You can get bruises without bumping into something
Whenever you run into something (whether it hurts or not) you can get a bruise. Usually, you know exactly where that particular bruise came from. Because you remember how much it hurt when you bumped your arm on the edge of the table (ouch!). But what about those bruises that just seem to appear out of nowhere?
Discolorations
Let’s first take a closer look at bruises: what are they exactly? Bruises are basically bloodstains underneath your skin. Whenever you bump into something really hard, your blood vessels can damage. This damage causes small amounts of blood to leak out of the vessel. This small pool of blood will cause a discoloration under the skin, resulting in yellow, blue, black, purple or brown patches. Everyone can get bruises, although some people bruise more easily; like older people. So a ‘regular’ bruise comes from damage to your blood vessels. But what if you never bumped into something? What causes these inexplicable bruises?
Vitamins
One of the explanation for these inexplicable discolorations, is a vitamin deficiency. If your body’s vitamin levels are low, it influences your blood. Vitamins like vitamin C, B12 or K are connected to your blood. Vitamin C takes care of iron storage and, along with vitamin B12, helps prevent anemia. If your vitamin C and B12 levels are low, you will bruise more easily. Vitamin K causes your blood to clot. Blood clotting makes sure that your blood vessels don’t lose a lot of blood when they get injured. If your blood doesn’t clot very well, you will get more bruises because more blood will leave your damaged blood vessels.
Medication
Another explanation for your mysterious bruises, is medication. When you take blood thinners for the treatment of thrombosis, you will get more bruises than someone who is not taking that type of medication. If you read the medication package insert that comes with your medication, you can find out whether it will make you more prone to bruising; bruising will be listed as a side effect.
If you don’t take medication and you’re still worried about the bruises that seem to pop up out of nowhere, you should contact your doctor. They can help you figure out what is causing these bruises and help settle your nerves.
Also read: Suffering from joint pain? Try these thirteen natural remedies to combat this
Source: Cleveland Clinic, Hematology, Max Vandaag | Image: Pexels, Karolina Grabowska