The purple color of the skin surface, which is defined as bruising or ecchymosis in medical language, can be defined as damage to the capillary structures under the skin due to impacts and blows to the skin.
Bruises, which become visible to the naked eye from the skin surface, may occur in different colors and shapes, as blood leaks under the skin from the damaged capillaries and this blood settles on the tissues.
These ecchymoses, which first turn purple, turn brown over time, and finally green, pass within a maximum of 18 days. Although bruising due to impact and blows is a very normal situation, in some cases, bruising may occur apart from these factors.
Causes of Bruises on the Body?
- The development of a decrease in the number or functionality of platelets in the blood may be disproportionate and cause sudden bruising in the body.
- Some people may experience bruising on the body due to heavy infections.
- The weakening of the tissues that support the vessels due to aging can also lead to larger bruising than expected in the person's body.
Other causes of bruising on the body;
- Vitamin C deficiency.
- Advanced age.
- Medicine. (blood thinners, antidepressants and steroids)
- Alcohol.
- Sport.
- Long stay in the sun.
What Diseases May Cause Bruises on the Skin?
Non-traumatic bruises on the skin can be caused by many different diseases.
- Leukemia, lymph node diseases and bone marrow cancer
- Blood diseases
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pneumonia, pneumothorax (filling of air in the lung), and bronchitis
- Intracranial bleeding
- Oxygen deprivation of the brain
- Congenital cardiovascular anomalies
- Heart valve diseases
- Heart failure
- Vascular system failures in the legs
- Exposure to cold weather