Blue Spot - Causes, Consequences and Home Remedies

Hematoma - causes, consequences and treatment

Everyone knows blue spots. They are usually harmless. The stains are due to a vascular damage, for example, by the impact against a table edge or bruising while gardening or doing housework. However, if bruises are heaped and just for no apparent reason, a doctor should be consulted. Here's how home remedies can help with a bruise.

contents

• Hematoma - causes, consequences and treatment
• causes
• symptoms
• prevention
• home remedies
• Cool
• warmth
• arnica
• save
• marigold
• heparin
• Schüßler salts
• Pferdesalbe
• Acetic acid clay
• Heilerde
• St. John's Wort oil
• lavender oil
• Help from within
• Cabbage or savoy wrap
• herb mixture
• nutrition
• love bite
• cupping
• When to the doctor

causes

Mostly bruises occur in connection with small injuries, bumps or accidents. Blood vessels are damaged and blood enters the tissues. This is then seen as a hematoma or colloquially as a bruise. Normally, these more or less painful patches form back on their own. Depending on the trauma, the hematomas can have different sizes and characteristics.

Blue spots are common after surgery, as tissue is generally damaged during these procedures. If you do not press long enough after taking a blood sample, the chances of getting a bruise are the same. Even a normal injection can cause such a stain. During intensive muscle work, small, fine cracks can develop in the capillaries, which can also cause bruising.

Blue spots can indicate illnesses, especially if they have no visible external effect. Image: Photographee.eu - fotolia

Patients taking blood thinners are much more likely to develop bruising, often after gentle bumps. With age, the risk of getting hematomas increases. The skin becomes thinner and the vessels are less stable. Thus, those affected are more vulnerable and therefore more susceptible to minor bumps to get a bruise. Children, who are usually very active, are also more affected and women more often than men. Last but not least, excessive exposure to the sun damages the skin and makes it more susceptible to hematoma formation.

symptoms

Such a spot turns bluish in a short time. You may even get swelling and pain. In the course of the bruise then takes on a variety of colors - from reddish to purple to green and yellow.

prevention

Although the bumping at the open drawer or at night at the edge of the bed can not always be avoided. However, during sporting activities, such as roller skating, helmet, elbow and knee pads can be worn to prevent injury and bruising. Also for many other sports appropriate protective equipment is available, which should be used.

home remedies

The following home remedies help in the prevention, but also in the treatment of the already existing bruises.

Cool

So that a bruise does not even form or at least does not become so big, the affected area should be cooled as quickly as possible. The blood vessels contract and the blood can not easily escape into the surrounding tissue. Ice cubes packed in a cloth, an ice pack from the freezer wrapped in a towel or - if nothing of it at hand - a tea towel dipped in cold water and placed on the sore spot. It is important that the ice should never reach the skin directly. Cooling is also some quark, which is brought directly from the refrigerator to the affected spot. If nothing is at hand, just hang up a cool tablespoon. It also helps to squeeze the spot where the bruise will eventually appear - best for a minute.

warmth

Heat sounds a bit strange in this context. First, it is cooled and then heat is announced after about 24 hours. Blue spots can be alleviated a bit. A warm bath, a peat pack or a quark wrap. The quark is placed in a cloth and placed on the painful area and wrapped with warm towels - for a period of about two hours. The cloths are renewed when they are no longer warm - or kept warm with a hot water bottle. Also helpful is a wrap with jacket potatoes, as they store the heat for a long time. The potatoes are cooked in bowl, then tied in a cloth and crushed in it. This pack gets bruised - but only when the potatoes are not that hot anymore.

arnica

Arnica helps with blue spots from inside and outside. From the inside as a homeopathic remedy, from the outside in the form of an ointment or a gel. External application should be made two to three times a day. Also, a small cloth dipped in Arnica tincture and applied to the bruise.

save

High storage and protection support the healing process and thus the healing of bruises.

marigold

Marigold, known in technical terms as calendula, is an all-round artist. It helps with blunt, but also smaller, open injuries and can be used internally and externally. Applied internally, in the form of tinctures or in homeopathic dilution, it has a decongestant, anti-inflammatory and healing. Their effect is both inward and outward. An outer ointment with calendula ointment relieves the pain of a bruise, is astringent and curative.

The essence of calendula is a well-suited home remedy. (Image: fotoknips / fotolia.com)

heparin

Heparin is mainly used in conventional medicine. However, heparin-containing ointments are available as over-the-counter agents in the pharmacy. The use of heparin in medicine is mainly used to prevent blood clots. For this purpose, for example, this is injected after surgery. In the form of an ointment, heparin promotes blood circulation, reduces swelling and accelerates the removal of the bruise.

Schüßler salts

Schuessler salts also promise relief in the case of blue spots. Externally, the creams No. 3 Ferrum phosphoricum and No. 11 Silicea are best applied as quickly as possible. They can be mixed in the hand and then placed quite thickly on the painful area - possibly also as an ointment dressing overnight. In addition, in-house intake of No. 3 Ferrum Phosphoricum, No. 11 Silicea, and No. 10 Sodium Sulfuricum also help.

Pferdesalbe

Horse ointment bears her name, as she was originally used only for the treatment of horse joints. However, such an ointment has long been available to people on the market for muscle and joint pain. The ingredients such as arnica, camphor, rosemary and menthol also help to heal bruises.

Acetic acid clay

Acetic clay was part of the medicine chest of our grandmothers. It was used for bruises, strains, sunburn and insect bites. Fortunately, this home remedy still exists today, also known as the aluminum acetate tartrate solution. It is used for blunt injuries and also for bruises. For an envelope, the acetic clay is diluted with water 1:10 or 1:15. Caution should be exercised with sensitive skin, as this substance may cause irritation. Open positions may not be treated with this. On the go, this home remedy is also available in tablet form. One tablet is dissolved with 100 times the amount of water and the envelope solution is ready.

Heilerde

Also helpful in the treatment of bruises is the healing earth. This is mixed with some water to a pulp and then applied a little thicker on the painful area. When the healing clay is completely dried out, it is washed off with lukewarm water.

Healing earth nourishes the skin and relieves hematomas (Image: emmi / fotolia)

St. John's Wort oil

A simple home remedy for smaller bruises is St. John's wort oil. This has anti-inflammatory, analgesic and blood circulation. Due to its red color, this oil is also called red oil. The painful spots are rubbed gently with it several times a day. When buying it is essential to pay attention to quality.

lavender oil

Like St. John's wort oil, lavender oil is a good home remedy for bruises. This oil can be easily made at home. Ten drops of high-quality lavender essential oil are mixed with 100 ml base oil (for example, almond oil or sesame oil) and rubbed with the spots several times a day. Finished oil blends are commercially available.

Help from within

Even from the inside you can help with blue spots. Enzyme-rich fruits such as pineapple, papaya and mango promote healing. If you do not want to eat them, you can use tablets containing their enzymes. The pharmacies hold various preparations here. But not everyone is allowed to eat them. Patients who take blood-thinning medications have to do without it. A consultation in the pharmacy is therefore definitely recommended.

Cabbage or savoy wrap

It is best to use the fresh inner leaves of cabbage or savoy cabbage. These are rolled with a rolling pin or a bottle until some juice comes out and then rolled up in a kitchen towel and placed on the bruises - preferably overnight.

herb mixture

The following herbal mixture may support the healing of the bruises. Arnica, St. John's wort, marigold and comfrey are mixed in equal parts. One tablespoon of the mixture is poured with about 250 ml of boiling water and strained after ten minutes. The remaining plants are placed as a compress directly on the bruises and covered with a warm cloth. This compress can be repeated two to three times a day, preparing a fresh infusion each time.

nutrition

Those who are prone to bruising should reconsider their diet. Sufficient vitamin C and also vitamin K are important. Beware: Those who take blood thinners such as Marcumar, called vitamin K antagonists, should avoid vegetables containing vitamin K.

love bite

Our grandmothers were of the opinion that a hickey is not only morally reprehensible but also harmful to health. Today the opinion is different. Hickeys are usually harmless. They are created by sucking on the skin, whereby the smallest blood vessels burst. These stains usually disappear by themselves or they are treated with the above home remedies. In extremely rare cases, however, a blood clot may develop and the hickey have life-threatening consequences.

cupping

Cupping is a naturopathic method that intentionally creates bruises. In this ancient healing method, the application of special cupping glasses creates a negative pressure. Thus a vessel sucks on the skin. The tissue is thus greatly supplied with blood and the lymphatic flow stimulated. Debris is removed, tension and hardening dissolved.

Blue spots are also caused by cupping. (Image: Kzenon / fotolia.com)

When to the doctor

Anyone who simply gets bruised for no reason at all should seek medical advice. Because liver diseases, blood coagulation disorders or a malignant disease are among the possible, albeit rare, causes. In addition, large spots and those near a joint should be examined by a doctor. Large bruises that spread quickly or those that cause great pain must also be cleared up. Last but not least, it is possible to treat very extensive bruises with leeches. (Sw)
Specialist supervision: Barbara Schindewolf-Lensch (doctor)