What Causes Easy Bruising In Older Adults

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.

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.

Following are the probable causes that trigger bleeding under the skin: With aging, the fat layers under the skin become thin. As a result, the padding effect of the skin deteriorates. For this reason, in elderly people, even a minor injury on the skin can lead to the breakage of underlying blood vessels.

Easy bruising can sometimes be a symptom of a disease or health issue. For instance, sepsis (a bacterial infection), chronic inflammatory disease, liver disease and certain types of cancer can all cause you to bruise easily.

There is no special medical treatment for skin bruises. Conservative treatment methods, such as ice packs, heat application, elevation of the affected area and over-the-counter medications are done for relieving the skin bruises.

Bruises are not typically something to cause undue worry. Often, they are a surface injury that requires no medical attention, and people can treat them at home. But, in some cases, a person may want to seek medical attention for their bruising.

Three other types of bruising to look out for are: Hematoma: After the injury, the blood can actually pool underneath the skin forming firm lumps. Purpura: Is a more serious case and occurs when severe bruises appear without an injury.

Medications such as blood-thinners can make you bruise more easily. Even taking a fish oil supplement has been found to have an effect on bruising. Certain blood disorders, such as hemophilia can make it more difficult for your blood to clot. Heavy drinking can even make you more prone to bruising.

If you have darker skin, you may also have darker bruises. If there’s no sign of improvement after 2 weeks, it could be a sign of an underlying health condition. The location of the bruising, plus other symptoms, can provide your doctor with diagnostic clues. When a bruise doesn’t go away

If you have bleeding under the skin that is not the result of an apparent injury, it may be the sign of a serious medical condition or disease. Bleeding under the skin that is not caused by an injury can appear as small red or purple dots called petechiae, or in larger flat patches called purpura.

Blood vessels may also break due to the aging process of the skin, often in the facial area, or they may break internally. Broken blood vessels can be seen easily because they tend to lie under a layer of transparent skin. Blood vessels can break because of the effects of injury or trauma.

Purpura Treatment. Normally having purpura is not a life-threatening condition but if you have bleeding in the brain that is the result of blood vessels that are leaking it can be deadly but this happening is very rare. Most of the time purpura will go away on their own within a few weeks or months.

You may begin to bruise easily if you aren’t getting enough iron. That’s because your body needs iron to keep your blood cells healthy. If your blood cells aren’t healthy, your body won’t be able to get the oxygen that it needs to function. This may make your skin more susceptible to bruising. Other symptoms of iron deficiency include:

Easy bruising may be a result of a seemingly insignificant compression of skin or there may be no skin injury recollected. Easy bruising can occur when the blood vessels are weakened by diseases (such as scurvy), medications (such as aspirin, prednisone, and prednisolone), and aging.

As a person ages, they tend to bruise more easily. People tend to bruise more easily as they age because blood vessels become weaker and the skin thins. Easy bruising may also run in families, so people whose relatives bruise easily may notice that they do as well.

There are simple ways on how to treat bruises. These help to get rid of the bruises within a short time and using a few first aid steps. Ice: When ice is applied on the skin, it causes a constriction of the blood vessels. As a result, the blood that seeps through the skin to cause discoloration on bruises is prevented from seeping.

The best treatments include rest, ice, compression, and elevation (RICE). People with this type of injury should rest and apply an ice pack to the affected area in order to help keep the bruise from spreading and keep swelling down.