Some herbs and supplements can cause you to bleed more easily, either when used alone or in combination with other medications. It’s possible that this can cause you to bruise more easily as a result of platelet function and other changes. People diagnosed with a mast cell disorder also may bruise easily. These immune system disorders, with subtypes that range from the comparatively mild to life-threatening, are genetic and rare.

Lifestyle Quizzes

Your primary care provider will refer you to a hematologist if you have continued significant bruising larger than one centimeter with no known trauma. Alcohol-related neuropathy can damage the nerves involved in movement. Once alcohol use has been addressed, a doctor can focus on treating alcohol-related neuropathy itself. Treatment will depend on the type, location, and severity of your symptoms.

Yellowing of your skin and eyes

• If you’d like to learn even more about cirrhosis, watch our other related videos or visit mayoclinic.org.
• People who drink beer and liquor may be more likely to experience liver disease when compared with those who consume other alcoholic beverages, such as wine.
• Alcoholic neuropathy occurs when too much alcohol damages the peripheral nerves.
• It’s important to share any history of alcohol use with the doctor to receive an accurate diagnosis.

When you bruise easily, it can Substance abuse sometimes seem just as easy to identify the cause, such as advancing age or a blood thinner medication you’re taking. But some people who develop large bruises, multiple bruises at the same time, or bruises (also called contusions) that happen without a known cause, may have an underlying medical condition. It’s less serious than a bone break, but the injury has damaged some part of the inside structure of your bone. You may get bone bruises from sports injuries, car crashes, falls from a height, joint sprains, or medical conditions like arthritis. It’s also very rare, but sometimes, a bruise on your breast may be a sign of a breast infection (mastitis) or inflammatory breast cancer.

What is alcohol-related neurologic disease?

Hence, drinking alcohol makes it harder for your immune system to gear up and mount a defense response against invading pathogens and viruses. As a result, you may find yourself having frequent sore throat pains, catching colds and infections more often. Erin is a Nurse Practitioner with 8 years of experience in midwifery and women’s health. She has spent the past 5 years specializing in the treatment of opioid bruising from alcohol and alcohol use disorders.

healing a bruise

A biopsy may also be required to identify the severity, extent and cause of liver damage. If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider. Other ways to get help include talking with a mental health professional or seeking help from a support group such as Alcoholics Anonymous or a similar type of self-help group. Sometimes alcohol causes such severe damage to the body that a liver transplant may be necessary.

We provide online medication assisted treatment for alcohol use, so you can begin your recovery from home. According to the National Library of Medicine, a bruise is a mark under the skin, usually painful and swollen, that occurs because of blood trapped beneath the skin’s surface. When a person gets a bruise, some sort of injury crushes blood vessels, but the skin does not break and cause external bleeding. When someone develops an alcohol use disorder, they will show signs or symptoms that are characteristic of this condition. Only a couple of drinks can cause vasodilation of blood vessels close to the skin, leading to potential bruising if you bump your body against a hard surface. According to Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D. (coauthor of Buzzed), consistent vasodilation caused by drinking alcohol leads to more blood flowing through your blood vessels.

How a bruise looks depends on a lot of things, including your natural skin tone, how bad the injury that caused it was, and how long you’ve had it. You will likely see some discolored skin until the bruise completely heals. But a serious bruise is more likely to be large, painful, swollen, or lumpy. Take an over-the-counter pain medicine, such as acetaminophen. Check with your doctor before using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like aspirin or ibuprofen, because these can make bleeding and bruising worse. People who run regularly may get something called a stone bruise (metatarsalgia).

• According to the CDC, moderate drinking is defined as having two standard drinks or less per day for men and one drink or less per day for women.
• This is of particular concern when you’re taking certain medications that also depress the brain’s function.
• If you notice early signs of alcohol-related liver disease, be sure to follow up with your doctor.
• The median life expectancy from this point is 10 to 12 years.
• Consuming food while drinking alcohol may reduce the pace at which alcohol is absorbed into your circulation.

Autonomic Neuropathy

• The best approach to prevent alcohol-induced bruising is to minimize or stop consuming alcohol in large volumes.
• Blood cells called platelets stop your bleeding, but the pool of blood under your skin can change your skin color and cause swelling, pain, and tenderness.
• And since the liver controls blood clotting, alcohol-related liver disease can cause increased bruising, as well.
• Vasodilation is the widening of the blood vessels caused by the relaxation of the muscles in these blood vessels.
• Coordination problems from alcohol consumption make injuries more likely, and since alcohol dilates the blood vessels, you’re more likely to bruise if you do fall or bump into something.

If necessary, your doctor can pierce your nail to drain the blood and fluid built up underneath. Don’t do this yourself because you could hurt yourself further, cause an infection, and slow your healing process. Blood thinners such as warfarin, heparin, and aspirin can cause you to bleed and get bruises more often.