Little Bruises On Legs And Arms

Most bruises form when small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin’s surface are broken by the impact of a blow or injury — often on the arms or legs. When this happens, blood leaks out of the vessels and initially appears as a black-and-blue mark. Eventually your body reabsorbs the blood, and the mark disappears.

Some of the causes of bruising for no reason include age, medication, or serious disease. Bruising for no reason may be a signal to consult a healthcare professional. As people age, capillary walls become less able to withstand the bumps and jostling of daily activities.

A person should seek medical attention any time they have the following symptoms or issues associated with bruising: a suspected broken bone. loss of function of a joint, limb or muscle. increasing pain. an area is affected by a bruise that returns. there is no identifiable cause of the bruising.

Easy Bruising On Arms Causes. Natural supplements like fish oil capsules, in excess, causes easy bruising. Garlic, ginger, and ginkgo biloba consumed in excess causes blood to thin, leading to bruising. Old age is an important cause for bruising. A low platelet count is another significant cause.

Blood Diseases. Multiple blood diseases can cause easy bruising, including hemophilia (inability of blood to clot), blood poisoning, liver disease, kidney disease, or cancer. There should be concerned if the legs (or another part of the body) bruise easily and there are other symptoms or multiple bruises.

Also, if you begin to feel a lot of pressure or pain in a bruised part of your body, you could be suffering from compartment syndrome. This happens when pressure increases on the soft tissue and structure underneath your skin and reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to tissues.

See a doctor if you have: Significant pain and swelling. … A bruise that lasts longer than two weeks without changing. … Small blood spots accompanied by fever, chills, weight loss or any other systemic symptoms that are new. Recurrent bruises without any clear causes.

Most bruising is benign, and is very common. But here’s when you should perhaps worry about bruising and when you should see your doctor: If they persist for prolonged periods of time (not healing) If you have more and more bruises through time. If you experience bruising more frequently than your prior baseline.

Bruises typically take 2 to 4 weeks to heal. As a bruise heals blood is reabsorbed into the body. Healing is accompanied by a change to various colors ranging from purplish black to reddish blue and yellowish green as the WebMD website says.

Bruises generally heal by themselves, if they do not disappear in a couple of weeks then that is when to worry about a bruise. Here are a few tips to ease the pain and speed up the healing process: Rest: If you get a bruise give that area some rest. This will stop the bruise from progression.

Garlic, ginger, and ginkgo biloba consumed in excess causes blood to thin, leading to bruising. Steroid based anti-inflammatory medicines. Old age is an important cause for bruising. Excessive alcohol in the blood, dilutes the blood and causes bruising. A low platelet count is another significant cause.

Daily application of an alpha-hydroxy acid cream, or tretinoin cream will increase skin thickness and may help a small amount. Cosmetics can be used to camouflage the lesions. Finally, prevention of trauma to the skin is an excellent way to keep the bruising from coming in the first place.

Topical and systemic corticosteroids — which can be used to treat various conditions, including allergies, asthma and eczema — cause your skin to thin, making it easier to bruise. Certain dietary supplements, such as ginkgo, also can increase your bruising risk due to a blood-thinning effect.

Why is easy bruising so common in older adults? Most bruises form when small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin’s surface are broken by the impact of a blow or injury — often on the arms or legs. When this happens, blood leaks out of the vessels and initially appears as a black-and-blue mark.