Bruises tend to be a discolored mark on the skin, usually black, purple, blue or red. The actual medical term for this is contusion and is often caused from an injury that crushes the blood vessels, causing them to leak to adjacent tissue beneath the skin's surface. Most bruises will heal within twelve days, depending on the skin's sensitivity, but it can be accompanied with pain. Then how to make a bruise not hurt and heal faster? Try the following tips.
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How to Make Your Bruise Not Hurt
Take a painkiller
Acetaminophen and iBuprofen are the fastest ways to help you alleviate pain caused from bruising. These painkillers are ideal for bruises since they are not a blood thinner and iBuprofen can help reduce inflammation. Other types of painkiller like aspirin can actually make the bruise worse since they increase the blood flow.
Ice
Holding an ice pack on your bruise for ten minutes can help reduce swelling and inflammation. You can use an ice pack wrapped in a towel, ice cubes or even a bag of frozen vegetables. The cold from the ice will also help numb the pain you feel from the bruised area.
Home remedies
Parsley has been used by many to help reduce the pain from a bruise. Crush up fresh parsley in a mortar and pestle, then rub the crushed leaves on the area that is bruised. Secure the crushed leaves in place using an elastic bandage.
Mix a few drop of lavender oil in cold water. Soak a clean cloth in the water and then apply it to the bruised area. The cold water helps relieve the pain while the lavender oil works to reduce the swelling.
Chamomile or sage tea bags can be used to help soothe the pain of a bruised area. How to make a bruise not hurt can be done using this method? Soaking the tea bags in warm water. Then apply it to the bruise and allow the tea bag to sit on the bruise for a few minutes before removing.
Use the gel from an aloe vera leaf to reduce swelling and alleviate pain.
Bellis perennis is also an effective home remedy that can relieve pain from a bruise and help reduce swelling in the area.
If you have a bruise from a serious injury or accident, try hypericum. This remedy will reduce the amount of pain you feel by a significant amount.
How to Heal a Bruise Fast
Elevate the bruise
When you reduce the blood flow to the bruised area, you can help reduce the swelling and in turn will feel less pain. So keep the area that is bruised elevated so that it remains above the heart.
Rest
You want to allow the tissue in the bruised area to repair itself. Giving the area the proper amount of rest will allow it to heal faster and reduce the risk of causing further damage to the area.
Do not massage the bruise
How to make a bruise not hurt? Simply avoid massaging the area. It can be tempting to rub the area that is bruised, but this will only cause more damage and more pain.
St. John's Wort
Use the oil version of St. John's wort on the bruised area about three times a day. While this supplement is better known for its antidepressant properties, it can also be used on bruises to help shrink the tissue and slow any bleeding down.
Vitamin K
If you can find a cream version of vitamin K, some people have claimed it helps relieve pain from a bruise. It can help with blood clotting to reduce pain when applied twice a day to the bruised area.
Arnica
Arnica creams, ointments and salves are typically recommended by plastic surgeons to reduce swelling to bruised areas. Rubbing it to the bruised area can help soothe pains of the bruised area while also help limit swelling and inflammation to the area.
When Should You See a Doctor?
If you find you have a bruise in a place you have not recently injured, this can be a cause for concern. When a bruise seems to appear out of nowhere or mysteriously, this could be a sign of a more serious condition. Leukemia, aplastic anemia, and hemophilia are just a few serious condition that can cause sudden bruising. While you may be wondering how to make a bruise not hurt, you want to make sure you are not ignoring something that could be more serious. If there is bruising on the joints with swelling in the area, the bruise lasts longer that a week or if there is also severe pain or fever, you will want to consult your doctor.
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