Steps That Help To Prevent Bruising
By: JanDoan Date: Mon, 7 Dec 2009 Time: 4:12 PM
A people grow older, they tend to be more prone to bruising than they were in younger years. As your body ages, there is less protection under the skin than there was in earlier years. While most bruised offer no serious health challenges and do not require special treatment, there are ways to prevent bruising and ways to help a bruise that does occur to heal.
Although it is a simple step, it is also a very effective one to simply keep clothing over the areas where you often bruise yourself. Long sleeves can protect the arms. Long pants can protect the legs. Long sweaters will protect the hips, while shoes protect the feet and the toes. For bruises on the forearm or thighs there are pads available the will help to protect you. See your pharmacist in order to locate these pads.
Vitamin K is one of the vitamins that are necessary to cause the blood to clot. Green leafy vegetables and members of the cabbage family contain high amounts of this vitamin. In addition, consider vitamin K supplements. If you are taking blood thinners, talk with your doctor before adding vitamin K supplements.
If you have a bruise, crush fresh parsley and spread the crushed leaves onto the bruise. This promotes healing and can help to fade the black and blue of a bruise in as little as a day. An adhesive bandage or gauze and tape can hold the parsley in place.
If you are on a daily aspirin regime, be sure that you are taking the 81 mg aspirin and not the regular strength 325 mg adult dose. Daily aspirin of the adult dose will thin the blood too much and cause leakage through the capillaries. This can lead to easy bruising of your body.
A good multivitamin supplement may also help. In addition to providing the vitamin K already discussed, it can provide vitamin C. These vitamins can help to keep your body healthy and avoid bruises.
If you do discover a bruise, remember the acronym RICE. You need to rest the injured area in order for it to heal. Ice causes the capillaries to shrink and can help to prevent further bruising. Compression and elevation work together to cause the blood to drain out from the injured areas. Following this procedure can not only help to prevent further damage to the tissue, it can also help to heal the damage that has already been done.
Finally, eat citrus fruit every day. While you can get some vitamin C from a supplement, citrus fruit can also help to strengthen the walls of the capillaries. As the capillaries are stronger, they are less likely to leak and there is less bruising. Vitamin C is also instrumental in healing in the body. A daily dose of citrus fruit can help to prevent and heal bruises.
While bruises may not be harmful, they can be painful. They are can also be very ugly. By taking the proper steps you can both prevent bruising and help to heal any bruises that do happen to form. This will help to stop the pain more readily.
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