vessels weaken, and capillary walls become more fragile and prone to rupture. During the aging process, the skin becomes thinner and loses some of the protective fatty layer that helps cushion blood vessels against injury. Excessive exposure to the sun can thin the skin much like aging, as does smoking and lack of hydration (water).
Medications:
The amount of bruising may also be affected by medications that interfere with blood clotting. Thus, medications may cause more bleeding into the skin or tissues. Certain drugs, medications, substances, and toxins may cause bruising. It is recommended by healthcare professionals to always advise a doctor and/or pharmacist of any medications or treatments being used, including prescription, over-the-counter (OTC), and integrative therapies (including herbs and vitamins).
Medications that may cause an increase in bleeding include:
Blood thinning medications, such as warfarin (Coumadin), clopedigrel (Plavix), and aspirin; birth control pills, such as estrogen and progesterone combinations; non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen (Advil), naproxen (Naprosyn, Aleve), celecoxib (Celebrex), and indomethacin (Indocin); some diuretics (drugs that increase fluid loss), such as furosemide (Lasix); and corticosteroids or steroids, such as prednisone (Deltasone).
Certain dietary supplements such as vitamin E, fish oil, ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba), ginger (Zingiber officinalis), and garlic (Allium sativum) also may increase the risk of bruising.
Remedies
Bruises may be a minor problem that most of us don’t take very seriously but they can be prevented quite easily without much effort. To prevent severe bruising you need to apply a cold compress as soon as you suffer the injury before the signs of bruising even become apparent. Bruise treatment with ice is in fact the most commonly used home treatment. Before you attempt to learn how to get rid of bruises in any area such as on the arm, face, lips, or under the eyes with ice you should keep in mind that ice should never be applied directly to your skin as this could cause further damage to the tissue. No matter what the causes of bruising you can try treating bruises particularly under the eye or on the arms, face and legs with cold compresses by simply wrapping some ice in a towel or plastic bag and applying it to the affected area of skin. This remedy works as the extreme cold reduces blood flow into the region, thus reducing the bleeding and thereby the swelling and other signs of bruising. Elevating the affected area will also help as it will reduce the blood flow to the region.
Beautiful Skin At Any Age
Meredith Bay Laser Center
169 Daniel Webster Highway
Meredith, NH 03253
(603)556-7271
Disclaimer: This information is not meant to diagnose, treat, or cure any type of health problem. These statments have not been evaluated by the FDA. Always consult with your healthcare provider about any kind of health problem.
