A Simple Guide to a Bruise

A Simple Guide to a Bruise
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What is a bruise?
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A bruise is a bluish discolouration of the skin which occurs when tiny blood vessels are damaged or broken as the result of a heavy blow or fall.

The raised area of a bruise results from blood leaking from these injured blood vessels into the tissues.

A purplish, flat bruise that occurs when blood leaks out into the top layers of skin is referred to as an ecchymosis.

What are the causes of bruises?
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Every person can get a bruise depending on the severity of the blow or injury.

However there are some people who are more prone to a bruise:
1.Age
The injury required to produce a bruise varies with age of the patient.
In the elderly person the skin together with its blood vessels has become thinner due to age, small knocks or scrapes of the skin may cause extensive bruising or ecchymosis as compared to a young person.
Bruising may even occur without prior injury in the elderly.

2. Medications:
In some cases bruising may also be affected by medications which interfere with blood clotting.
These drugs include many prescription arthritis medications called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen and naproxen as well as over-the-counter medications such as aspirin.
Warfarin is often prescribed to prevent clotting in patients who have had blood clots in their legs or heart. Warfarin can cause particularly severe bruising.
Corticosteroids medications, such as prednisone, promote bruising by increasing the fragility of the tiny blood vessels in the skin.

3.Inherited blood clotting problems
In addition, patients with inherited clotting problems (such as in hemophilia) or acquired clotting problems (such as in patients with liver diseases like cirrhosis), can develop extensive bruising or even life-threatening bleeding.

4. Blood cancer especially Leukemia patients tend to bleed more easily than normal people because of the low platelets.

How do you treat a bruise?
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There are a few things which can help:
1.apply a cold compress such as a cold water pack or an ice bag on the bruise.

2. Apply some cream like Silvadene (containing silver nitrate)which has the effect of coagulating the blood vessel and hence prevent more blood from leaking into the tissue.

3. Treat the cause .
In the case of leukemia blood transfusion may need to be given.

In most cases bruises disappear on their own within 1 week.