Easy Bruising In Older Adults

The most common reasons for easy bruising aren’t a major cause for alarm. Bruising easily is pretty common among older adults due to aging capillaries, thinner skin, and sun damage, says Kasteler. Sun Damage Speaking of which, people with chronic sun damage continually bruise their arms, Kasteler says.

Easy bruising can sometimes be a symptom of a disease or health issue. For instance, sepsis (a bacterial infection), chronic inflammatory disease, liver disease and certain types of cancer can all cause you to bruise easily.

Easy bruising is common with age. Although most bruises are harmless and go away without treatment, easy bruising can sometimes be a sign of a more serious problem. Most bruises form when small blood vessels (capillaries) near the skin’s surface are broken by the impact of a blow or injury-often on the arms or legs.

The most common cause of arm bruising is trauma. A broken bone or severe sprain may cause bruising to the arm. Children tend to incur more bruises than adults as a result of their higher activity levels.

You may begin to bruise easily if you aren’t getting enough iron. That’s because your body needs iron to keep your blood cells healthy. If your blood cells aren’t healthy, your body won’t be able to get the oxygen that it needs to function. This may make your skin more susceptible to bruising. Other symptoms of iron deficiency include:

Easy bruising may be a result of a seemingly insignificant compression of skin or there may be no skin injury recollected. Easy bruising can occur when the blood vessels are weakened by diseases (such as scurvy), medications (such as aspirin, prednisone, and prednisolone), and aging.

A person should seek medical attention any time they have the following symptoms or issues associated with bruising: a suspected broken bone. loss of function of a joint, limb or muscle. increasing pain. an area is affected by a bruise that returns. there is no identifiable cause of the bruising.

As a person ages, they tend to bruise more easily. People tend to bruise more easily as they age because blood vessels become weaker and the skin thins. Easy bruising may also run in families, so people whose relatives bruise easily may notice that they do as well.

Some of the causes of bruising for no reason include age, medication, or serious disease. Bruising for no reason may be a signal to consult a healthcare professional. As people age, capillary walls become less able to withstand the bumps and jostling of daily activities.

Also, if you begin to feel a lot of pressure or pain in a bruised part of your body, you could be suffering from compartment syndrome. This happens when pressure increases on the soft tissue and structure underneath your skin and reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to tissues.