What is a bruise (ecchymosis)?
“Ecchymosis” (pronounced “eh-chuh-mow-sis”) is the medical term for a bruise. A bruise, or contusion, is skin discoloration from damaged, leaking blood vessels underneath your skin. Even though there’s blood pooling underneath your skin, you won’t have any external bleeding unless your skin breaks open.
The collection of blood makes a bruise visible. Bruises form a mark on your skin that ranges in color from black, blue, purple, brown or yellow. Your body’s blood cells repair damaged blood vessels to help you heal.
What are other similar types of bleeding?
There are several types of bleeding that cause skin discoloration, including:
- Hematoma: Trauma, such as a car accident or major fall, can cause a hematoma. A hematoma is a larger collection of blood outside of blood vessels that’s typically raised and causes pain to the touch.
- Petechiae: These are pinpoint areas (less than 2 millimeters) of reddish dots on your skin that don’t turn white after applying gentle pressure.
- Purpura: This is small bleeding under your skin. Purpura are smaller than ecchymosis but larger than petechiae.
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Who gets bruises?
Bruises are very common and will affect everyone at some point in their life. Bruises can occur from a fall, accident, sports injury or medical procedure. People older than 65 years are more likely to bruise, along with women and people assigned female at birth.
There are some bleeding disorders and medical conditions that may make you more prone to bruising, including:
- Having cancer or liver disease.
- Having family members who bruise easily.
- Taking medications to thin blood or stop clotting, such as aspirin or blood thinners.
- Regularly taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for pain relief, including ibuprofen (Advil®) or naproxen (Aleve®).
- Having a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia, von Willebrand disease or another blood clotting condition.
- Experiencing a low blood platelet count (thrombocytopenia).
- Having a vitamin C or vitamin K deficiency.
