Wellness

[Thebig I]

Hi all, My signifigant other proceeded to show me the other day the back of his arm which was deeply bruised. he claimed his arm was sore from throwing the ball to the dog in the field nearby. It was so large and a deep purple it shocked me, I think this must be a sign his veins are not in good shape. Anybody care to weigh in with their knowledge of this type of thing, and YES, I know, see the Dr, got it. Easier said than done when you are telling a man.

[betteb]

Is he on any medications either prescription or over the counter?

Does he drink? If so how much?

I know the questions are a bit personal, but the answers make a difference.

ETA. How old is he?

[Thebig I]

Hi, he is 72, he is on lots of meds and No, not much drinking, very minimal.

[betteb]

On 2/21/2014 Thebig I said:

Hi, he is 72, he is on lots of meds and No, not much drinking, very minimal.

Well, I think the first thing is to look at his meds and see if any of them thin the blood. If you want to post them here, I can tell you. If not you can go to a site like drugs.com and look them up and look at side effects.

[hckynut]

There are many causes for delayed visible bruising. I have had injuries to deep muscle tissues that did not surface as a bruise for weeks. There is still one bruise that I got from a hockey puck in the year 2002 that was visible in a warm shower after only 2 days. When I take a warm shower to this day that bruise is as visible as it was the first time I noticed it.

I also had a reaction to a nurse putting an IV(when I was in ICU)into a place it obviously did not belong. She used this to drip potassium into my system during my 1st heart attack with aspiration pneumonia. This cause immediate pain and so much so I told her if she didn't take it out of my arm that I was going to yank it out.

My arm within hours was starting to bruise in the spot of the IV. When my doctor came in he immediately had this IV removed. I have no idea what he said to this nurse but I know what I said about her to him. I never saw that nurse again during my 8+ days in that ICU. Each day the bruise go darker and darker and bigger and bigger. It eventually run from my elbow all the way down to my hand.

It was so bad by Cardiologist posted a sign in my room that said "do not draw blood or inject any object into patient's left arm". This arm eventually turned completely black and remained this way for the best part of 6 months after I got out of the hospital. And yes, it was accompanied by pain where I had to be careful of the temperature of the water when I showered.

Another deep bruise that lasted for months was from a "hematoma" that formed at the insertion point when I had a Heart Catheterization. Fortunately for me I had not gone home from the hospital at this time or I probably would not be here typing this post. Anyone that has any hematoma knows that high level of pain that accompanies them. This particular one was in a very sensitive area and once again if someone does not know the insertion point for a heart cath, it can be easily found doing a google.

I spent hours of each day with an ice bag between my legs and I also slept for weeks doing the same. This eventually bruised in an area at least 8" down for the insertion point and also about 35-40% of the circumference of my leg. This bruise was visible for over 8 months by just looking at the area. In a warm shower I could still see some bruising well over a year after this hematoma.

At the time I was in my late 60's. Thought I would share my experiences with bruising of my body. Anyone that played/plays or is an On-Ice Official in ice hockey for any length of time has had bruises and injuries on about every part of their body starting from the head/face all the way down to their feet and toes, and most body parts in between.

Making an appointment to see his doctor is never a bad choice. Some can have DVT, which are killers, and they also can cause bruising. It is always better to err on the side of safety with unknowns.

[chrystaltree]

You already know that if he didn't injure hisself, a large bruise isn't a normal. And I agree that if he's like most guys, he won't go to a doctor for something like that. I do think asking for advice from ladies who shop is pointless. It's quite possible that he did bump or otherwise injure his arm a few days ago maybe even a week ago (it takes time for bruising to happen) and because it was not a big deal, he doesn't even remember that. Put warm compresses on it, not too hot and only for 15-20 minutes at a time. If it's painful, give him Tylenol or Advil. Black and blue marks take a long to fade but the pain (if he has any) should recede quickly. I wouldn't overeact. However, if he develops more epsiodes of spontaneous bruising then he should see a doctor and have it checked out.

[betteb]

Don't give him Advil or any other OTC anti-inflammatory (Motrin, ibuprofen, etc). It affects the platelets and can cause bleeding/bruising.

[sfnative]

Has your SO relented and decided to go to doctor? As with hckynut, I was involved in athletics for a number of years and can tell you that almost everyone sustrained a strain and/or a sprain multiple times.

I would disagree with your SO that he strained his arm. By your visual account, he may have sustained a 3rd degree "sprain," along with tearing of the triceps muscle. This is a worse case scenario, but would account for the amount of bruising (hematoma) and discomfort.

Clotting is always an issue in these cases and what one doesn't want to happen is the movement of a clot to the heart or lung. Again, worse case scenario.

If it were my SO, I would tell him to stop doing what caused the hematoma (large bruise); I would apply an ace bandage starting at the elbow and wrapping up to the shoulder (not too tight); and, have him checked out by his doc.

[Bird]

Cholesterol meds can cause muscle damage. A dear loved one has experience with the one that begins with "C" and ends with "r." Some damage can be reversed but for him, it caused some irreparable damage which has diminished his quality of life, for the rest of his life. - Bird

[RedTop]

On 2 occasions, I have hurt myself moving heavy furniture; one of which resulted in a ruptured blood vessel, and the other resulted in a strain with deep tissue bruising. Both were extremely ugly and looked far worse than they felt, and took several months to heal.