Bruises

Explore more about bruised toenail causes and its treatment. You will also get insights on bruising easily and unexplained bruises that may develop on the legs.

Bruised Toenail Causes

A toenail bruise is an injury to internal tissues of a toe that does not broke the skin. The trauma to the skin causes the blood vessels near the skin to rupture resulting to leakage of blood under the nail. It may cause discoloration that may disappear on its own or with little treatment after a period of two weeks. It may also take longer depending with the cause.
There are various medical conditions and other possible causes that may cause a toenail bruise. When you start experiencing the symptoms, it is advisable to visit your doctor to determine the exact cause especially for bruising easily with no reason. The different causes includes the following:

• Trauma from blunt objects that may hit your nail
• Taking anticoagulant medications
• Road traffic and sports accidents
• A fracture on the toenail
• Internal body infections
• Foot sprain

In most cases, a toenail bruise normally results from trauma on the toe. Dropping heavy objects on the toe, wearing ill-fitting shoe, hitting the toe against an object, stubbing the toe on a hard surface or slamming it in a house door may result to breakage of blood vessels under the nail bed. The blood may leak in the internal tissues of the toe to cause a blue-black discoloration.
The nail itself cannot become bruised since it contains dead tissues. The nail may experience discoloration and pain on the affected area. When the pain is severe, you may apply some of the bruised toenail remedy to control the discomfort. Pain from minor injuries can easily be controlled by refraining from duties to have a rest.
A bruise that may develop under the toenail tissues without an injury may be an indication of a blood condition. You are supposed to visit your health care provider to diagnose your condition. Anticoagulant medications and some pain relievers may also cause bruising on different parts of your body including the toenail.
Severe injury that results to a serious bruising may cause the toenail to fall off. It is not recommended to remove a bruised nail but if it is badly injured, you may remove it to allow a growth of a new toenail. Although it may take several month to heal. Minor toe nail bruises normally heals on their own as a new nail grows to replace the damaged one.
If you experience a severe bruise on the toenail, it is important to visit your doctor right away. The doctor will make an assessment of your injury and provide the necessary treatment. You will be given some pain relievers and antibiotics to prevent infections and relieve the discomfort.

Bruised Toenail Treatment

Minor toenail bruises may heal on their own with little or no treatment, however severe bruises may require treatment to heal. It is always better to prevent the bruise than treating by taking the various precautions. In case it has already happened, there are various treatments on how to get rid of a bruise at home as follows:

• Trim the toenail to become short as possible. Take care while trimming to avoid injuring yourself. You should also make the edge flat rather than rounded to avoid other complications such as ingrown toenail.
• Apply a cold compress on the affected toe. You may use ice chips or cold water.
• Take over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medicines such as acetaminophen to alleviate the pain, swelling and stiffness. Avoid aspirin as it may worsen your condition.
• Elevate the affected area to reduce flow of blood.
• Soak the affected toenail in warm water for several times a day until your condition improves. Warm water salt water helps to minimize pain as well as initiating the healing process.
• Apply a topical antibacterial cream such as bacitracin and cover the affected toe and cover with a bandage to prevent infections.
• Consider cushioning toe pads, they are best treatment for bruised toenail as they help to prevent friction of the toenail against the shoe.
• Wear a shoe that has extra room for your toe until the toenail heals.
• Have enough rest and avoid activities that may cause further bruising. Take off from duties that requires physical engagement. You may read a book, watch movies or listen to music.
• Consider to apply some of the home remedy treatments that contain anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties such as turmeric paste.

Severe toe nail bruises may require a doctor’s assessment and treatment. You are supposed to visit your podiatrist right away you start noticing the symptoms below, he or she will ask you some questions and provide the required treatment.

• Severe pain that is not relieved by pain killers
• If you experience bleeding on other areas such as nose bleed, presence of blood in urine and stool
• Fever, tingling and unusual sensation of the toe
• Sore, redness and an open wound that may develop on the affected area.
• Blue or grey discoloration near the bruised toenail.

Bruised Toe

Have you ever remove a shoe and noticed a bruise on your toe? The common reason that causes this condition is wearing ill-fitting shoe. The friction of the toe against the shoes causes the small blood capillaries near the affected area to rupture. They may leak blood in to internal tissues to form a bruise.
If you are a runner, you are likely to experience this problem especially after running downhill or exercising. A bruised toe may not be a serious condition but it may be quite painful. It may prevent you from doing your daily activities. It is important to take good care of the affected area especially when the bruise burst.
Minor bruises may heal on their own without treatment, but there are various treatments you may perform to relieve the pain, swelling and other discomfort on the affected area. Soaking the affected toe in cold water may help to relieve the pain or you my taking over-the-counter pain relievers.
Bruised toenail may form unpleasant discoloration. You may also spend most of your time and money on treating severe bruises. There are various measures you can employ to minimize this condition from happening. They include the following:

1. Avoid ill-fitting shoes and boots

Ensure that you wear a shoe or boots that fits you properly. If you are an athlete, your shoe should provide enough space for your toes. Running or walking downhill causes the toes to be pushed against the shoe causing a trauma that may result to a bruise.

2. Consider padding and wearing socks

Wearing socks with padding is very important in guarding your toes against injury with your shoe. You can simply find decent socks with paddings in the market. They are found in different varieties and brand names. You may consider buying thicker or lighter.

3. Trim your toe nails

Long toe nails may also contribute to bruising especially when wearing closed shoes. You are supposed to keep your nails short. Be very careful when cutting the nails, you are supposed to cut then edges flat to avoid other complications.

4. Use insoles

Fitting your boots and shoes with insoles may be the solution to your recurrent bruised big toe. Insoles may be a good alternative if you are not okay with thick socks.

Bruising Easily on Legs

Apart from bruised toenail, you can also experience this condition on other parts of your body. In most cases, a bruise normally occurs after an injury but there is other cases whereby you may experience bruising easily on legs without noticing the cause. Various factors may result to this condition as described below:

• Over-exposure to the sun rays. Excessive exposure to the sun may lead to bruising especially to individuals with thinner skin such as older people and children. If your family has a life history of skin damage from the sun, you need to protect your skin while going out for long.
• Thin skin. As you age, your skin becomes prone to bruising. Collagen is lost which makes your skin susceptible to minor injuries that may cause bruising.
• Taking of certain medicines. Taking certain medicines may prevent the blood from clotting or they may cause thinning of blood. When taking such medicines, you are likely to develop a bruise from minor injuries.
• Deficiency of certain nutrients. Low levels of vitamin C in your body may result to bruises on legs for no reason and other parts of your body. Such vitamins are important in production of collagen that protect the skin against minor injuries.
• Reduction in body fat. Body fats are important as they provides the cushioning effects to the internal body tissues. You are likely to experience bruises when you are on a quick weight loss plan.
• Internal body conditions. Blood diseases and diabetes among other conditions may also result to bruising easily on legs and other parts of your body.

Unexplained Bruises on Legs

Unexplained bruises on legs should worry you, it may be sending a signal of an internal body diseases. This condition may also occur on other parts of your body such as bruised toenail, face, chest, back and hands. You need to see your doctor right away for treatment. You will be diagnosed to determine the exact cause of your problem.
There are various blood diseases that may cause random bruises on legs and other parts of your body. Example of such diseases includes hemophilia, leukemia, and sepsis and platelets dysfunction. Some of this condition normally lead to deficiency or excessive of certain blood cells that leads to poor functioning. Therefore you may experience excessive bruising’s on your body that may disappear after treating the disease.

More references:

• http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/bleeding-under-nail?page=2
• http://www.newhealthguide.org/Unexplained-Bruising-On-Legs.html

What is a bruise? Get insights on the meaning, bruising easily causes and other unexplained reasons that may cause this condition. You will also learn more about the various treatments of a bruise.

What is a Bruise

A bruise is also medically known as a contusion, it is a discoloration of the skin that results from breakage of small blood vessels beneath the soft skin tissues after an injury or any other trauma. A bruise is normally caused by internal bleeding into skin tissues that does not allow a break through the skin.
A blunt trauma results to the damage of soft skin tissues by causing compression and deceleration forces on the affected area. Trauma to the skin may result from a variety of causes such as accidents, surgeries and falls. Your body may also react to some diseases and allergies by causing a bruise. Such diseases includes insufficient platelets, vascular disorders and coagulation deficiencies.
A bruise normally happens in stages. After having a trauma on the skin, the affected area will appear red or purple and tender. The area may become swollen as a result of blood collecting underneath the skin. After a few days, the bruise changes the color to blue or blackish. After one week, it becomes greenish or yellow which may turn to brown from the second week. It will finally starts to lighten as it heals.
Contusion normally goes away after two weeks or even sooner. Those that does not go away easily are associated with serious injuries such as fractures and severe internal bleeding. Lighter skin may show minor bruising easily as compared to dark skin.

Why Do I Bruise Easily

Bruises are commonly caused by broken small blood capillaries beneath your skin. After bumping into a coffee table, you may realize a dark or blue mark on your leg. This happens when the bloods leaks out of the capillaries into the skin tissues. The mark will eventually disappear within a period of two weeks.
A heavy-hitting will cause a larger bruise. However, you may notice small bruises on your body without knowing the cause. They may result from minor injuries on your skin. Bruises may be common to some people while not others. Women are more prone to this condition as compared to men.
As you age, your skin becomes thinner which increases bruising easily. Your skin loses a protective fatty layer that guards it against minor injuries. The chances of developing other body condition like diabetes and blood conditions also increases as you age. Such conditions may also contribute to leakage of blood from the capillaries.
Medications and supplements may also cause easy bruising. Aspirin, anti-plate agents and anticoagulant medication interferes with blood clotting ability. They causes bleeding of the blood capillaries to take longer before stopping since the blood does not clot easily.

Bruising Easily Causes

You may be wondering, why do I bruise easily all of a sudden? In some cases you may notice a bruise on your skin but you can’t recall bumping into anything. You may expect a bruise after knocking yourself against a blunt object or shutting your finger in the door but others may develop mysteriously without noticing the cause. Various factors may result to bruising as follows:

• The type of your skin

You may develop bruises easily is your skin is thin. This condition is most experienced by children and older people. The collagen on your skin decreases as you age and hence making your skin more susceptible to minor injuries that you may not notice easily. The skin also loses the protective fatty layer that provides protection against injuries

• Blood disorders

A bruise may also form easily as a result of blood disorders. Hemophilia and leukemia results to unexplained bruising causes due to improper blood clotting.  Frequent bruises may be a symptom of such conditions. It is therefore important to visit your doctors for diagnosis before your condition becomes worse.

• Purpuric dermatosis

This is a vascular condition that causes leaking of blood out the small capillaries into the skin tissue. It causes many and tiny bruises all over the affected area or even the whole skin. It is a condition that is experienced by elderly people than the youth and the children.

• Strenuous exercises

You may experience bruising after a rigorous exercise. Athletes normally develops bruising easily on legs, heavy weight lifters may also suffer from this condition. Excessive straining during the exercise causes bursting of small blood capillaries that bleeds internally to form bruise. Exercise can also cause small tears in the muscles to form this condition.

• Certain types of medications

Taking certain medication may react with your body to form small bruises on the skin. Medications such as aspirin, anticoagulants and anti-platelet reduces the blood clotting ability hence causing bruising’s. There are also other medications that may weaken the walls of the capillaries to cause leakage and bleeding of the blood beneath the skin. Such medicines includes prednisone, oral contraceptive, and aspirin among others.

• Sun poisoning

Excessive exposure to the sun may cause damage on your skin and result to bruising easily. It may cause excessive dehydration of skin which make the skin to become more prone to minor injuries. It also cause small bruises inside your skin to become more visible. Prolonged exposure to the sun especially between 10am and 2pm is harmful.

• Family history

Bruises also have a tendency of being genetically inherited from your family members. If your parents or other members of your family has this condition you are also likely to experience the same in case you are not medically treated.

• vitamin C deficiency

You are also likely to experience bruising easily vitamin deficiency. This condition is mainly experienced by elderly people. Vitamin C plays a big role in production of collagen that is an important component of the skin. A part from bruises, you are also likely to experience other symptoms such as bleeding gums, depression, fatigue, nosebleed and swollen joints.

• Super pale skin

Having a pale skin does not mean that you are prone to bruises. A pale skin shows any slight discoloration. It becomes more visible as compared to a darker skin therefore, you are likely to notice small bruised caused by minor injuries.

• Increased body fats

High level of body fats increases the chances of developing bruises. This explains why women are more prone to bruises as compared to men

• Alcohol consumption

Taking alcohol also increases the chances of developing bruises. A part from the likelihood of getting minor injuries while drunk, the research also shows that excessive consumption of alcohol can act as blood-thinner. It also decreases the absorption of vitamin C into your body.

Unexplained Bruising

You may develop unexplained random bruising easily all over your body but the commonly affected areas includes the arms, legs, fingers, toe, thighs and face. There are various risk factors that causes this condition, they include the following:

• Bruises are common in elderly people due to their age. As you grow older, your skin becomes thinner and also, the tissues that support the blood capillaries becomes weakened. They may allow leakage of blood into the skin tissues.
• Individual who perform rigorous exercise such athletes may have bruised toenail and other parts of their body. The direct trauma that is accompanied with underlying hematoma results to bruises among the athletes. Lifting heavy weights may also cause tiny tearing of muscles.
• Vitamin C deficiency may also cause bruising
• Unexplained bruising on legs may also be a sign of physical abuse of a child.
• Minor injuries that results from bumping into objects or objects falling on you may also cause trauma to the skin that results to bruising.
• Bruises that also occur for no apparent reason may be indicating internal bleeding disorder.

Bruising For No Reason

A bruising that occurs for no reason may be indicating that you are having internal body disorders. Such bruises normally develops without a bump or a fall. The body conditions that may cause this type of bruising includes:

1. Blood clotting disorders that prevents the blood from clotting normally. They include hemophilia, thrombocytopenia and von willebrands disease.
2. The cancer of the blood may also cause bruising easily without reason. Diseases such as leukemia and multiple myeloma causes this skin condition.
3. Liver diseases such as cirrhosis also interferes with the blood clotting process. It may lead to several bruises on different parts of your body.
4. Inflammation of the pancreas as a result of acute pancreatitis disorder may also cause bruises especially on the abdominal areas.
5. Various infections such as sepsis releases toxins in your blood that may result to leakage of blood out of the small capillaries.

You are supposed to visit your doctor right away after experiencing large unexplained bruises, bleeding of gums and nose, massive swelling and extreme pains, abnormally heavy menstrual periods and a bruise that fails to heal after a period of two to three weeks.

How to Treat Bruises

There is a possibility that bruises may be indicating serious health problems like blood-clotting conditions, liver diseases, lupus and certain types of cancer. In case your bruise is caused by a heavy trauma, takes more than two weeks to heal, causes a lot of paining or shows bleeding signs on other parts of your body such as gums and nose. It may be the right time to visit your doctor for treatment.
However, minor trauma that causes bruising easily on your skin can be treated by yourself at home. There are various methods you can employ on how to treat bruises and swelling on your skin fast. They include the following:

• Apply a cool compress, then a warm compress

Although a minor bruise may heal on its own within a duration of 2 weeks, applying a cool and warm compress may help to reduce the healing time as well as alleviating the pain and swelling. Immediately after a heavy-hitting, wrap an ice into a towel and place it over the affected areas. It will help to slow down the flow of blood and prevent swelling.  When the pain and swelling decreases apply a warm compress several times a day. It helps in speeding up the healing process.

• Take over-the-counter pain relievers

Take acetaminophen, it is effective on how to get rid of a bruise by reducing the pain and swelling of the affected area. Avoid taking aspirin and ibuprofen as they are blood-thinners. They may worsen your condition.

• Take more vitamins

Take more green vegetables and fruits to get enough vitamin K which are also known as clotting vitamins. They are found plenty in cabbage, broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Take also a lot of citrus fruits that contain vitamin C that helps in production of collagen.

More sources and reference:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruise
• http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bruises/article_em.htm
• http://www.medicinenet.com/bruises/article.htm#what_is_a_bruise
• http://www.webmd.boots.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/bruises