Finding Bruises On Your Body? 7 Reasons Why It's Happening!
Many of us suffer from bruising on our legs
or other parts of our bodies for no apparent reason, which causes some
of us to worry, while others ignore the problem. If you weren’t aware,
the most basic reason for bruising is that you have thin capillaries,
but this is usually caused by other more serious problems.
Doctors recommend that you don’t ignore bruises that appear on your body
following each of the seven conditions - if you see them, you should
consult a hematologist.
1. Lifting heavy weights and weight
training
If you have thin blood vessels, lifting weights can cause bruises to
appear due to the weakness of blood vessels, which can’t withstand the
load. However, weight training can cause problems also for those who
don’t suffer from thin vessels, and most often this happens if the body
isn’t properly prepared before working out.
Children may also have bruises on their bodies if they carry a
particularly heavy bag to school, and even though they aren’t dangerous,
they do indicate that their bodies can’t handle the weight, so try to
lighten their load a bit.
2. Taking medications
Some drugs affect the blood and blood vessels and can cause very large
bruises. This is most often the result of antidepressants, anti-allergy,
anti-inflammatory, iron-containing or anti-asthmatic drugs. Aspirin,
which is a blood thinner, can cause bruising, and if you notice that a
drug is affecting your skin, you should consult your doctor to avoid
internal bleeding.
3. Blood diseases
Varicose veins, vulvar disease, thrombocytopenia, and leukemia can cause
problems in the bloodstream and cause bruising. If you start noticing
bruises on your body that you don’t know how they got there, it is
highly recommended that you contact your doctor to make sure that this
isn’t a sign of a more serious blood problem. Also note other symptoms
such as pain or swelling in the legs, bleeding gums or nosebleeds.
4. Lack of vitamins and minerals
We all make sure that our children consume enough vitamins, but
sometimes we forget about ourselves, and bruises that appear on the skin
can certainly indicate that we aren’t consuming enough vitamins. For
example, vitamin B12 plays an important role in protecting our blood
health. Vitamin K is responsible for blood clotting and vitamin C is
responsible for creating new tissues in the blood vessels, without which
they can become very fragile - a deficiency of all these causes the
formation of bruising.
Another important vitamin you need to make sure you consume is vitamin P
- also known as flavonoids - without which the body can’t produce
collagen, which causes the blood vessels to become very thin and even
harms the health of the skin. Apart from vitamins, an excess or
deficiency in iron can also cause bruising. With that being said, don’t
rush to take every vitamin on the shelf, consult your doctor first to
see which ones you need to take and how you can consume more of them
through your diet.
5. Hormonal imbalance
Changes in the body's hormonal balance may also cause bruises on the
skin, and usually come when estrogen is lacking. Such a condition occurs
mainly in menopause, during pregnancy or when taking drugs containing
hormones. Lack of estrogen significantly weakens blood vessel walls, and
small capillaries can easily be damaged.
6. Age-related changes
Of all the reasons cited, the most natural cause of bruising is aging.
What actually happens is that the blood vessels also age, weaken and
lose their elasticity, and thus start to protrude and are easily
bruised. Most bruises appear on the legs, and they can be caused by any
small bump that would normally not be felt on younger skin.
7. Diabetes
"Sugar" and "blood" are the first things that jump to your head as soon
as you think about diabetes, and it has a particularly negative effect
on the circulatory system. In fact, one of the first symptoms of
diabetes is bruising that appears on the skin for no apparent reason.
You should visit your doctor if you notice other symptoms such as wounds
that don’t heal as quickly as before, frequent fatigue and blurred
vision.
How to distinguish between normal and dangerous bruises
Most of the time, bruises become red
immediately after the skin is damaged - because it is the color of the
blood under the skin. After a while, the body begins to break down the
blood and the bruise turns black, blue or even purple. Within 5-10 days
it will become yellow, and at its final stage, 10-14 days after the
injury, it will begin to disappear.
Usually, a bruise disappears within two weeks of injury, but if you
notice colors that are different from those described or if the bruise
does not disappear after two weeks, you should visit your doctor.
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