Dr Jo Longstaffe tackles a bruising issue
By Effective Communication
Recently I’ve noticed that I’ve been bruising quite easily and while it doesn’t look that great, I wasn’t particularly bothered until a friend mentioned that she’d heard it can often be a sign of a more sinister condition. I’m in good health and live a generally healthy lifestyle but this has made me question these bruises and I’m now worried every time my skin marks. I’m hoping you may have some suggestions.
Everyone bruises from time to time and it is true that some people are more prone to it than others – so a small knock to one person can have the same impact in terms of bruising of the skin as a heavy impact to another person.
Bruising is the body’s perfectly natural response to trauma. It occurs when blood vessels under the skin burst or break due to an injury or knock, causing the capillaries to leak blood into the tissues under the skin.
This manifests itself on the surface with a bruise (medically termed a contusion) that is normally blue / black / purplish in colour to start and then fades and changes colour as the blood is absorbed and moves away from the area.
Bruises don’t look the prettiest and the best thing you can do in an attempt to limit the external damage is apply a cold pack to the affected area straight away. This could even be the traditional bag of peas, it doesn’t really matter as long as it’s cold enough to limit the amount of bleeding that occurs.
If you’ve lost weight recently or are naturally small, this may increase the likelihood of bruising as the amount of fat covering your body can have an impact. It’s one of the reason children and the elderly can tend bruise more easily, as they don’t generally have the same protection afforded by fat – particularly on the arms and legs.
Certain medications and substances are known to contribute to the bruising process.
Some obvious ones would be blood thinning medications, certain arthritis treatments, corticosteroids and even the birth control pill – so it’s worth checking if you’re on any tablets or take regular supplements for example.
You could also look at your diet and boost your intake of certain ‘bruise friendly’ foods – by this I mean ones that are high in bioflavonoids. The main job of bioflavonoids is to protect the capillaries and prevent, or at least limit any bleeding. They also have anti-inflammatory properties. Foods high in bioflavonoids include green peppers and broccoli.
In general, if you’re pretty healthy, it’s probably nothing more serious than the result of knocks you weren’t even aware you’d sustained but your friend is right that regular bruising and for no reason could be a sign of something more serious and if it persists and you really can’t pinpoint a cause, you should seek medical advice.
One of the most obvious conditions that will spring up on any search linked with unexplained bruising is leukaemia – a cancer which affects the white blood cells and disrupts the production of normal blood cells which means those that do exist can’t do the jobs they are meant to. Other symptoms would include anaemia, fatigue and unexplained bone or joint pain.
Bruising as an indicator of something more serious can also be associated with certain liver conditions including cirrhosis; kidney trouble and celiac disease.
These are some of the most severe possibilities and it’s unlikely that your bruises are a sign of anything like this – as I’ve said, bruising isn’t abnormal and can sometimes seem to occur for no reason, particularly if you’ve had a bump that was so minor it hardly registered but as with everything, do speak to your GP if unduly concerned.
