Cause For Bruising Needs To Be Identified

February 24, 2009 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I am a 64-year-old male in reasonably good health for the life I have lived. But in the last five weeks or so, I have had three baseball-sized bruises on my thighs, midway up, for no apparent reason. The first was on the outside of my right thigh and about two weeks later, one appeared on the inside of my left thigh. Now I have one on the inside of my right thigh.

Do you have any idea as to the cause?

DEAR READER:
Bruising is generally the result of injury. Minor trauma such as hoisting a heavy box and resting it on your thighs. The process doesn’t appear to cause damage, yet it can be extreme enough for blood to clot beneath the surface of the skin and result in a bruise.

Aspirin, Advil, Naproxen, Motrin and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories can also cause contusions, as can physician-prescribed corticosteroids and prednisone. [Read more...]

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April 11, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
I enjoy your column and want to respond to the person with bruise-looking blotches. I, too, had the condition. I went to a health food store where I was told to take 1000 mg vitamin C complex or grape seed capsules. I take the complex twice daily and have not had a problem since, unless I fall or hit something hard.

DEAR READER:
Spontaneous bruising, a common consequence of aging and vitamin C deficiency, should be medically evaluated with appropriate blood tests to check clotting factors. This is a relatively inexpensive procedure and, in some patients, will show a clotting deficiency. While your bruising responded to vitamin C, I recommend you speak with your primary care physician for his opinion.

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