A person with this condition has little or no von Willebrand protein, which is important for blood clotting. Synthetic hormone treatment can improve blood clotting in people with the condition. Liver damage typically results from a serious case of alcoholism. If you notice any of these signs, you may have easy bruising. You may want to talk with your healthcare provider about the best treatment options available. Anytime you experience a minor injury or accident that damages the skin, it affects the blood vessels below the surface of your skin.
nose bleed after alcohol
Another health-related risk linked to chronic alcohol misuse is liver disease, which is often the cause of bruising from alcohol. Easy bruising can cause large bruises in multiple areas of the body, often at the same time. The most common causes are aging or a medication side effect. Bruising also can occur due to bleeding disorders or other rare medical conditions.
Diagnosis for easy bruising
If your bruise doesn’t improve within two weeks, or if you start to notice frequent, unexplained bruises—whether you’re drunk or sober—call your doctor. And when the blood vessels underneath your skin break, it causes blood to leak out. I am a licensed social worker.In my scope of practice I have worked in the areas of mental health and recovery for thirty years. The clients I have worked with in my career have ranged in age from seven to seventy. Bruises after drinking alcohol can occur for many reasons. Find out why this happens and how to get effective treatment.
- Senile purpura does not have links with any serious health condition, but it may increase the risk of skin tears.
- Anemia may be your first thought, but it’s not always the case.
- As you age, your skin gets thinner and you lose some of the layer of fat that cushions your blood vessels and protects you from injury.
- If your doctor suspects domestic abuse, you may be referred to a social worker.
- But if you often drink a lot of alcohol and you tend to get a lot of bruises, it may mean you’ve got liver problems.
Alcoholic Liver Disease Stages: Reversibility and Healing
- Here’s why you could be bruising easily, and when to see a doc.
- This is because your skin tends to become thinner as you age.
- The liver is responsible for metabolizing or processing ethanol, the main component of alcohol.
- Bleeding continues longer after an injury because the blood cannot clotted properly.
- A doctor can perform tests to see whether a person has a vitamin deficiency.
It’s less serious than a bone break, but the injury has damaged some alcohol and bruising part of the inside structure of your bone. Any type of bone in your body can be bruised, but if so, you’ll usually also have damage in nearby structures of your skeleton, such as your ligaments (tissues that connect your bones and joints). You may get bone bruises from sports injuries, car crashes, falls from a height, joint sprains, or medical conditions like arthritis. When you get an injury, blood may leak from the vessels (veins and capillaries) under your skin.
Why You Bruise More Easily When You Drink Alcohol
- Either the abuser or the person being abused may say that visible injuries are simply due to easy bruising.
- “Capillaries can be weak because there’s not enough protein to hold them in place or because of problems in the layers of the vessels,” she says.
- Sunnyside is the leading alcohol health platform focused on moderation and mindfulness, not sobriety.
- Rarely, an increase in bleeding and bruising may be a sign of leukemia.
- Alcohol impairs your cerebellum, the part of your brain that’s responsible for coordinating your movements, Swartzwelder says.
In our blood there are tiny particles called clotting factors and platelets; their job is to form clots only when the vessel wall is damaged (when you are wounded). It was very surprising for me to know that we damage our vessels every time you scratch your hand, kick the ball or keep your arm on the armrest for a long time! Micro-bleeds form at the location of these unnoticeable injuries and clotting factors along with the platelets take care of these micro-bleeds. When some of these factors are lost or dysfunctional your body will not be able to fix these micro-bleeds and they will turn into bruises. First, alcoholics are more likely to fall and injure themselves, which can cause bruising. Second, alcoholism can lead to a condition called thrombocytopenia, which is a low level of platelets in the blood.
Get Insurance-Covered Alcohol Rehab at Ohio Recovery
If the alcoholic liver disease is not treated, it can progress to later stages which include alcoholic hepatitis and cirrhosis, a scarring of the liver. Early damage to the liver causes fat to deposit onto the liver, resulting in hepatic steatosis, or alcoholic fatty liver disease. Fatty liver disease often has no symptoms and can usually be reversed. Low vitamin C levels can cause scurvy, which in turn can cause easy bruising.
