Suddenly easily bruised

Why do I bruise easily? 8 possible causes

Minor bruises often heal in a few days. Some people bruise more easily than others, and the bruising can take longer to heal. Causes include age, medications, and vasculitis.

A fall, blow, or anything else that exerts sudden high pressure on the skin can cause a bruise. Very forceful blows can damage bones, causing deep bleeding and bruises that take several weeks to heal.

Some people bruise more easily than others. They may notice bruises but not know why they happened. They may also develop large bruises after minor injuries or have bruises that take many weeks to heal.

Factors that increase the risk include older age, having a condition that affects blood clotting, and using medications such as blood thinners.

Here, find out some reasons one person may bruise more easily than another.

A bruise develops when blood vessels become damaged, and blood leaks into tissues under the skin. This causes the characteristic black or purple color of a bruise.

On dark skin, bruising may also appear red or purple, or it may show as a darker area than the surrounding skin, depending on the person’s skin tone.

In time, body tissues absorb the blood, and the color fades.

Here, learn more about how bruising appears on dark skin.

Some signs that an individual bruises more easily than an average person include:

developing very large, painful bruises after minor injuries
having many bruises without remembering their cause
frequently developing bruises that take many weeks to heal

Numerous factors can cause a person to bruise more easily. The most common include the following:

People tend to bruise more easily with age, because blood vessels weaken, and the skin thins.

Easy bruising may also run in families, so individuals whose relatives bruise easily may notice that they do too.

Medications

Blood-thinning medications may cause a person to bleed and bruise more.

Some popular blood thinners include:

warfarin (Coumadin)
heparin
rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
dabigatran (Pradaxa)
apixaban (Eliquis)
aspirin (Bayer)
ibuprofen (Advil)
naproxen (Aleve)

Some other medications may weaken or change the behavior of blood vessels, worsen inflammation, or otherwise increase the risk of bleeding. They can include the following:

some herbal remedies, such asginseng, flaxseed, and saw palmetto
corticosteroids
some chemotherapy drugs and targeted therapy, which can lower platelet levels in the blood

People taking medication who notice an increase in bleeding or bruising should ask a doctor whether their medication can cause bleeding. They may wish to discuss the risks and benefits of continuing treatment.

Liver disease

Cirrhosis and other conditions can have an impact on liver function. Liver disease can affect blood clotting, which can increase the risk of bleeding and easy bruising.

Other symptoms of liver disease include:

itching
fatigue
a general feeling of being unwell
swelling in the legs
dark urine
yellowing in the whites of the eyes, a sign of jaundice

Alcohol is a major contributing factor to liver disease, but the condition can also result from cancer and other health issues.

Learn more about the symptoms of liver disease here.

Bleeding disorders

Many genetic conditions can affect blood clotting.

Von Willebrand’s disease, the most prevalent bleeding disorder, affects about 1% of the population. A person with this condition has little or no von Willebrand protein, which is important for blood clotting. Synthetic hormone treatment can improve blood clotting in people with the condition.

Hemophilia involves low levels of blood clotting factor VIII (hemophilia A) or factor IX (hemophilia B). Both proteins are important for blood clotting. Synthetic versions of these clotting factors can help treat hemophilia and reduce the risk of serious bleeding and bruising.

A person with a genetic bleeding disorder has a higher risk of bruising and excessive, possibly life threatening bleeding. The bruises will look like regular bruises, but they can be larger.

The symptoms will be present from birth and can affect babies and young children.

Vitamin deficiencies

Certain vitamins enable the body to heal and the blood to clot.

Low vitamin C levels can cause a condition called scurvy. The body uses vitamin C in creating collagen, an essential part of the structure of blood vessels. In scurvy, the blood vessels weaken, resulting in:

bleeding gums
wounds that do not heal
easy bruising

Vitamin K helps the body form clots to stop bleeding. Newborns often have very low levels of vitamin K, which are insufficient to stop bleeding. Without a vitamin K injection at birth, babies may bruise easily or bleed excessively. Adults with low vitamin K levels may also notice a sudden increase in bruising.

A doctor can carry out tests to see whether a person has a vitamin deficiency. In some cases, supplements or a change in diet can help. In other cases, an underlying health condition, such as inflammatory bowel disease, may need addressing.

Vasculitis

Vasculitis refers to a group of conditions that cause inflamed blood vessels.

Symptoms include:

increased bleeding and bruising
shortness of breath
numbness in the limbs
ulcers
skin lumps
purple spots on the skin, known as petechiae

On dark skin, petechiae may not always show up, which means a doctor could miss them. They may be visible in areas with less melanin, such as the forearms.

The type of treatment depends on the severity of the vasculitis and which area of the body it affects. Several medications, including steroids, may help.

Senile purpura

Senile purpura is common among older adults, affecting around 10% of those aged over 50 years. It causes dark purple bruise-like lesions on the skin and is most likely to develop on the arms and hands.

They are more common in people with light skin, but anyone can develop them. On Brown and Black skin, they may appear purple or as darker skin. The skin around may be thinner and less elastic.

The lesions often appear after an injury to the skin but last longer than bruises and can be much larger. Sometimes, the skin remains brown after the lesion heals.

Ways of reducing the risk of bruising include:

protecting the skin from sunlight
taking care to avoid injuries
being aware that corticosteroids and blood-thinning drugs can worsen symptoms

Senile purpura does not have links with any serious health condition, but it may increase the risk of skin tears.

Cancer

Rarely, an increase in bleeding and bruising may be a sign of leukemia. This is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells.

There are different types of leukemia, and symptoms vary.

Often, there are no symptoms in the early stages, but a person may notice:

bleeding
bruising
petechiae, small spots under the skin, like a rash, where blood vessels have broken
fever
fatigue
bone pain
heavy menstruation
abdominal swelling

Petechiae may not be visible on dark skin, but a person may see them on areas with lower levels of melanin, such as the forearms.

Anyone who experiences these symptoms should seek prompt medical advice, as early treatment is often effective.

What is a leukemia rash?

Bruises usually fade in time and do not need treatment. However, first aid after an injury may help reduce swelling and discomfort.

First aid for a bruise after an injury involves:

ensuring the person is comfortable
raising and supporting the injured part
applying a cold pack or ice wrapped in a cloth for 20 minutes, as this can reduce swelling

Never apply ice directly to the skin.

Other treatment options include using pain relief medication, such as ibuprofen. Some people apply arnica to the skin, but there is not enough evidence to show it speeds up healing.

People who bruise easily may need medical help for an underlying condition.

How can I get rid of a black eye?

People should consult a doctor about easy bruising if:

bruising occurs more often or more severely than before
they have other symptoms, such as fever, low energy, or skin changes
they are taking medication and begin bruising more easily
bruises are slow to heal
they notice petechiae, small red spots resembling a rash under the skin
they develop purpura, purple patches under the skin

A person should seek emergency help if a large bruise develops after a trauma, especially if they also have lightheadedness or dizziness. These could be signs of internal bleeding.

What do the colors of a bruise mean?

Here are some questions people often ask about easy bruising.

Do older adults bruise more easily?

Older adults often bruise more easily, because the skin becomes less flexible with age, and there is less fat to protect the blood vessels. Sun exposure can also increase the risk.

Does diabetes affect bruising?

In people with diabetes, wounds, including bruises, can take longer to heal.

What is the treatment for a bruise?

Bruises usually heal without treatment, but raising the bruised part and applying ice covered in a cloth may help reduce swelling.

In most cases, a person who bruises easily is unlikely to develop complications after a bruise.

However, easy bruising can be a sign of an underlying condition and a higher risk of bleeding overall.

Anyone who notices they are bruising more often or more easily than usual should seek medical advice to rule out other health issues or seek treatment as appropriate.

Why do I bruise easily? 8 possible causes

Minor bruises often heal in a few days. Some people bruise more easily than others, and the bruising can take longer to heal. Causes include age, medications, and vasculitis.

Factors that increase the risk include older age, having a condition that affects blood clotting, and using medications such as blood thinners.

Here, find out some reasons one person may bruise more easily than another.

A bruise develops when blood vessels become damaged, and blood leaks into tissues under the skin. This causes the characteristic black or purple color of a bruise.

On dark skin, bruising may also appear red or purple, or it may show as a darker area than the surrounding skin, depending on the person’s skin tone.

In time, body tissues absorb the blood, and the color fades.

Here, learn more about how bruising appears on dark skin.

Some signs that an individual bruises more easily than an average person include:

developing very large, painful bruises after minor injuries
having many bruises without remembering their cause
frequently developing bruises that take many weeks to heal

Numerous factors can cause a person to bruise more easily. The most common include the following:

People tend to bruise more easily with age, because blood vessels weaken, and the skin thins.

Easy bruising may also run in families, so individuals whose relatives bruise easily may notice that they do too.

Medications

Blood-thinning medications may cause a person to bleed and bruise more.

Some popular blood thinners include:

warfarin (Coumadin)
heparin
rivaroxaban (Xarelto)
dabigatran (Pradaxa)
apixaban (Eliquis)
aspirin (Bayer)
ibuprofen (Advil)
naproxen (Aleve)

Some other medications may weaken or change the behavior of blood vessels, worsen inflammation, or otherwise increase the risk of bleeding. They can include the following:

some herbal remedies, such asginseng, flaxseed, and saw palmetto
corticosteroids
some chemotherapy drugs and targeted therapy, which can lower platelet levels in the blood

Liver disease

Cirrhosis and other conditions can have an impact on liver function. Liver disease can affect blood clotting, which can increase the risk of bleeding and easy bruising.

Other symptoms of liver disease include:

itching
fatigue
a general feeling of being unwell
swelling in the legs
dark urine
yellowing in the whites of the eyes, a sign of jaundice

Alcohol is a major contributing factor to liver disease, but the condition can also result from cancer and other health issues.

Learn more about the symptoms of liver disease here.

Bleeding disorders

Many genetic conditions can affect blood clotting.

A person with a genetic bleeding disorder has a higher risk of bruising and excessive, possibly life threatening bleeding. The bruises will look like regular bruises, but they can be larger.

The symptoms will be present from birth and can affect babies and young children.

Vitamin deficiencies

Certain vitamins enable the body to heal and the blood to clot.

bleeding gums
wounds that do not heal
easy bruising

Vasculitis

Vasculitis refers to a group of conditions that cause inflamed blood vessels.

Symptoms include:

increased bleeding and bruising
shortness of breath
numbness in the limbs
ulcers
skin lumps
purple spots on the skin, known as petechiae

On dark skin, petechiae may not always show up, which means a doctor could miss them. They may be visible in areas with less melanin, such as the forearms.

The type of treatment depends on the severity of the vasculitis and which area of the body it affects. Several medications, including steroids, may help.

Senile purpura

They are more common in people with light skin, but anyone can develop them. On Brown and Black skin, they may appear purple or as darker skin. The skin around may be thinner and less elastic.

The lesions often appear after an injury to the skin but last longer than bruises and can be much larger. Sometimes, the skin remains brown after the lesion heals.

Ways of reducing the risk of bruising include:

protecting the skin from sunlight
taking care to avoid injuries
being aware that corticosteroids and blood-thinning drugs can worsen symptoms

Senile purpura does not have links with any serious health condition, but it may increase the risk of skin tears.

Cancer

Rarely, an increase in bleeding and bruising may be a sign of leukemia. This is a type of cancer that affects white blood cells.

There are different types of leukemia, and symptoms vary.

Often, there are no symptoms in the early stages, but a person may notice:

bleeding
bruising
petechiae, small spots under the skin, like a rash, where blood vessels have broken
fever
fatigue
bone pain
heavy menstruation
abdominal swelling

Petechiae may not be visible on dark skin, but a person may see them on areas with lower levels of melanin, such as the forearms.

Anyone who experiences these symptoms should seek prompt medical advice, as early treatment is often effective.

What is a leukemia rash?

Bruises usually fade in time and do not need treatment. However, first aid after an injury may help reduce swelling and discomfort.

First aid for a bruise after an injury involves:

ensuring the person is comfortable
raising and supporting the injured part
applying a cold pack or ice wrapped in a cloth for 20 minutes, as this can reduce swelling

Never apply ice directly to the skin.

Other treatment options include using pain relief medication, such as ibuprofen. Some people apply arnica to the skin, but there is not enough evidence to show it speeds up healing.

People who bruise easily may need medical help for an underlying condition.

How can I get rid of a black eye?

People should consult a doctor about easy bruising if:

bruising occurs more often or more severely than before
they have other symptoms, such as fever, low energy, or skin changes
they are taking medication and begin bruising more easily
bruises are slow to heal
they notice petechiae, small red spots resembling a rash under the skin
they develop purpura, purple patches under the skin

A person should seek emergency help if a large bruise develops after a trauma, especially if they also have lightheadedness or dizziness. These could be signs of internal bleeding.

What do the colors of a bruise mean?

Here are some questions people often ask about easy bruising.

Do older adults bruise more easily?

Older adults often bruise more easily, because the skin becomes less flexible with age, and there is less fat to protect the blood vessels. Sun exposure can also increase the risk.

Does diabetes affect bruising?

In people with diabetes, wounds, including bruises, can take longer to heal.

What is the treatment for a bruise?

Bruises usually heal without treatment, but raising the bruised part and applying ice covered in a cloth may help reduce swelling.

In most cases, a person who bruises easily is unlikely to develop complications after a bruise.

However, easy bruising can be a sign of an underlying condition and a higher risk of bleeding overall.

Anyone who notices they are bruising more often or more easily than usual should seek medical advice to rule out other health issues or seek treatment as appropriate.

Biography, aphorisms, articles, novels, short stories, stories, interviews, drawings

Jules Verne is a French geographer and writer, a classic of adventure literature, one of the founders of science fiction. Member of the French Geographical Society.

Jules Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in the ancient city of Nantes, located on the banks of the Loire, not far from its mouth. This is one of the largest ports in France, from where ocean-going sailboats made voyages to distant shores of various countries.

Jules Verne was the eldest son of the lawyer Pierre Verne (1798-1871), descended from a family of Provencal lawyers who had his own law office and assumed that in time his son would inherit his business. The writer's mother, born Sophie Allotte de la Fuye, came from an ancient family of Nantes shipowners and shipbuilders. Jules Verne was the first child of five. After him were born: brother Paul (1829) and three sisters: Anna (1836), Matilda (1839) and Marie (1842).

The romance of the port city led to the fact that at the age of eleven, Jules almost fled to India, hiring as a cabin boy on the schooner Korali, but was stopped in time. Already a well-known writer, he admitted "I must have been born a sailor and now every day I regret that a maritime career did not fall to my lot from childhood."

Jules Verne's wife was named Honorine de Vian (nee Morel). Honorina was a widow and had two children from her first marriage. On May 20, 1856, Jules Verne arrived in Amiens for the wedding of his friend, where he first met Honorine. Eight months later, on January 10, 1857, they got married and settled in Paris, where Verne had lived for several years. Four years later, on August 3, 1861, Honorina gave birth to a son, Michel, their only child. Jules Verne was not present at birth, as he traveled around Scandinavia.

The son of a lawyer, Verne studied law in Paris, but his love of literature prompted him to follow a different path. In 1850, Verne's play Broken Straws was staged with success at A. Dumas' Historical Theatre. In 1852-1854. Vern worked as a secretary to the director of the Lyric Theatre, then was a stockbroker, while continuing to write comedies, librettos, and stories.

In 1863, he published the first novel from the series Unusual Journeys in J. Etzel's Journal for Education and Leisure.

Jules Verne was not an "armchair" writer, he traveled the world a lot, including on his yachts "Saint-Michel I", "Saint-Michel II" and "Saint-Michel III". In 1859 he traveled to England and Scotland. In 1861 he traveled to Scandinavia. In 1867 he made a transatlantic cruise on the Great Eastern steamer to the United States, visited New York, Niagara Falls.

In 1878, Jules Verne made a great voyage on the yacht "Saint-Michel III" in the Mediterranean, visiting Lisbon, Tangier, Gibraltar and Algiers. In 1879Jules Verne again visited England and Scotland on the yacht "Saint-Michel III". In 1881, Jules Verne traveled to the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark on his yacht. Then he planned to reach St. Petersburg, but this was prevented by a strong storm.

Jules Verne made his last great journey in 1884. On the "Saint-Michel III" he visited Algeria, Malta, Italy and other Mediterranean countries. Many of his trips subsequently formed the basis of "Extraordinary Journeys" - "Floating City" (1870), "Black India" (1877), "Green Ray" (1882), "Lottery Ticket" (1886) and others.

On March 9, 1886, Jules Verne was seriously wounded in the ankle by a revolver shot by his mentally ill nephew Gaston Verne, Paul's son, and he had to forget about travel forever.

In 1892, the writer became a Knight of the Legion of Honor.

Shortly before his death, Vern went blind, but still continued to dictate books. The writer died on March 24, 1905 from diabetes.

Predictions by Jules Verne

Electric chair.
Large submarines capable of long voyages ("20,000 leagues under the sea").
Airplane ("Lord of the World").
Helicopter ("Robur the Conqueror").
Spacecraft and manned flights into space, including to the Moon (“From the Earth to the Moon”). Vern accurately described the size of the rocket, the exact launch site (Florida) and even the crew: 3 people, as it was later in the NASA program.
Tower in the center of Europe (before the construction of the Eiffel Tower) - the description is very similar.
Interplanetary travel ("Hector Servadac"), spacecraft launches prove the possibility of interplanetary travel.
Video communication and television ("Paris in the 20th century").
Construction of Turksib ("Clodius Bombarnac. Reporter's Notebook on the Opening of the Great Trans-Asian Highway (From Russia to Beijing)").
Aircraft with a variable thrust vector ("The Extraordinary Adventures of the Barsak Expedition").
Principal passability of the Northern Sea Route in one navigation (“Foundling from the lost Cynthia”)
On Russia's cession of its American possessions to the government of the United States ("In the Land of Furs")

Jules Verne's Unfulfilled Predictions

Earth at the North Pole ("The Adventures of Captain Hatteras") and the ocean at the South ("20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"): everything turned out to be the other way around.

Elena Ferrante's "Brilliant Friend"

Lila and I began our friendship the day we decided to climb the dark staircase, rung by rung, run by run, to the very door of Don Achille's apartment.

I remember the yard in lilac light, the smells of a warm spring evening. Moms were preparing dinner, and it was time for us to go home, but we were late: as usual, without saying a word, we started another competition - a test of courage. For some time now, both at school and after classes, we have been doing just that. Lila put her hand into the black mouth of the pipe, and with bated breath I repeated the same thing, hoping that cockroaches would not attack me and mice would not bite me. Lila climbed onto the window of Signora Spagnuolo on the first floor, grabbed the iron bar to which the clotheslines were attached, swayed and jumped onto the sidewalk, and I did the same after her, although I was afraid of falling and hurting myself. Leela stuck a rusty pin under her skin, which she had once found on the street and carried in her pocket as a gift from a fairy, and I watched the metal needle pierce a whitish tunnel in her palm. Then she pulled out a pin, handed it to me, and I pricked my hand in the same way.

One day she, narrowing her eyes as usual, looked at me intently and pointed to the house where Don Achille lived. I went cold with fear. Don Achille was a real ogre of fairy tales, I was strictly forbidden to approach him, speak to him, look at him or follow him; I was told to pretend that neither he nor his family existed. In my house, and not only in mine, everyone feared and hated him; I didn't know what he did to deserve it. My father spoke of him in such a way that I imagined him to be a huge, ferocious monster covered with purple growths, despite the particle "don", which inspired me with unquestioning respect. I don’t know what this creature was made of - iron, glass, or maybe nettles - but it was alive, alive, and flaming breath escaped from its nose and mouth. I believed that if I looked at him even from afar, he would sprinkle something sharp and burning in my eyes. And if I dare to approach the door of his house, he will kill me.

I waited a bit, just in case Leela came back. I knew what she was going to do, and I hoped she would change her mind? But no, she didn't change her mind. The lanterns had not yet been lit, and neither had the lamps on the stairs. Annoyed voices came from the windows. In order to follow her, I had to step out of the yard flooded with gray-blue light into the blackness of the entrance. When I finally made up my mind and entered, at first I didn’t see anything, I only smelled mustiness and dichlorvos. Then my eyes got used to the darkness and I found Lila sitting on the first step of the first flight. She got up and we started to climb.

We moved close to the wall; she is two steps ahead, I am two steps behind, torn apart by doubts whether to catch up with her or fall further behind. I still remember my feelings: my shoulder touches the wall with peeling paint, and the steps are very high, higher than in our house. I was shaking. When we heard someone's footsteps or a voice, it seemed to us that it was Don Achille sneaking up behind us or coming towards us with a long knife like the one used to butcher a chicken. It smelled of roasted garlic. I imagined Maria, Don Achille's wife, throwing me into a pan of boiling oil. Then their children will eat me, and he will suck my head, as my father does when he eats red mullet.

We stopped every now and then, and each time I hoped that Leela would turn back. I don't know about her, but I'm all sweaty. From time to time she looked up, but I did not understand why, because only gray windows were visible in the spans. Suddenly a light came on, but the dusty lamps burned dimly, and part of the stairs was still engulfed in darkness and full of danger. We stopped and pricked up our ears—suddenly it was Don Achille who turned on the light—but we heard nothing: no footsteps, no creaking of a door opening or closing. Lila went ahead - I dragged myself behind her.

She believed that she was doing something important and necessary, but I had no reason to be there, except for one: to follow Leela. We were slowly approaching the most terrible of our then nightmares, we were rising towards our fear.

When we reached the fourth flight, Lila suddenly stopped, waited for me, and when I caught up with her, she extended her hand to me. This gesture changed everything between us. Forever.

She was to blame for everything. Shortly before that - ten days or a month, I don’t know, we didn’t think about time - she took the doll from me without asking and threw it into the basement. If now we were climbing towards fear, then we had to run down into the unknown. Up or down, it always seemed to us that we were moving towards something terrible that existed before our birth and was waiting for us, namely us. For someone who was born not so long ago, it is difficult to distinguish a real misfortune from a premonition of misfortune, or maybe not necessary. Adults live today in anticipation of tomorrow and leaving behind yesterday, the day before yesterday, at most the last week - they are not enough for more. But children do not know what “yesterday”, “the day before yesterday” or “tomorrow” is - for them there is only “here and now”: here is the street, here is the door, here is the staircase, this is mom, this is dad, this is day, this is night . I was a child, and in truth, even my doll knew more than I did. I spoke to her, she spoke to me. She had a celluloid head with celluloid hair and the same eyes. The doll was very beautiful, in a blue dress, sewn by my mother at a rare happy moment in her life. Lina also had a doll, with a body made of yellowed cloth stuffed with sawdust; I found her ugly and dirty. The dolls looked appraisingly at each other, watched each other, and at the first peals of distant thunder were ready to fall out of our hands, as if someone big and strong, with sharp teeth, wanted to grab them.

We played together in the yard, but we played on our own. Lila sat on the ground on one side of the basement window, I on the other. Most of all, this place attracted us because on the cement base of the grating, between the bars of which a metal mesh was stretched, it was possible to lay out all sorts of doll little things - pebbles, soda caps, flowers, nails, glass fragments. I listened to what Lila said to her doll Nu, and repeated the same to her Tina, changing the words a little. If she put a cap on Well's head, as if it were a hat, I said: "Tina, put on the crown, the queen must not catch a cold." If Nu was playing hopscotch in Lila's hands, soon Tina would begin to jump. But we have never agreed what we will play, and we have never played together. We even came to this place separately. Leela was heading straight for it, and I was wandering around, pretending to be watching. Then, as if nothing had happened, it was located at the same basement window, only on the other side.

There was a chill from the basement, especially pleasant in spring and summer, and this attracted us to the window more than anything. We also liked the darkness, the grating in the cobwebs, and the mesh, reddish from rust, with the corners twisted into a spiral: you could throw pebbles into the holes and listen to them fall to the floor with a thud. In general, it was beautiful and scary. Through these holes, the darkness could suddenly seize our dolls, which either hid from it in our arms, or purposely ended up next to the twisted grate, closer to the cold breath of the basement, to the frightening sounds coming from there - rustling, creaking, grinding.

Tina and Nu were not happy. They shared the fears that we experienced every day. We did not really trust the light that fell on stones, buildings, grass and trees, on people who walked the streets or sat in houses. We looked for dark corners in them, hidden feelings, suppressed, but ready to break out. In these dark gaps, these caves under the surrounding houses, lurked everything that frightened us in the light of day. Don Achille, for example, lived not only on his top floor, he was down here too, a spider among spiders, a mouse among mice, an indistinct form capable of assuming any shape.

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