A bruise is ... Treatment and symptoms of injury

With closed tissue or organ damage that does not violate their structure, doctors say about a bruise. What is such a trauma, as manifested by her symptoms and is first aid, we will discuss later in the article.

A bruise is the result of a stroke

Each of us probably fell on one occasion, knocked his knees, struck the hard surface with his elbow, head or other part of his body, and got a trauma that could be characterized as a bruise. Remember what it looks like?

Most of the tissues that are located on the surface, that is, the skin (the most common type of injury), subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and sometimes the periosteum, are damaged in the process. In some cases, internal organs may be bruised - for example, a head injury can result in a brain injury.

That is, the main cause of any bruise can be called a blow (something or something about something) that affects soft tissues, forcing them to force down against the bones, which, in fact, leads to trauma.

How the bruise is manifested

To understand how serious the situation is after a fall or stroke, you should be well aware of the main symptoms of a bruise.

• The main one is the pain that occurs on the damaged part of the body.
• If the impact had sufficient strength, then as a result of rupture of small vessels under the skin or on it, hemorrhage in the form of a bruise or bleeding abrasion may appear.
• Another sign of a bruise can be considered small swelling that occurs at the site of the impact or around it.

It should be noted that during the fall or stroke, the pain is very strong (especially when the periosteum is bruised), then it tends to gradually subside, but after 3 hours it may again increase - this is usually due to the appearance of a hematoma, the build-up of edema or hemorrhage (Impregnation of tissues with blood).

What a bruise looks like

As already mentioned, a bruise is a trauma that does not lead to significant disturbances in the tissue structure. But ruptures of small or large vessels, which result in a bruise, are still a characteristic phenomenon after a severe impact or fall.

Blood from small vessels inside the tissues can continue to ooze about 10 minutes after injury, and large vessels can bleed to 24 hours. In addition, if the skin or subcutaneous tissue is injured, the bruise appears within an hour after the injury, and if this happens with the muscles Or periosteum, a bruise may occur even after 2 days and, by the way, often away from the place of impact.

The bruise, which arose after the bruise, has a crimson hue, but after 3-4 days it becomes a little lighter, becoming greenish, and then turns yellow. Often in its place immediately formed and swelling, why the injured feels pain, increasing with movement or touch. Gradually she leaves.

If the bruise turned out to be very strong, then one can suspect that it hurt the internal organs located near the place of impact.

How is the diagnosis made?

A bruise is a damage and self, and accompanying more serious injuries, for example, ruptures of ligaments or fractures. Therefore, it is very important to correctly assess the condition of the injured.

So, with the bruises of the limbs, the possibility of their movement is initially preserved, and in the process of increasing edema and hemorrhage, it is greatly hampered, and this is especially noticeable when hemarthrosis (hemorrhage into the cavity of the knee or elbow joint) caused by a bruise. It is this feature that helps to determine whether this is a bruise or, for example, a fracture in which movements become impossible immediately after an injury.

To accurately determine the severity of the condition, the patient is checked for pulsation in the peripheral arteries, the temperature of the skin is compared on both extremities and the sensitivity of their remote areas is examined.

At the slightest suspicion of the possibility of a fracture or a crack in the bone, the patient is shown an x-ray study.

The consequences of a brain injury

Most often the consequences of a bruising pass completely within 2-3 weeks. But in medicine, there are also cases when in the patient's body there were quite serious pathological changes caused by him.

For example, a brain contusion can lead to neurological disorders, accompanied by severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and in some cases, fatal. The thing is that in the cranium of the hematoma, which at any other site would eventually dissolve without causing great anxiety, leads to squeezing of vital structures, which because of this can not function normally.

Consequences of contusion of other body tissues

In general, the symptoms of the bruise of the internal organs force the doctors to carry out examinations, which make it possible to clarify its severity and localization. After a bruise of the lungs, kidneys, liver or spleen can lead to serious disruption of the functioning of these organs and create a danger to the life of the patient.

A serious consequence is the rupture of a large vessel caused by a stroke. This can cause significant hemorrhage, and in some cases even internal bleeding. As a result, a blood clot develops, entailing a serious complication - thromboembolism, in which he with blood flow may find himself in a vessel of smaller diameter and clog him, causing a heart attack, stroke or necrosis of the internal organ.

Significantly less often, but there is a calcification of the hematoma, in which a softening is formed in the soft tissues, causing painful sensations during movement. And in women, the long-term consequences of a breast contusion may be the development of a malignant neoplasm. In men, to the same sad results can cause a bruised testicle.

How to provide first aid with bruises

In order to minimize the severity of injury, first aid should be given correctly. For this you need to remember a simple algorithm of actions.

If an adult (or child) bruises a limb, be sure to inspect it and check how it functions. In the absence of a strong edema and severe soreness with flexion-extension and other movements, fracture can be excluded.

• In such cases, the patient is applied cold to the trauma (no more than 15 minutes), after which a break for 20 minutes, then again you can apply cold.
• Try not to use painkillers. They will lubricate the picture in case of deterioration of the patient's condition and addition of new symptoms.
• If you are sure that damage to internal organs is excluded, anesthesia can be carried out, but not with acetylsalicylic acid, as it increases bleeding.

Treatment of bruises

The patient is given a pressure bandage and provides rest to the bruised limb. The leg is kept in elevated position, and the hand is fixed with a bandage bandage.

One to two days after the injury for resorption, hematomas use mild heat in the form of heaters and compresses. And as a restorative procedure patient outpatient appoint physiotherapy, massage and electrophoresis.

Gels and ointments "Diclofenac", "Ibuprofen", etc. are often used to relieve soreness and marked swelling. In the presence of large hematomas, it may be necessary to remove their contents by puncture or dissection.

Helping with head injuries with loss of consciousness, bruises of the waist, abdomen and thorax involves an urgent call of an ambulance. These injuries require hospitalization, and in severe cases, surgical treatment. In this case, ruptures of large vessels are closed, the blood discharged into the body cavity is removed, the wound is drained and anti-inflammatory and anesthetic preparations are prescribed (Indomethacin, Analgin, Voltaren, etc.).