What causes bruising?

Question

I fell in the bathroom the other day and i have a awful colored bruise on my leg. Its black, blue, pink, and white. Is this normal? What causes them to turn such weird colors?

Answer 1

Blood coming to the surface of the skin

Answer 2

Well, bruising occurs when you are bleeding under the skin. Did you smack your leg that you can remember? If not, I would keep an eye on your body and make sure you don't have bruising everywhere. That could be deadly serious. See the doctor if that occurs. Good luck.

By the way, different colors on one bruise is showing different stages of healing. That can also show being hit over and over again in the same spot. Or worse, it could a melanoma of some type. See the doctor if you're worried and if it doesn't go away.

Answer 3

When your skin is hit by things like the floor (when you fall down) it causes capillaries to break and blood to flow under the skin. As the capillaries repair themselves, the bruise changes color from various byproducts in the blood.

If the bruise is severe, if there's a lump, or if it becomes swollen and sensitive to the touch, you may have suffered a serious injury and you should see a doctor quickly.

Normally, a bruise should be completely gone within a week or two. If not, there may be a more serious problem, and you should see a doctor.

Answer 4

Blood vessels breaking under the skin because of the injury. The colors changing indicates that the bruise is healing.

Answer 5

Bruising is caused by ruptured blood vessels underneath the skin. As they are crushed by a blunt force, they break and leak underneath the skin. This is what causes the distorted colors.
As it begins to heal, you body slowly cleans out the blood causing the changing colors.

So, you are really bleeding, but with no cut, nothing will leak out of the skin.

Answer 6

A bruise is broken blood vessels under the skin. The colours happen in the healing process when the blood is clotting like a cut. It has no where to go so is absorbed into the tissues

Answer 7

It's the colors of the different fluids rushing to the area of impact. When you fell, thousands of capilaries exploded and leaked blood under your skin. This is the initial contusion. After a few minutes the blood becomes visible, and the body senses it and sends other elements like extra plasma(to dilute the blood) and white blood cells (to resist infection--this happens any time there is damage to arteries). All these fluids and microbes have different colors. It looks even stranger when viewed through the light refraction of your translucent top layer of skin.

Answer 8

The black-and-blue color of bruises is the result of blood seeping from the veins into skin tissue. Without a fresh supply of oxygen, the blood turns dark blue. The blood will keep seeping until the tissue is saturated or the vein constricts.

Answer 9

Bruising is caused when blood vessels under the skin break from pressure caused by falling on, getting pinched, hit, etc.

The colors you are seeing are the blood slowly decaying. As the blood vessels begin to repair, the old blood is cleansed away and the your bruise begins to fade.

Answer 10

When you fall or get hit with something, the blood vessels break and the blood comes up to the skin, that is what causes the discoloration. It is normal and will go away in a week or so.

Answer 11

Falling,hitting something or someone, and/or squeezing too hard can cause bruising.It is normal for a bruise to change colors.Melanin causes bruises to change weird colors.