Bruising more common as we age

November 18, 2010 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: I enjoy your column. I’m a 68-year-old female in good health but recently developed unsightly red bruise marks on my arms and legs. These seem to occur without my even knowing that I have hit something. Sometimes the skin breaks, and it is hard to stop the bleeding. My dermatologist says the bruises are due to lost skin elasticity.

I grew up in an era when sunscreen was unknown. Do you know of anything that would help? The only thing the dermatologist recommended was to moisturize.

DEAR READER: You share a common problem with many other people. As we age, our skin becomes thinner and loses some of the fat that cushions our blood vessels against injury. [Read more…]

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Thin skin normal in elderly

February 18, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT: This question has probably been asked and anwered, but here goes. I have noticed as I get older that my skin seems to be thinner. Minor scratches and bumps now seem to take forever to heal, but just a few years ago, they would have healed in just a few days. Is there anything we can do to toughen up our skin?

DEAR READER: Fragile, thin skin is age-related. as we grow older, the skin becomes more easily injured. There is no treatment for this condtion except to apply moistuizing cream if the skin is dry.

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Daily Column

January 1, 2008 By

DEAR DR. GOTT:
This question has probably been asked and answered but here goes. I have noticed as I get older my skin seems to be thinner. Minor scratches and bumps now seem to take forever to heal but just a few years ago, they would have healed in just a few days. Is there anything we can do to toughen up our skins?

DEAR READER:
Fragile, thin skin is age-related; as we grow older the skin becomes more easily injured. There is no treatment for this condition to my knowledge except to apply moisturizing cream if the skin is dry.

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