How To Get Rid of Bruises: 10 Tips That Will Help With Bruising

According to the Mayo Clinic, a bruise is “when a trauma breaks blood vessels near your skin's surface, allowing a small amount of blood to leak into the tissues under your skin. The trapped blood may cause a bruise that at first looks like a black-and-blue mark and then changes color as it heals.” 

Doesn’t sound very good, look very good, or feel very good, but bruises are a part of life. 

The good news is, there are steps that you can take to speed up the healing process and get back to your active self sooner rather than later. 

Before we get into how you can get rid of bruises, let's go into a little more background on what might be behind this bruising.

Why Do I Seem To Bruise So Easily?

There are many reasons that you may bruise easier than others, though there are some conditions that result in easier bruising such as anemia and high levels of cortisol.

Anemia

Anemia is a condition in which you lack enough healthy red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your body’s tissue. The underlying issue with this condition is low levels of iron, which weaken the outer membrane of blood cells and leave them susceptible to breaking, causing bruising. 

Maintaining adequate levels of iron is incredibly important for health in general and bruising can be a major sign that something may be off.

High Levels of Cortisol

Cortisol is commonly recognized as the “stress” hormone, and can negatively influence an array of processes in your body from how well you sleep to how tense you feel, in addition to how easily you bruise. 

Thankfully, there are easy ways to naturally lower your cortisol levels, which not only can help with skin changes like easy bruising, but also helps soothe tension and feelings of stress in your body as a whole and improve how you feel overall in your day to day. 

One of the easiest ways to lower your cortisol is with the KSM66® Ashwagandha you’ll find in Men's Essentials. Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that can help support how your body manages stress, working alongside other key ingredients including S7™, CoQ10, DHEA, and omega-3 to support your health and wellness.

How To Treat a Bruise

Let’s talk simple tips that can both reduce the appearance of bruises and help get you healed faster. 

Roll-On Arnica Montana Oil & Methyl Salicylate

While arnica montana oil can help decrease healing time in bruises, aches, and sprains as an immune system stimulant, methyl salicylate works to temporarily relieve the ache with a cooling, soothing effect.

The best way to take advantage of this power duo? Use them as a part of ASYSTEM’s Radical Relief Gell Roll-On, which is packed with other anti-inflammatory, pain-relieving ingredients like Hemp Isolate CBD, DMSO, and more, that work synergistically together to give you instant, targeted relief.

R-I-C-E

Rest - As mentioned above, a bruise is an injury just like a sprain, strain, pull or break. With any injury the first thing to do is get off the injury and give it some time to start healing. 

Ice - Ice, frozen peas, or that steak that’s been sitting in the freezer can all work miracles on bruising. The sooner you get something cold on the injury the quicker you can reduce the damage. Ice slows and eventually stops the blood from leaving the ruptured cells. This reduces both the size and color of the injured area.

Compression -  This one goes hand in hand with the ice. The sooner you get compression around the trauma the less bruising will occur. Compression can mean fancy socks or sleeves specifically designed for this purpose or plastic wrap, wrapped tightly around the area! Compression works to limit blood flow to the region meaning a smaller bruise.

Elevate - The final piece of the RICE puzzle is to elevate the injury. Typically, we elevate an injury to reduce swelling, but ultimately we are just slowing the blood flow to the area by putting it above, or level with our heart. 

Heat

As with icing, heat can alternatively be used to boost circulation and increase blood flow. This will help to clear away the trapped blood once a bruise has already formed. Application of heat can also help to loosen tense muscles and relieve pain. A heating pad, hot bath or even rice bag can all work equally to reduce pain and flush the bruise.

Vitamin K Cream

Vitamin K is an essential nutrient that helps reduce blood clotting. This nutrient has been shown to reduce the severity of bruising when applied at least twice per day. Vitamin K is available in cream form which is most applicable to bruising but may also be found in pill form. If you prefer to get your fill naturally, this nutrient can be found in many leafy greens such as broccoli and spinach, vegetable oils, or even cereal grains.

Comfrey

Comfrey is a plant that is often used to treat skin ailments and inflammation. Comfrey cream has been shown to be effective at healing wounds and bruises quicker. 

It can also be found as a tea, salve or oil depending on your preferred application and also provides numerous other benefits.

Aloe Vera

Aloe vera’s healing properties will help quicken the recovery phase of broken blood vessels under the skin's surface. When applied topically to the skin, the gel and moisture in aloe give bruises an environment where broken vessels can quickly and effectively repair themselves.

Bromelain

Eat a pineapple! Pineapple has a powerful enzyme known as bromelain. This enzyme digests protein which helps to flush out fluids trapped in tissue. Bromelain also has been shown to improve recovery time, reduce swelling, help your body’s natural bruise healing process, and help relieve some discomfort. 

When To See a Doctor

Rarely will a bruise require a trip to the doctor, but it can happen. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind on when to get a bruise checked out by a professional.

• If the bruise is accompanied by swelling and extreme pain, especially if you take a blood-thinning medication for a medical condition.
• If bruising occurs easily or for no apparent reason.
• If a bruise does not improve within two weeks or fails to completely clear after three or four weeks.
• Go to an emergency room if you think you have a broken bone along with the bruise.

Conclusion

In conclusion, bruises can be a nuisance in terms of both just the physical appearance as well as the associated aching or the tenderness. 

It’s important to know that rarely, bruising can be a sign of more serious conditions as outlined, but more often than not, it’s usually just a minor trauma. Bruises will most often heal themselves in a week or two at most with minor discomfort. 

If that’s too long for you, we’ve provided nine foolproof tips to get you better, faster, and if you’re looking to help nourish your body with the ingredients it needs to protect itself just a little better no matter what activities you get into, check out Superhuman Supplements by ASYSTEM here.

Sources

https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-bruise/basics/art-20056663

https://www.healthline.com/health/random-bruising#nutrient-deficiency

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-comfrey