Treating bruises

Unless you wrap yourself in cotton wool, you'll never be bruise-proof. But you can lessen the likelihood of large bruises and shrink and heal the bruises you occasionally incur. Here's how:

Put the chill on bruises. Use an ice pack to treat any injury that might lead to a bruise, advises emergency room physician Hugh Macaulay, M.D., of Aspen Valley Hospital in Aspen, Colorado. The ice pack must be applied as quickly as possible following the injury and treatment continued for 24 hours if you suspect that the bump will blossom into a severe bruise.

Apply the ice pack at 15-minute intervals. Don't apply heat between ice packs, but allow your skin to warm naturally.

Cooling constricts the blood vessels, and that means less blood spills into the tissues to cause that big black splotch. A cold pack also minimizes the swelling and numbs the area, so it won't hurt as much as a bruise left unchilled.

Follow ice with heat. After 24 hours, use heat to dilate the blood vessels and improve circulation in the area, says dermatologist Sheldon V. Pollack, M.D., associate professor of medicine at Duke University School of Medicine.

Prop your foot up. Bruises are little reservoirs of blood. Blood, like any liquid, runs downhill. If you do a lot of standing, blood that has collected in a bruise will seep down through your soft tissues and find other places to puddle.

Add some vitamin C to your daily diet. Studies at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, show that people who lack vitamin C in their diets tend to bruise more easily. And their wounds heal more slowly.

Vitamin C helps build protective collagen tissue around blood vessels in the skin, says Dr. Pollack. Your face, hands, or feet contain less collagen than, say, your thighs, so bruises in those areas are often darker, says Dr. Macaulay.

If you bruise easily, Dr. Pollack suggests 500 milligrams of vitamin C three times a day to help build your collagen. Although vitamin C is not considered toxic, taking high doses should still get sanction from your doctor.

Watch those medications. People who take aspirin to protect against heart disease will find that a bump turns into a bruise very easily. Some people taking blood thinners will find they bruise easily, too. Other drugs such as anti-inflammatory drugs, antidepressants, or asthma medicines can inhibit clotting under the skin and cause larger bruises. Alcoholics or drug abusers tend to bruise easily, too. If you are taking medicine that might cause easy bruising, talk to your doctor about the problem.

Source: Mothernature.com

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