You must have noticed that some people bruise easily, even with a slight scratch on their knee or elbow. If that sounds familiar to you, you must be wondering whether such people suffer from some kind of health problem. In most cases, rapid bruising is not associated with any kind of health problem, but sometimes it can be a symptom of some serious health issues.
Bruises are caused when small blood vessels, lying just beneath the skin, are broken either due to an injury or some other kind of physical blow. When the blood vessel breaks, the blood spills out of it and forms a bright dark and red mark which is known as a bruise. After a couple of days, human body absorbs the leaked blood back and the mark disappears from the skin. Women are more prone to bruising than men.
With age, bruising can become more frequent due to several reasons. As we age, the tissues supporting our capillaries become weak and hence our capillaries begin to rupture fast. Besides, as we age, the protective layer of fats beneath the skin begins to vanish and makes our capillaries more prone to easy bruising. Excessive sun exposure triggers this phenomenon.
Some blood thinning medicines, like aspirin, also reduces the body’s capability to form clots in the body. This causes frequent bruising because enough blood spills out of capillaries to form a mark beneath the skin.
Sometimes, topical and systematic medications, which are generally used to treat allergies, eczema and asthma, make skin thin enough to bruise easily. Surprisingly enough, sometimes nutritional supplements, like fish oil, also cause bruising because of their blood thinning properties.
