Bruises

Bruises

If you studied the history of your bruises over the last 60 years or so, it would be a book with many black-and-blue pages. And if you’re somewhat older and more bruise-prone than you were in your youth, it may seem like you’re adding a page a day. And may be you are. That’s because you tend to bruise more as you grow older.

When we start to get up there in years, we simply have less protection under the skin than we did in the past, says Mitchell Kamin ski Jr., M.D., staff surgeon at Thorek Hospital and Medical Center and clinical professor of surgery at the Finch University of Health Sciences/The Chicago Medical School. “As we age, the layers of fat and connective tissues beneath our skin become thinner,” he says. And that means those layers provide less of a cushion for blood vessels, making the vessels more susceptible to injury.

Most bruises do not pose a serious health risk and do not require any special treatment, says Dr. Kaminski. Still, there are ways to prevent bruising and several things you can do to promote healing once you suffer a bruise.

Try This First

Curb the blues with RICE. The quickest way to control bruising is with a combination of four methods. RICE is an easy way to remember the pain-relieving sequence of rest, ice, compression, and elevation.

• Rest.

• Ice the injured spot.

• Apply compression.

• Elevate the limb.

Rest gives injured tissues a better chance to heal, ice constricts the blood vessels around the injury so less blood leaks into the tissues, and compression and elevation help drain blood from the injured area.

Apply ice as soon as possible after the injury occurs. Wrap the ice pack in a towel to keep it from contacting your skin directly, and keep it in place for about 15 minutes. Then let your skin warm before you reapply the ice. You can ice the bruise four or five times the first day, then after 24 hours, switch to heat to improve circulation to the bruised area, says Arthur K. Balin, M.D., medical director of the Sally Balin Medical Center for Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery in Media, Pennsylvania, and co-author of The Life of the Skin.

Gently but securely wrap the bruise with an elastic bandage as soon after you injure yourself as possible, advises Dr. Balin. Then elevate your limb as much as possible for the first 24 hours. The pressure and elevation will help stop the blood from flowing into the tissues and will minimize the size of the bruise.

Other Wise Ways

Sprinkle on some parsley. Crush some fresh parsley leaves, then spread them directly on the bruise, advises James Duke, Ph.D., botanical consultant, author of The Green Pharmacy, and a former ethno botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture who specializes in medicinal plants. Parsley can promote healing and clear up black-and-blue marks within a day or so, he says. Hold the leaves in place with an adhesive bandage or with gauze and tape.

Reach for the citrus. Vitamin C and substances called bio flavonoids that are in oranges and other citrus fruits strengthen capillary walls. As the blood vessels get stronger, they’re less prone to leakage, so there’s less bruising, says Dr. Duke. Also, he says that both vitamin C and bioflavonoids promote more rapid healing of capillaries after they are damaged. To help prevent bruises, make sure you eat some citrus fruit every day.

Try a multivitamin. If bruises show up without much apparent cause, maybe you’re just not getting enough vitamin C from your diet, says Dr. Kaminski. If so, be sure you get a supplement, he advises. “I recommend that people take a multivitamin to ensure that they’re getting the basic requirements for the vitamins they need.”

Go easy on aspirin. If you take aspirin for any reason, it could be contributing to the number of bruises you’re getting, says Dr. Balin. “There is evidence that an adult aspirin, which is 325 milligrams, will thin the blood too much and cause blood to leak through the vessels. Among other things, that will lead to more bruises. It’s good to take aspirin but only the smaller dose.”

If you’re taking aspirin to help reduce your risk of heart attack, as some doctors advise, you shouldn’t stop taking it without talking to a physician. But your doctor might recommend another solution, such as switching to baby aspirin, which has only 81 milligrams. That much aspirin will not cause the same problems as the stronger adult dose, so it’s safer and more appropriate for daily consumption, recommends Dr. Balin.

Try some special K. A deficiency of vitamin K can prevent normal blood clotting, says Dr. Kaminski, and you need some clotting action to help prevent bruising. “Some people who bruise excessively and have a lot of broken blood vessels below the skin should eat more vegetables rich in vitamin K,” he says. vitamin K is abundant in leafy greens and members of the cabbage family, such as broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, and spinach, among others. “You might consider a supplement of K as well.”

Protect your vulnerable spots. Be sure to wear protective clothing, especially over those areas where you tend to repeatedly bruise yourself, suggests Dr. Balin. Wear long sleeves and long pants, sweaters that fall below your waist and cover your hips, and shoes that protect your feet. If you repeatedly bruise your thighs or forearms, ask your pharmacist about protective pads that you can easily slip on to guard those areas.