Why your bruises won’t go away for a long time? A bruise is an injury to the tissues under the skin. Bruises can occur unexpectedly and also suddenly. Bruises may appear blue and black. They are often painful and also swollen for many people. However, many times, you need not worry about bruises or contusions.
Bruises usually take two to three weeks to heal. In severe cases, it may take a little longer to heal. This article discusses 11 common causes of bruises that won’t go away with treatment.
Common Causes of Bruise Won’t Go Away
The common causes of the bruise on the arm that won’t go away are given below.
1. Nutrients Deficiency
Healing and blood clotting occurs when your body is running low on nutrients. Nutrient deficiency leads to bruises that remain for a long on the arm or do not go away.
- Vitamin C and K are vital in wound healing and keeping skin healthy. If you run low on these vitamins, bruises may occur and do not go away quickly. Another reason is the slow healing time due to low vitamin K in the body.
- Yet another issue is the presence of low Zinc content in the body. Zinc’s low-level content causes anemia and also leads to excess bruising.
- A low level of Bioflavonoids causes bruising in your arm. Eating food combined with Bioflavonoids reduces bruising issues to a greater extent.
2. Hematoma
Sometimes, blood vessels are ruptured due to an injury in your arm. As a result, bleeding occurs, which causes a huge bump. In common, the blood clotting factor is responsible for closing the blood vessel rupture.
However, people with blood-thinning problems and bleeding issues have continuous bleeding due to an injury without clotting for a long time. As a result, the bruise will appear on the injured spot. This bruise appears on the affected area of the skin.
3. Age advancement
Due to the aging factor, the healing power of an individual decreases. However, the chances of sustaining bruises are more. The cases of bruises occurring on our arms increase as we age. The period of bruise existence on the affected area may exist for a long time. Due to blood vessels weakening, the bruises fade away slowly.
4. Medications
You shall some people get bruises after some days of medications. You may wonder what went wrong with them. If you analyze the reason or delve deeper into the person’s habit, you will see medications are the main reason for the formation of bruises. Yes, some medicines cause bruises on your arm and do not go away quickly. The bruise formation is apparent while you are on the following medications.
- Some antibiotics cause bruising if an individual consumes them for a long.
- When a person is on dietary supplements, bruise formations are more. For example, ginkgo supplement causes bruises on your skin.
- Also, topical and systemic corticosteroids are responsible for bruises.
- Using Blood Thinners for long causes bruises. The person who uses Warfarin and heparin may have a bruise that does not go away. Sometimes, low-dose baby aspirin is also responsible for bruise formation.
- The risk of bleeding and bruising increases due to Omega 3 Fatty Acids supplements.
- Yet another medication responsible for bruises is using depression and anxiety medicines for a long.
- Even Anti-inflammatory medications are responsible for blood thinning issues in an individual. Due to these medicines, the risk of internal bleeding is enhanced.
5. Chemotherapy
Blood platelets are responsible for blood clotting in the body. If blood platelet numbers are low, blood clotting problems occur, and blood continues to ooze out without stopping.
If an individual undergoes chemotherapy for a cancer problem has the risk of bruising due to low blood clotting in his body. The bruises do not go away quickly. He has fewer blood platelets which make him suffer a lot.
6. Hemophilia
A genetic disorder that affects people with fewer clotting factors is hemophilia. Due to this factor, a person has internal bleeding and bruising issue. Hemophilia is yet another medical issue for someone with a bruise that does not go away. The person shall have a sigh of relief if he undergoes a blood transfusion.
7. Thrombophilia
Low platelets do not help to form a clot when bleeding occurs in an individual. Thrombophilia is the condition in which the person has low platelets; hence, the bruise does notdisappeary. The bleeding does not stop, so bruises last for a long.
8. Collagen Disorders
Bruises may occur from nowhere in your body sometimes. You would not understand why you have bruises on your body. A faulty collagen gene or collagen disorder is the primary reason for this.
In this case, the affected person has ruptured blood vessels. The surprising fact for the affected person is that they do not have a bump or any injury. In these cases, the person has bruises regularly or often, but the healing time is prolonged.
9. Heterotopic Ossification
Chronic bleeding and bruising issue occur due to heterotopic ossification issues. How is a person affected in this case? In this case, bone growth is formed in the soft tissues of a person’s body.
The blood vessels get ruptured due to the friction of bone on the tissues. Due to bone friction against the tissues, bleeding occurs in the body and would not heal. The person affected by this issue does not get his bruises to go away soon.
10. Von Willebrand Disease
It is a lifelong issue or disorder in which blood does not clot. Hence, non-stop bleeding makes a person weak and problematic. What is the main reason behind this disease?
This issue is due to a low level of a specific protein that helps blood clotting. Due to this low protein level, blood clotting does not occur, and the affected person may have prolonged bleeding, which is dangerous. The bruise does not go away due to the long bleeding problem.
11. Overexercise
When you are involved in rigorous exercises by stretching your arms every day, bruises occur. Yes, overusing hands during exercise would result in bruises. If you bump against any hard surface, it will result in a bruise.
Treatments For bruises won’t go away.
- You shall take vitamin C in adequate quantities for your bruise issue. A calculated vitamin C level improves the wound healing process better. Hence, a bruise may soon disappear on continuous intake.
- You shall use an ice pack on the injured area. Leave the ice for some minutes so that the bruise shall disappear.
- Tops with long sleeves protect the bruises on the arm.
- Taking vitamin K in your food improves the chances of the wound healing process better. Due to the fast blood clotting factor, bruises get away quickly. Consume vegetables rich in vitamin K to cope with the expectations of healing. For example, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach are consumed.
- Yet another way is using chocolates for their anti-inflammatory properties. Smear the melted chocolate on the affected area. You shall use the gauze around the bruised area for blood vessel tightening.
- You shall avoid bruises getting longer by using water paste. Water and sugar are mixed and applied to the affected area. After applying the paste, wrap the affected area by using the bandage.
- You shall try applying ice and heat alternatively on the affected part. This step helps relieve inflammation, and your body clears collected old RBDs from the body.
- Use a compression bandage immediately after you see the bruise on your arm.
When to see a doctor?
A simple bruise does not need a doctor. However, if you have a bruise for some days and it turns to heal with the signs of lighter color and yellow, you are safe. This color formation occurs on the outer edges of the bruise if the bruise is healing. On the contrary, if a bruise appears purple or blue and spreads further, you should see a doctor immediately.
Why the need for a doctor is a must? You may suffer from an internal bleeding issue if it does not heal for a long time and the bruise does not go away. This issue is life-threatening and so consult the doctor for immediate treatment. A lump in the bruised area is another reason you should consult the doctor.
Other reasons why you should consult a doctor are:
- An unusual amount of bruises
- Bruise that form repeatedly in your arm.
- Swelling with pain
- Abnormal bleeding
Final Words about Bruise Won’t Go Away
If you have bruises for many consecutive days without any major issues, do not delay consulting the doctor. Instead, schedule an appointment to consult the doctor about the issue.
The doctor might give a clear picture of the underlying cause of the bruise. So, postponement or neglecting the bruise that does not go away would result in a major collapse or even life-threatening.
If the above treatment options do not work, go for a medical check-up soon. A little earlier care saves you from a major downfall that one cannot imagine. The bruise on the arm that won’t go away is more severe than you think.
