What Are Bruises, Causes, and Treatments

A bruise is an everyday common thing that changes the color of your skin in a specific area. Injuries to blood vessels under the skin are the cause for the skin to change color, these are called bruises.   

However, it is not the skin that is injured, the skin changes color because the blood cells (deep underneath the skin) was damaged from the injury. These cells collect near the surface of the skin and cause discoloration. This discoloration of the skin is mostly blue or black.   

Causes of Bruises

Bruises are typically caused when you bump your arm, leg, hip, buttock or another body part, or when something bumps into you. 

Cause of bruises:

• A bruise can also be caused by exercising vigorously. Exercises like weight lifting and some sports can cause bruises. What happens is that the blood vessels get microscopic tears in them and thus causes the collection of cells under the skin.  

• Sometimes bruise can appear in people even when doing nothing. Generally, this is a result of a bleeding disorder and frequently accompanies bleeding gums or regular nosebleeds. 

• Bruises on the shins or the thigh are mostly caused by bumping into the bedpost, a table or different object, as well as falling from a bike, tree or other places. 

• In older people, bruises are more frequent because their skin has become fragile and thinner with age. The blood vessels also become fragile, thus, bruising can basically happen for any reason. 

• People that are taking medication to thin their blood is also more prone to get bruises.  

Symptoms of Bruises

There are ordinarily only two symptoms of a bruise.

Symptoms are:

• A fresh bruise has a red color to it and as the bruise gets older, after a few hours or more, the bruise turns black or blue. After a few days, the bruise may turn a green and/or yellowish color as it gets better and heals. 

• A bruise is most of the time painful but only for the first few days, the pain goes away as the color of the bruise fades.    

You do not have to worry that you are going to get an infection because a bruise is not open, it is under the skin. So, there is no chance of it getting an infection in a bruise.

Know when to have medical care

When you are experiencing any of these symptoms below please call a doctor to see why:

• If the bruise is followed by swelling and unbearable pain. 

• When bruising occurs for nothing at all. 

• When you get a bruise on your finger or toenail and is very painful. 

• If your bruise is still not gone after 2 weeks or more and the color has not disappeared after 3 to 4 weeks. 

• You will need to go to an emergency room if the bruise is also followed by a broken bone. 

• If you get a bruise on the head, in the face or the eye, call a doctor because this can cause a lot of additional problems.

Tests 

Generally, tests will not be done if the doctor does not suspect that there are broken bones or an illness as the cause. Your doctor will have a look at the area and the bruise. He or she will then advise you what to do. Yet, bruises do not truly require treatment as they should disappear in time.

Treatments for Bruises at Home

If you are going to treat a bruise it works most effectively when it is being done right after the injury, when the bruise still has a reddish color.

You can try these treatments:

• Appling a cold compression with an ice pack or something cold. Apply for about 20 to 30 minutes. You can wrap the ice pack in a towel and then use. 

• If the bruise is on a very large area try to keep the area above your heart for the next 24 hours. 

• There is medication that you can take like acetaminophen. Try to avoid things like ibuprofen and aspirin. 

• After about 48 hours you can start applying heat for about 10 minutes at a time, about 3 times a day.   

Contact your doctor for more information if you are unsure of the cause or if the bruise does not change color.