What is the reason for the black spots on the body

Sometimes when I look in the mirror I don’t know what’s going on, my body is covered with bruises, as if I’ve been beaten by someone. Some people may have bruises due to an impact, but sometimes the bruises come out of nowhere and the person themselves don’t know what happened. Generally, black and blue spots on the body are caused by ruptured blood vessels under the skin, which causes blood to accumulate under the skin and form purple and blue spots of varying sizes.

WHAT?

How does cyanosis occur?

Blue bruises are caused by rupture of subcutaneous blood vessels, which causes blood cells to leak out of the blood vessels and accumulate in the subcutaneous tissue.

The bruises that people have seen in life always come in various shapes and forms. In medicine, we divide the bruises into petechiae, purpura and ecchymosis according to their diameter from small to large.

The color of cyanosis is not as simple as "blue and purple". If you observe carefully, you will find that cyanosis is generally dark red or purple in the early stage, gradually turning into yellowish brown or yellowish green, and then slowly fades away. This is because the red blood cells leaking out of the blood vessels contain hemoglobin, which is then continuously metabolized into other substances, resulting in such color changes.

WHY?

It turns black and blue when touched. Why is that?

The normal human body has a very sophisticated and complex hemostasis system. When the body suffers external trauma, the "emergency defense system" will be activated. To understand why bruises occur, we must establish a basic understanding of this system. Simply put, this system consists of three aspects: blood vessels, platelets, and coagulation factors.

Blood vessels/platelets/clotting factors

Blood vessel

The blood vessels in the human body are like river banks, and the blood is like river water. In our subcutaneous tissue, there are many capillaries that are invisible to the naked eye. Their average diameter is only 8 microns, which is 10 times thinner than a hair. Blood flows through these vessels to the tissues, supplying them with nutrients they need for activity.

Platelets

Platelets in blood vessels are like bricks in a dam. When a blood vessel is broken, they will quickly gather at the rupture site, block the weak part of the blood vessel and prevent bleeding.

Coagulation factors

Coagulation factors are like cement. They can stick platelets together tightly, just like sticking bricks together to form a solid dam and prevent bleeding.

Under normal circumstances, the capillary walls will be damaged after the collision. At the same time, the blood vessels in the damaged area will quickly contract and close, and platelets and coagulation factors will flock in, working together to prevent the occurrence or expansion of bleeding.

If the injury is severe and our emergency defense system does not have time to fully stop the bleeding, part of the blood in the blood vessels will enter our subcutaneous tissue, and this part of the subcutaneous bleeding will become the bruises we see. Therefore, for most normal people, bruising will only occur when the collision is strong enough to cause sufficient damage to the capillaries.

However, for individuals with abnormalities in their defense system, bruises may appear with a slight touch or even without a collision. If you understand the three main elements necessary for hemostasis, the reasons for abnormal phenomena will not be difficult to explain.

Increased vascular fragility

They can be damaged after a minor injury, or their elasticity is poor and they cannot close quickly. For example, vascular purpura, which is common in the elderly, is caused by the loss of vascular elasticity.

Abnormal platelet count or function

Without such a "rescue team" in the body, the risk of natural bleeding will increase accordingly; for example, thrombocytopenic purpura, which is more common in young women, is caused by thrombocytopenia.

Abnormal amount or function of clotting factors

There are many types of coagulation factors in the human body, each with its own function. The lack of any one of them will lead to an increased risk of bleeding. The most well-known hemophilia is a hereditary coagulation factor deficiency. Patients usually suffer from continuous bleeding after minor injuries in their childhood.

HOW?

It turns black when touched, what should I do?

When you find bruises on your body, stay calm. Although many Korean dramas use bruises and nosebleeds as the introduction to the heroine's leukemia, in real life, the probability of such incidents happening is very low. You can use the following steps to make a preliminary judgment on whether you need to go to the hospital for treatment.

Recall: whether there was any bruise caused by collision;

Recall: Have you had frequent bruising recently? Whether taking any special medications;

Observation: size, location, distribution, shape and other characteristics of the black spots;

Observe further: Are there any other discomfort symptoms besides the bruises?

Based on the above points of judgment, if you find that the bruise is only in a single part and you do not feel any other discomfort, it is recommended that you continue to observe.

Generally speaking, bruises will be completely absorbed in about two weeks. If you think two weeks is too long, you can speed up the absorption process by applying cold compresses in the early stage (within one day after the injury), hot compresses in the later stage, or applying blood-activating drugs such as safflower oil and Yunnan Baiyao. However, other folk remedies such as puncture and bloodletting, cupping, etc. are traumatic to a certain extent, so it is recommended not to try them at home.

If you find any of the following situations during the judgment process, you must be vigilant and it is best to go to the hospital for treatment in time.

Black spots appear on multiple parts of the body in a short period of time, or the black spots gradually expand and absorption is delayed;

When the bruises appear, there are other discomfort symptoms, such as fever, joint pain, itchy skin, abdominal pain, hematuria, black stools, nosebleeds, dizziness, fatigue, yellow skin, etc.

Children and adolescents have large bruises or subcutaneous hemorrhages after minor injuries since childhood, and their relatives have the same condition;

This last point is very important! Many patients with cardiovascular diseases may use certain drugs to prevent thrombosis for a long time, such as aspirin, warfarin, clopidogrel, etc. These drugs have a certain risk of bleeding, which will make you more likely to get bruises. If you are taking these medications, it is recommended that you visit the doctor who prescribed them to evaluate whether the medication usage needs to be adjusted.

Doctor says

The human body is a very sophisticated instrument that always protects us in various ways. The easy appearance of bruises is a "signal" that can make us more vigilant and seek medical treatment in time. Generally speaking, doctors can find the root cause of the bruises by asking about medical history and conducting laboratory tests, so that they can provide symptomatic treatment and avoid more serious situations.