It’s also normal to experience more bruising as you get older. Your skin becomes thinner and more delicate, so even a minor injury may cause a bruise. Once alcohol use has been addressed, your doctor can alcohol and bruising on legs focus on the neuropathy itself. Nerve damage can also make it difficult for you to carry out the functions of daily life. The most important thing you can do to treat this condition is to stop drinking.

Pain Relievers

• Alcoholic fatty liver disease appears early on as fat deposits accumulate in the liver.
• The typical recommendation is to stick to 1-2 drinks per hour.
• If you do bruise more easily, a minor bump could lead to a bruise, and you may not remember the injury that caused bruises to appear on your leg.

It’s OK to put ice on your bruise several times a day, as long as you take a break after every time you do it. In many cases, random bruising doesn’t require any treatment at all and will heal on its own. They may also recommend blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) and a coagulation factor test, which check to see if there’s an issue with your ability to form blood clots. Unfortunately, once a bruise has formed, not much can be done to treat it. Most bruises eventually disappear as the body reabsorbs the blood, although healing might take longer as you age. However, if you bruise easily, even a minor bump can result in a substantial bruise.

• On people with lighter skin tones, bruises may start out red or purple soon after the injury, then turn light brown, green, or yellow as they heal.
• While not specifically approved for the treatment of alcoholic neuropathy, antidepressant medications are often prescribed to help control the pain.
• Place the whole bag of veggies on your bruise for 10 minutes at a time to ease the pain, just like you would with ice.
• Understanding your symptoms and signs and educating yourself about health conditions are also a part of living your healthiest life.
• But bruising shouldn’t always be dismissed so easily, says hematologist Dana Angelini, MD.

How Are the Causes of Random Bruising Diagnosed?

Alcohol and unexplained bruising could point to liver damage from drinking. Easy bruising and bleeding are signs of cirrhosis, which is a serious liver disorder. This condition has a high mortality rate and is not reversible. Older adults bruise more easily because their skin is thinner and they tend to have less muscle and fat to cushion their blood vessels from injury.

• Alcohol also alters the function of the stomach, liver, and kidneys in ways that prevent the body from properly detoxifying waste material.
• Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is an inherited condition that affects connective tissue like tendons and ligaments.
• According to one older study, people with close family members who bruise easily may also experience frequent bruising.
• Some conditions can make it harder for your blood to clot, which may increase your chance of bruising and bleeding.
• If a person continues to drink despite health-related problems, bruises after drinking may be a consequence that arises from alcohol misuse.

Why is easy bruising so common in older adults?

When the cause of bruising is unclear, your doctor will likely order blood work to check for platelet problems or other blood clotting abnormalities. Their thinning skin often has less fat underneath to cushion the blood vessels. Blood pooling and clotting beneath the surface causes skin discoloration.

Symptoms of scurvy include bleeding issues that may lead to bruising. Sometimes, however, bruising is a symptom of a more significant health issue. Most of the time, bruising occurs when a person bumps into things, falls, or injures themselves in another way.

• Vitamin C or K deficiency, bleeding disorders such as hemophilia or Von Willebrand disease, or cancer can cause bruising.
• This article discusses risk possible causes of unexplained bruising, how to treat random bruising, and when to seek medical attention.
• Treatment may include chemotherapy, radiation, and bone marrow transplantation.
• Fatty liver disease often has no symptoms and can usually be reversed.
• Blood platelets are specific cells that exist within the blood.