Why Do I Get Bruises On My Body

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.

Unexplained bruising can be the result of numerous causes from aging and vitamin deficiencies to diabetes . Random bruising could be a sign of a health issue that should be checked out. Bruising for no reason can be explained and treated. But first, we need to look at the different types of bruises and what causes them.

Causes. Bruises are usually caused by bumping into something which ruptures the tiny capillaries under the skin leaving the area darkened. Some people bruise more easily than others, and this is indicative of fragile capillaries, poor health or an inability to create collagen.

To find the cause of your bruising, your doctor might check your blood platelet levels or do tests that measure the time it takes your blood to clot. Other serious causes of bruising include domestic violence or abuse.

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.

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:

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.

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.

If you have petechiae or bruising on the legs or calves that won’t heal, it could be due to a shortage of platelets . Some conditions that can cause this are: Certain medications can also affect platelet counts, such as:

Bruising without an injury can be a sign of diseases of the kidney, liver and blood such as hemophilia, leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, scurvy and thrombocytopenia. Women who experience heavy periods while bruising should consult a gynecologist to rule out conditions affecting the reproductive organs.

A bruise occurs when small blood vessels near the skin’s surface rupture or break which is often caused twist, bump or fall. Most bruises are not serious and will go away on their own within two to four weeks.

During the healing process, which normally lasts from two to four weeks, bruises go through a sequence of color changes. The changing colors happen while white blood cells remove the decayed blood products bit by bit. For the first two days, bruises appear red because of the iron in the leaked blood.

Generally such wounds/bruises that do not heal are called non-healing ulcers in medical term. They could be non healing due to underlying infection, low supply of oxygen to the wound that is reducing the healing process, underlying diabetes, or due to underlying dermatitis.