Disclaimer: This article is not a substitute for medical advice. If symptoms are severe, pain is extreme, or not recovering, seek out personalized medical treatment from a doctor immediately. If you suspect the bruising is a sign of abuse, notify the authorities.

5 Tips to get rid of Bruises

Bruises are a common injury that heals on their own, but it can take a while. There is no cure for bruises, but there are things we can do to heal them faster. In this blog post, we will discuss five tips that will help you get rid of bruises!

What are bruises?

Bruises are spots on the skin or body tissue that are discolored. They range in color from red, black, blue, purple, yellow, green, or brown. They can be painful and cause tenderness. In addition to the soft tissue and muscle, bruising of the bone can also occur and are quite painful.

How do bruises occur?

Your body is lined with many small blood vessels. When your body has an impact, these vessels burst, causing blood to leak in the area resulting in a bruise. Common impacts that cause the vessels to burst are falling, getting hit by an object, running into something, or as simple as pressure on the area for a sustained time.

Stages of the bruise by color

When you get a bruise, you can often tell your stage in the healing process by the color. As the bruise progresses, it will change colors, fade, and pain will lessen.

Red bruises

When the impact or pressure that ruptures these mall blood vessels, you'll notice the area is initially red. These bruises are red because the blood still has plentiful amounts of oxygen. This stage lasts about 24 hours.

Black, blue and purple bruises

As the blood loses oxygen, it starts to darken. The shades associated with this phase can be purple, black, and blue. It's often considered the worst part of the recovery and can last 2-7 days.

Yellow and green bruises

Once your bruise progresses in the healing, it will turn from a dark hue to a yellow or green color. This happens as the blood breaks down and usually starts between 5-10 days after the bruising incident occurs.

Brown bruises

Once your bruise starts turning brown, you are in the final stage of the healing process. You can expect to enter this healing phase 10-14 days after the bruising starts.

Factors that increase bruising

As you progress in life, how your body bruises changes. Numerous factors dictate how severe the bruising is and time to recover. There are even conditions that cause unexplained bruises and require immediate treatment.

Age

As you age, there is a layer of fat underneath the skin that gets thinner. This layer serves as a buffer for the blood vessels, and as it thins, its protection diminishes. The loss of collagen also worsens the situation making the skin weaker and prone to tearing.

Medication

The type of medication you are on can affect a bruised area. For example, blood thinners are designed to make it hard for the blood to clot. With the blood taking longer to clot, the bruised area continues to bleed, worsening the bruise.

Other medications that cause the skin to be thin worsen bruising also.

Diseases and Disorders

To minimize bruising, your body needs to clot the broken blood vessels effectively. For the body to form healthy clots, nutrition, liver, and bone marrow need to be in good shape. Some underlying conditions can cause those factors to be out of balance, resulting in increased bleeding, worsening the bruise. It's not uncommon for these conditions to cause unexplained bruising.

Some common diseases and disorders that worsen bruising are:

Kidney disease

Clotting protein deficiencies

Leukemia

Liver disfunction

Reduced Platelet count

Lack of nutrition

We are what we eat, and if that doesn't include everything needed for our body to function correctly, we will see reduced blood clotting and worsened bruising. When we lack nutrition, there are multiple downstream effects on the body, making bruising easier.

The biggest culprits malnutrition causes with bruising are reduced collagen, less fat cushioning, and lack of blood clotting proteins. These all create an environment for more severe bruising to the injured area.

Out of the conditions that worsen bruising, this is the one we have the most control over and can be solved with a healthier diet.

Tips to help bruises heal faster

To be clear, there is no instant removal or healing of a bruise. These tips help reduce swelling, improve blood flow, and bring needed nutrients to the site, creating a situation conducive to faster recovery. It will take consistent treatment to see any improved symptoms.

1. Compression

During the first 24-48 hours, a compression sleeve on the injury can help with symptoms. Make sure the sleeve is tight but not overbearing. If you feel any tingling or loss of blood flow, change to a larger size.

2. Elevation

You are going to want to elevate the affected area and rest. Elevation helps reduce blood flow to the area and limits inflammation. To properly elevate the affected area has to be a higher level than the heart. You'll want to do this right away to limit the blood flow, reduce swelling and hopefully reduce the size of the bruise.

3. Icing

Another quick tip to reduce the bruising and swelling is to ice the injured area. It will be painful, but it can help reduce the size and color of a bruise. You'll want to ice for 15-20 minute intervals every couple of hours.

You may notice that your skin looks whiter after an icing session. This is normal as you constrict blood vessels under the surface, reducing the bleeding that creates the bruise.

Make sure to wrap the ice in a towel so it does not directly contact the skin.

4. Heat

After you initially treat the bruise and the bleeding has stopped under the skin, it's time to increase the blood flow to the injury to speed up recovery.

This can be done by using a heating pad or warm towel.

Do this for about 20 minutes at a time, several times per day, until the bruise is gone.

A promising sign to use heat is once the bruise turns black and blue.

5. Topical lotions

In addition to heat, topical lotions with specific ingredients can help with healing the injury.

Some of the most effective ingredients are arnica, vitamin C, and shea butter.

Arnica is a flower that grows in Europe and has been used for hundreds of years to heal bruises with no side effects.

Vitamin C helps rebuild the collagen in the skin that increases bruise resistance.

CBD LION Lotion

If you are interested in treating bruises with a lotion, check out CBD LION's topical cream. It features many bruise reducing ingredients and has seen some incredible customer successes. Keep in mind CBD is still new, and studies are still ongoing for its effectiveness. Early indications are that it may aid in reducing inflammation which is a critical aspect of the bruising process. Again all information on CBD is antidotal at this point but is available to try. Always consult with a doctor before use if you are on medications or have other medical conditions.

In conclusion

Bruises are unsightly, and everyone wants to reduce the pain and injury mark as quickly as possible. It's impossible to heal a bruise instantly, but it is possible to reduce the initial bleeding and size with quick action. If the bruised injury is severe and symptoms persist, see a medical doctor immediately.

We wish you the best in the bruise healing process and hope you avoid further injury.

Resources

https://starkvilleurgentcareclinic.com/how-do-you-know-when-a-bruise-is-serious/

https://www.thestar.com/life/health_wellness/2017/11/06/bruises-get-worse-and-last-longer-with-age-qache.html