Have you ever gotten a bruise and cannot figure out how you got it?  Maybe you ran into something and just don’t remember it?  Or maybe you have started sleepwalking right into your furniture.  The truth is that as we all get older bruising ourselves gets more common.  Most of the time a bruise isn’t a concerning issue and will heal itself in a matter of days, but other times it is a sign of something more serious.  Before we scare the lot of you, lets go over some reasons why you might find a mysterious bruise and why that may not be a scary thing.

As we age, our bodies slowly change.  For example, our skin thins a little and we lose some of that protective fatty layer.  Younger people experience this as well if they have exposed themselves to too much sun.  The thinning of the skin just leaves our blood vessels a little more vulnerable to injury. Plus, our capilaries (those small blood vessels close to the surface of your skin) get more fragile over time.  More fragile blood vessels that have less protection can lead to an unsightly bruise when we bump into something too slight enough to take note of.

Some medicines are the culprit as well.  Anything that thins the blood reduces your blood’s ability to clot and thus, you bleed longer than you would otherwise.  So what could have been a small bruise or no bruise at all is suddenly noticeable.  Medicines that may cause this effect include:  aspirin, warfarin, and clopidogrel.  Dietary supplements like fish oil, ginko, and garlic can produce the same results.  Don’t stop taking your medicine or supplements just because you see a few more bruises though.  Talk to your doctor and see what he or she has to say first.

Bruises can be a sign of something more serious like a blood disease.  The Mayo Clinic urges you to please see your doctor if:

  • You have unusually large or painful bruises, particularly if your bruises seem to develop for no known reason
  • You’re bruising easily and you’re experiencing abnormal bleeding elsewhere, such as from your nose, gums or intestinal tract
  • You have no history of bruising but suddenly experience bruises, particularly if you recently started a new medication

For more information on bruises and what they could mean, please visit the Mayo Clinic’s website or ask your doctor.