Where'd that come from?

November 14, 2009 7:06 AM

Why do I bruise so easily?

I bruise very easily. At any given time I could easily count 20 bruises on my body. My legs, arms, etc, are always covered in bruises, most of the time I have no clue how I even got the bruise (I do not play sports and I'm not very physically active). What could cause this? The extent of my bruising seems abnormal to me so I am concerned, could there be a serious underlying cause and if so should I be looking out for other symptoms as well? I do not have insurance but I go to a clinic, I have mentioned something to the doctor before but she didn't seem too concerned and never did blood work. What could explain why I bruise so easily?

posted by lwclec072 to Health & Fitness (21 answers total)

Has this started recently, or have you always had it? I know some people do tend to bruise more easily than others (you should have seen my old roommate after a game of rugby!), but your description sounds unusual. I would definitely talk to a doctor either way, and visit them explicitly to discuss the issue so that it won't be ignored. According to the Mayo clinic's site:

See your doctor if:
* You have unusually large or painful bruises — particularly if your bruises seem to develop for no known reasons.
* You bruise easily and you're experiencing abnormal bleeding elsewhere, such as from your nose or gums, or you notice blood in your eyes, stool or urine.
* You have no history of bruising, but suddenly experience bruises.
These signs and symptoms may indicate a more serious problem, such as a blood-clotting problem or blood-related disease. Bruises accompanied by persistent pain or headache also may indicate a more serious underlying illness and require medical attention.
posted by you're a kitty! at 7:15 AM on November 14, 2009

I bruise really easily. I probably got a bruise just from thinking about this post. I can get a very slight bump, so small I don't even remember it hurting, and have a fist-sized bruise that lasts for 6 weeks and scars. Alternately, I can go out for a night on the town and just end up with a whole bunch of tiny light bruises from (it seems like) nothing.

-It is exacerbated when I am drinking a lot,
-And when I am not getting enough iron.

I recently (2008) had major surgery (c-section) and nearly died from massive bleeding (needed 7 units, and a hysterectomy to stop the bleeding). In addition to bruising easily, having frequent nosebleeds, bleeding gums, very heavy menstruation and a long bleeding time test are potential markers for the bleeding disorder it took near-death for me to be evaluated for, called Von Willebrand disease.

I am not a doctor, and I am not suggesting you have this coagulation disorder - but you asked for something you might look out for so I am sharing that. Nor am I trying to scare you with my horror story, at all . Many, many things can cause easy bruising.
posted by bunnycup at 7:18 AM on November 14, 2009 [1 favorite]

I am not *quite* as bruise-prone as you, but I do notice I tend to bruise more when I haven't been getting enough iron or potassium in my diet. Could that be a cause?
posted by AV at 7:21 AM on November 14, 2009

I bruise easily and was told that it was anemia.
posted by Kimberly at 7:36 AM on November 14, 2009

This is something to get checked out, and soon. Press for it if you have to. Regardless of the underlying cause, it's possible that you're at risk for excessive loss of blood from what would otherwise be minor injury. You really want to rule out that possibility (or deal with it, if necessary).
posted by TruncatedTiller at 7:54 AM on November 14, 2009

I bruise easily and it's caused by a high clotting factor (commonly called k-factor). It basically means my blood takes longer to clot than the average person. Because of this, minor little bumps that wouldn't cause a bruise for normal people take a little longer to stop bleeding under my skin and cause bruises more frequently.
posted by kthxbi at 8:17 AM on November 14, 2009

What's your colouring like? I bruise easily, and I figure it's because my skin is so fair and thin (blue eyed redhead here) that the bruises show up more easily.
posted by orange swan at 8:19 AM on November 14, 2009

I bruised a lot when my iron stores were low. I wasn't anemic so it didn't show up when they first tested me, but when they tested my serum ferritin, it was really low. You might want to take an iron supplement for a while and see if that helps. Be warned, iron can cause constipation and takes a while to really get you to normal levels. I have used hemaplex, which is an iron supplement with other vitamins added, supposedly to help absorbtion. My GP approved it, though she said it really didn't matter as long as I was taking x amount of iron a day.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 8:31 AM on November 14, 2009

Witch hazel supposedly helps reduce bruising.
posted by HotPatatta at 8:35 AM on November 14, 2009

It can be a side effect of some prescription drugs and/or overuse of some OTC medications.
posted by variella at 8:38 AM on November 14, 2009

Vitamin K deficiency is associated with bruising and longer bleeding times.

Also is a possible mechanism involved in prescription drugs causing bruising (death of intestinal bacteria that produce mk-7 through fermentation).

K-2 (menaquinone) found in milk, fermented cheeses and animal organs/marrow is much more biologically active than K-1 (found in plants), and is thought to be potentially deficient in many Americans.

Also seems to protect against age related declines in bone mineral density, and improves cardiovascular health, more from nephropal.
posted by zentrification at 9:04 AM on November 14, 2009

When I was 9 years old my twin sister started having lots of bruises, all over her arms and legs. She went to the doctor and was shortly taken into hospital where she remained for a couple of weeks. (This was 1980, UK.)

I don't recall the name of the condition, nor the treatment, but it was basically that her blood wasn't clotting, as kthxbi mentioned, and they were worried if she has the slightest injury they would have terrible trouble trying to stop it. She made a full recovery and never had any recurrence to the best of my knowledge. I recommend pressing harder with your doctor.
posted by NailsTheCat at 9:06 AM on November 14, 2009

Salicylates can increase your tendency to bruise. Are you taking aspirin by any chance?
posted by corey flood at 9:32 AM on November 14, 2009

You may have thrombocytopenia, or low platelets. I do, and that's why I bruise easily; with fewer platelets, your blood clots more slowly. I get dramatic bruising from minor things like bumping into a door frame, but have never had any serious bleeding problems.
posted by not that girl at 9:43 AM on November 14, 2009

Unless you're really into mixed martial arts or something, 20 bruises at any given time is a symptom that warrants enough concern to get checked out again, and by someone who will take this complaint seriously. It may be nothing, but there are any number of potentially serious conditions that can cause easy bruising. The list of possibilities is so long that speculation probably isn't helpful at this point. A few relatively basic blood tests can easily rule out virtually all serious causes of easy bruising, and I personally think these would be worth doing (and even worth paying for if necessary, unfortunately).
posted by drpynchon at 10:33 AM on November 14, 2009

What everyone else has said basically - there is a possibility that there's something wrong, and there are lots of possibilities as to what it is, so the best thing is to have it properly looked at.

I know a couple of people with fairly bad dyspraxia who are walking into things all the time, and they've rarely got as many as ten bruises - so yes, twenty is a lot! When you see the doctor really emphasize that you have no reason to be bruised. If you've had any cuts, or dental work, or anything to make you bleed recently try and remember how long it took the bleeding to stop, and tell the doctor this.

(Another one to throw into the mix - do you take fish oil supplements? In larger doses they can cause longer clotting time and so more bruising)
posted by Coobeastie at 11:05 AM on November 14, 2009

Yes, please check with a doctor. Insist on some blood work or for a referral to a hematologist -- when I didn't have insurance at one point, the community clinic I went to had a rotation of specialists that would come in who you could set appointments with, so maybe the clinic you go to has something like that. There are many conditions, issues, etc. that could be contributing to this -- some of them fairly simple to figure out, but some of them quite tricky (I have bleeding/bruising issues -- I ended up in ICU from a bad bleed during surgery 5 years ago -- and I'm currently on my third hematologist who's trying to figure out what the underlying cause is).

In the meantime, as others have said, stop taking any aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil), or naproxen (Alleve) -- these make you susceptible to bruising.
posted by scody at 1:00 PM on November 14, 2009

Vitamin K is supposed to reduce bruising. Try upping that first, then try a doctor like everyone says.
posted by KateHasQuestions at 4:30 PM on November 14, 2009

I was told that iron supplements are supposed to help.
posted by Neekee at 6:57 PM on November 14, 2009

As a medical student, I can say that your bruising sounds abnormal. There are a lot of different medical conditions that lead to easy bruising, I would urge you to see a doctor.
posted by schmichael at 7:09 PM on November 16, 2009

I echo what not that girl wrote. I got diagnosed with ITP - Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia Purpura several years ago. Idiopathic means they don't know what causes it, but your platelets drop so low, it's very dangerous. I had to take Prednisone, not a great drug to have to take, to get my platelets back up. It only happened twice, once so bad I was purple from head to toe, but interestingly, it was in two different parts of the country that I'd never lived in before. And as soon as I left those areas and lived somewhere else, the ITP completely disappeared.
posted by VC Drake at 10:14 PM on November 17, 2009