With closed damage to tissues or organs that did not violate their structure, doctors talk about bruising. What is such an injury, how are its symptoms manifested and first aid is provided, we will describe later in the article.
A bruise is the result of a stroke
Each of us probably fell more than once, knocked down his knees, hit his hard surface with his elbow, head or other part of the body, and as a result received an injury that could be characterized as a bruise. Remember what it looks like?
In this case, to a greater extent, those tissues that are located on the surface are damaged - that is, the skin (the most common type of injury), subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and sometimes the periosteum. In some cases, internal organs may also be bruised - for example, a brain bruise can result from a head punch.
That is, the main cause of any bruise can be called a blow (something or something), which affects the soft tissues, forcing them to forcefully press against the bones, which, in fact, leads to injury.
How does the bruise manifest
To understand how serious the situation is after a fall or hit, you should be well aware of the main symptoms of the bruise.
- The main one is pain that occurs on a damaged part of the body.
- If the blow had sufficient strength, then as a result of the rupture of small vessels under the skin or on it, hemorrhages may appear in the form of a bruise or bleeding abrasion.
- Another symptom of a bruise can be considered small swelling that occurs at or near the site of the impact.
It should be noted that during a fall or a blow, the pain can be very severe (especially when the periosteum is bruised), then it usually subsides gradually, but after 3 hours it may intensify again - this is usually associated with the appearance of a hematoma, an increase in edema, or hemorrhage (impregnation of tissues with blood).
What does a bruise look like?
As already mentioned, a bruise is an injury that does not lead to significant violations in the structure of the tissues. But ruptures of small or large vessels, as a result of which a bruise forms, are nevertheless a characteristic phenomenon after a strong blow or fall.
Blood from small vessels inside the tissues can continue to ooze for about 10 minutes after the injury, and large vessels can bleed for up to 24 hours. In addition, if the skin or subcutaneous tissue is injured, the bruise appears within an hour after the injury, and if it happened with the muscles or periosteum, then bruising can occur even after 2 days and, by the way, often away from the place of impact.
The bruise that occurs after a bruise has a crimson hue, but after 3-4 days it becomes slightly lighter, becoming greenish, and then turns yellow. Often a swelling immediately forms in its place, which makes the injured person feel pain, aggravated by movement or touching. Gradually she leaves.
If the bruise turned out to be very strong, then we can suspect that it affected the internal organs located near the place of impact.
How is the diagnosis
A bruise is damage and independent, and accompanying more serious injuries, for example, torn ligaments or fractures. Therefore, it is very important to correctly assess the condition of the injured.
So, with bruises of the limbs, the possibility of movement at first was preserved, and in the process of increasing edema and hemorrhage it is very difficult, and this is especially noticeable with hemarthrosis (hemorrhage into the cavity of the knee or elbow joint) caused by the bruise. It is this feature that helps determine whether it is a bruise or, for example, a fracture, in which movements become impossible immediately after an injury.
To accurately determine the severity of the patient’s condition, the pulsation in the peripheral arteries is checked, the skin temperature on both limbs is compared, and the sensitivity of their distant sites is examined.
At the slightest suspicion of the possibility of a fracture or crack in the bone, the patient is shown an X-ray examination.
The consequences of a brain injury
Most often, the consequences of a bruise pass completely within 2-3 weeks. But in medicine, there are also known cases when quite serious pathological changes caused by it occurred in the body of the victim.
For example, a brain contusion can lead to neurological disorders, accompanied by severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and in some cases, death. The thing is that in the cranium of the hematoma, which in any other area would dissolve over time without causing great concern, it leads to squeezing of vital structures, which, due to this, cannot function normally.
The consequences of injury to other body tissues
In general, symptoms of bruising of internal organs force doctors to conduct examinations to clarify its severity and location. After all, a bruise of the lungs, kidneys, liver or spleen can cause serious impairment of the functioning of these organs and create a danger to the patient's life.
A serious consequence is the rupture of a large vessel caused by an impact. This can cause significant hemorrhage, and in some cases even internal bleeding. As a result, a thrombus forms, which entails a serious complication - thromboembolism, in which it can appear in a vessel of smaller diameter with the movement of blood and clog it, causing a heart attack, stroke or necrosis of the internal organ.
Much less often, but calcification of the hematoma occurs, in which a densification forms in the soft tissues, causing pain during movement. And in women, the development of a malignant neoplasm may turn out to be the long-term consequences of a bruised breast. In men, testicular bruising can lead to the same sad results.
How to provide first aid for bruises
In order to minimize the severity of the injury, first aid should be provided correctly. To do this, you need to remember a simple algorithm of actions.
If an adult (or child) has bruised a limb, be sure to inspect it and check how it functions. In the absence of severe edema and severe soreness during flexion-extension and other movements, a fracture can be excluded.
- In such cases, the patient is applied cold to the injury (no more than 15 minutes), after which a break is made for 20 minutes, then cold can be applied again.
- Try not to use painkillers. They will smear the picture if the patient worsens and new symptoms join.
- If you are sure that damage to the internal organs is excluded, anesthesia can be performed, but not with acetylsalicylic acid, since it increases bleeding.
Bruise treatment
A pressure dressing is applied to the patient and rest of the bruised limb is provided. At the same time, the leg is held in an elevated position, and the hand is fixed with a kerchief bandage.
One to two days after the injury, soft heat in the form of heaters and compresses is used to resolve the hematomas. And as recovery procedures, the patient is prescribed outpatient physiotherapy, massage and electrophoresis.
Gels and ointments “Diclofenac”, “Ibuprofen”, etc. are often used to relieve soreness and severe edema. In the presence of large hematomas, it may be necessary to remove their contents by puncture or opening.
Help with head injuries with loss of consciousness, bruises of the lower back, abdomen and chest involves an urgent call for an ambulance. These injuries require hospitalization, and in severe cases, surgical treatment. At the same time, ruptures of large vessels are sutured, blood poured into the body cavity is removed, wounds are drained, and anti-inflammatory and analgesics are prescribed (Indomethacin, Analgin, Voltaren, etc.).