What is the Best Treatment for Bruises

Bruises form when a hard impact causes damage to blood vessels.  Blood leaks from the damaged vessels and pools beneath the skin, forming a bruise. Your body naturally reabsorbs the blood within 7 to 10 days, causing the bruise to fade from black and blue to green and then to yellow until it disappears.  You can  minimize their appearance and possibly even prevent the occurrence of bruises by following the best treatment for bruises below:

Minimize the Occurrence of Bruises: Follow these tips when you bump or injure yourself to recude the occurance of a dark bruise.

1. Immediately after an impact apply direct pressure with ice to the area that you fear may bruise. The cold will constrict damaged blood vessels and minimize blood leakage, thus reducing the appearance of a bruise later.


2. Elevate the body part that you fear may bruise. Elevating above the heart slows the flow of blood to the area and reduces the amount of blood that pools under your skin.


3. After 48 hours of bruising, apply warm compresses every 3 to 4 hours until the bruise disappears. Warm compresses open healthy capillaries and increase the blood flow to the area, encouraging absorption of pooled blood.


4. Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and take a daily multivitamin. Making sure your body gets the essential vitamins and minerals it needs to run properly (and subsequently, blood to clot properly) helps bleeding stop before a big bruise appears after an injury.


5. Avoid over-the-counter painkillers other than acetaminophen. Normal pain killers inhibit the blood's ability to clot properly. For pain relief stick to acetaminophen based pain killers such as Tylenol and Excedrin that don't tamper with the blood's ability to clot.

 

Why you may bruise frequently: knowing the reasons you may bruise frequently can help you to know if you have a more serious condition that is causing bruising.

 

1. Type O blood type clots the slowest of all blood types, meaning blood leaks from broken capillaries faster than other types and causing more bruises.  If you have Type O blood, you most likely bruise easier than others.


2. High blood pressure causes blood to leak out of capillaries faster than normal, causing a larger blood pool then other people with normal blood pressure would typically have.


3. Bruising may be more frequent if you regularly take substances that hinder blood clotting, even over-the-counter pain killers that don't contain acetaminophen.


4. Frequent bruising may be caused by a medical problem such as Vitamin C or Vitamin K deficiencies, or rarely, leukemia.