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Causes & Prevention Of Bruising

Bruises are small discolorations of the skin that are usually caused by trauma when the skin suffers a nasty bump. When you hit your arm on a countertop or table, the impact damages blood vessels underneath the skin. As the blood from those vessels pools under your skin, you begin to see black and blue discoloration. There are a couple of common causes for bruising, but preventing bruises can be difficult.

  1. Typical Causes

    • The most common cause of bruising is coming into rough contact with another person or an object. This works both ways, as you can bump your shin on a table or someone can accidentally hit you with a ball. Whatever the reason, any high-velocity impact against your skin has the potential to cause a nasty bruise. Bruises caused by rough contact are not a major cause for health concern and will heal on their own.

    Prevention

    • Preventing bruises is a bit tricky. To prevent a bruise, you will have to prevent the action that created it. You can try to prevent bruising by being careful of your surroundings and acting safely when moving furniture or playing sports, as this limits the opportunity for accidental bruising. If you do play sports, wear the proper safety gear like elbow, shoulder and knee pads, as well as shin guards if necessary. It is not possible to stop every accident, but keeping safety in mind will help.

    Causes for Concern

    • While bruising is a healthy function of the human body, some bruises can be indicative of an underlying health problem. If you discover bruises on your body that have appeared without cause, or you find that you bruise easily and often, you could have a bleeding disorder. This is also true of bruises that persist for several weeks. Symptoms of this nature should be brought up to a physician, who can figure out what is going on with your body.

    Treatment Suggestions

    • If you hit your head or slam your shin into something, you are probably going to have a bruise. However, you can try to minimize the bruising effect by applying ice or frozen peas to the injured part of your body. This will minimize swelling and help with the pain. Beyond the initial reaction, you can take over-the-counter painkillers like ibuprofen or acetaminophen to address tenderness. After a couple of days, apply a warm washcloth to the bruise a few times per day to help your skin absorb the blood.

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