Bruises: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Remedies, Prevention


alcohol and bruising

Your liver helps your blood to clot, and the liver helps blood to move evenly throughout the body. When the liver is damaged, it can no longer filter alcohol correctly, and it may not be able to keep the bloodstream healthy. According to UPMC, your liver contains about 10 percent of your total blood supply at any given time. When you’re drinking alcohol, your liver is working hard to process the toxins from your blood, but that work takes time. When you drink so much that your liver cannot keep up with the amount you’re drinking, intoxication can take hold.

alcohol and bruising

What Is a Bruise?

It’s not likely, but it’s possible that your bruises are a sign of blood cancer, such as leukemia. If you also feel tired, achy, and weak all the time, or lose weight without trying to, give your doctor a call. These conditions can cause organ damage, so if you suspect you have vasculitis, you should go see your doctor. Your body uses vitamin C to make collagen, a protein that is the substructure of your blood vessels. It’s rare to have extremely low levels of vitamin C, but when you do, your blood vessels may be weaker. Those who regularly drink more than the recommended daily limits of alcohol should not stop drinking without medical support.

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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. Platelets help the blood clot, so a low level of them can cause easy bruising. Finally, alcoholics may have a deficiency of vitamin C, which is important for healing wounds.

A person should speak with a doctor, close friend, therapist, or local support group to find ways to help give up alcohol. Alcohol may stimulate the release of histamines, which can cause the blood vessels under the skin to dilate. More resources for a variety of healthcare professionals can be found in the Additional Links for Patient Care. Heavy alcohol use raises the risk for myopathies and fractures, whereas even low levels of alcohol intake increase the odds for recurrent gout attacks.

  1. Early damage to the liver causes fat to deposit onto the liver, resulting in hepatic steatosis, or alcoholic fatty liver disease.
  2. Seeking help for addiction may feel daunting or even scary, but several organizations can provide support.
  3. Fatty liver disease often has no symptoms and can usually be reversed.
  4. According to a 2021 study, the cerebellum is one of the most vulnerable areas that alcohol can directly affect, leading to difficulty in maintaining balance.
  5. If you feel that you sometimes drink too much alcohol, or your drinking is causing problems, or if your family is concerned about your drinking, talk with your health care provider.

Those who bruise easily and don’t have a family history of a bleeding disorder are unlikely to have a bleeding disorder themselves. Instead, another form of disease is likely causing the problem. Examples of drinking in dangerous situations include driving while under the influence or drinking before operating some form of heavy machinery. Chronic alcohol misuse has a negative effect on every system of the body. Something people might notice with ongoing, severe alcohol misuse is bruising from alcohol.

Furthermore, if alcohol bruises are a result of liver damage, you likely have alcoholic liver disease, which causes severe dysfunction in the liver. Alcohol is known to be toxic to the liver, and a majority of people who regularly consume 4 or more drinks per day will develop a fatty liver. Prolonged heavy drinking can also increase a person’s risk of more serious conditions, such as skin cancer. It can also cause skin changes resulting from alcoholic liver disease. If you notice that you bruise easily after one night of drinking, it may not indicate anything serious.

Medical complications by body system

Typically, a bruise begins as a purple or red spot, and as it heals, and the blood is reabsorbed into the body, it can maverick house sober living fade to green or even yellow. In some people, the initial reaction may feel like an increase in energy. But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal. Mindful drinking offers that middle ground where you’ll proactively improve your drinking habits without any pressure to quit. It centers on being more conscious and thoughtful of how much, how often, and why you drink.

But with the proper resources to help, you are better set up for success with sobriety. Having a healthcare professional come to your house to assist with your needs can relieve a lot of added stress on you to keep track of your treatment plan alone. Even though alcoholic neuropathy may not go away, there are things you can do to cope with this condition. Alcohol also alters the function of the stomach, liver, and kidneys in ways that prevent the body from properly detoxifying waste material. This waste then builds up and harms many regions of the body, including the nerves. Alcoholic neuropathy is caused by nutritional deficiency, as well as toxins that build up in the body.

This study also showed that yellow bruises were generally older than 18 hours. People with hemophilia don’t make much of several blood clotting factors, such as factor VIII and factor IX. These disorders are rare, but they can be life-threatening if you don’t treat them. If you’re having nosebleeds for no reason, if your gums bleed a lot after you brush or floss, or if small cuts or scrapes seem to bleed heavily, call your doctor. Bruises happen when blood leaks out of your veins and capillaries and pools under your skin because there isn’t an opening for the blood to get out of your body. Blood cells called platelets stop your bleeding, but the pool of blood under your skin can change your skin color and cause swelling, pain, and tenderness.

Keep reading to learn more about the symptoms, causes, and treatments for alcohol-related neuropathy. Eliminating alcohol from a person’s diet and lifestyle should help the skin to clear up. Alcohol consumption is the most common cause of porphyria cutanea tarda (PCT). This condition causes painful, blistering lesions on the skin following exposure to the sun. If a person spends the night drinking, they may also stay up late or not sleep at all.

Withdrawal side effects can be incredibly uncomfortable, which can lead a person to resume drinking to alleviate these side effects. Because of this fact, a person with an alcohol use disorder may have several failed attempts to stop drinking. Alcohol is one of several substances that can damage your liver.