My mom is in her 60s and a few weeks ago my mom cut herself on her forearm and it would not stop bleeding, any cut just keeps on going even if she puts pressure on it. I told her that her blood must be too thin to clot up, but she is one of those that you can't tell her anything and brushed it off as nothing serious.
Another thing is that she bruises so easily! She doesn't even know how she gets them and they are huge purplish-black things about the size of half-dollars.
She takes Motrin for the pain of her knee after she had knee replacement last year, which still hurts her and swells, which I feel isn't normal.
My mom has hypothyroid, but no high blood pressure or diabetes. So since she thinks nothing major is wrong I was wondering if anyone else may know what is going on so I can say "It may be THIS...talk to your doctor about it."
Thanks :)
2007-01-15 16:49:43 · 14 answers · asked by LS 4 in Health ➔ General Health Care ➔ Injuries
Long term use of a medicine such as Motrin will lead to this side effect of bruising and bleeding out. It is a blood thinner aswell as having the side effect of reducing swelling, and then of course, with the swelling relief comes pain relief.
The worry is, long term, such medication is a catch 22 situation to be taking. Yes, it relieves pain and swelling, but the long term affects such as your mum is getting, plus the fact it causes duodenal ulcers of the stomach aswell, makes it very tricky to be taking.
She should get advice from her doctor. She should be on something other than Motrin for pain relief, something like paracetamol which does not thin the blood, make you bleed and bruise such as she is. And, it also does not cause ulcers..as far as I know.
If she needs to stay on the motrin, she needs coverage to prevent ulcers from another medicine, we call it ranitadine(Zantac) here in Australia.
Oh, and a knee in someone her age may take a while to settle down with the swelling. Blood workup should be done by the next doctor too , just to check her clotting times in her blood.
2007-01-15 17:08:19 · answer #1 · answered by caz_v8 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
it could be any number of things from something very simple like lacking in vitamins to something serious the only way to know for sure is to see a doctor. the excessive bleeding and bruises could be from medication she is taking or the motrin...she needs to see if these are the problems too. one thing for sure something is not right and you recognize that even if she doesn't. try to persuade her to go see the doc and if you can go with her make sure you tell the doc whats going on with her.
2007-01-15 16:54:26 · answer #2 · answered by ?! 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like she has low platelets. She needs to have a simple blood test done. Low platelets has alot to do with your clotting factor. A simple cut on the arm may not be serious, but if she were to really cut herself bad, she could bleed to death. Tell her to see here Dr. Now.
2007-01-15 16:57:21 · answer #3 · answered by justcurious 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Does she smoke?
When you get older your skin gets fragile due to a lack of collagen.
However, the bruising that you are describing could be a result of something more serious. she needs to see a Dr. and discuss her prescriptions and also have a blood count done. A possibility is leukemia. She needs to get checked out.
2007-01-15 16:57:09 · answer #4 · answered by Rich 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
This could be the signs of leukemia due to the fact that her immune system is weaker.
You must immediately take her to the doctor for professional help, information, and advice. Tell her it doesn't hurt to have a check up.
2007-01-15 20:16:55 · answer #5 · answered by DD 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
She might have hemophilia, which can be fatal. It causes prolonged bleeding 'cause the blood can't clot properly, and the sufferer can bruise easily and badly.
Convince her to go to the doctor
2007-01-15 17:56:17 · answer #6 · answered by ? 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
there is a disease that when you cut urself u cant stop bleeding and u get bruises 4rm the lil littlest things. im not sure what is called-but someone i knew had the same problems and they said she had that disease. it is very serious. u need to get her to the doctors! plus she could have alot of problems w/loss of blood.
2007-01-15 16:59:31 · answer #7 · answered by naughty_babygurl_06 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes she has got thin blood by the sound of it...also the bruising...as you get older the skin becomes thinnier..so bruises will show up more...but also to do with her thin blood...i hate to say it..but she needs to see a doctor...most ppl on here are not qualified professional ppl to talk to about this condition...
2007-01-15 16:55:21 · answer #8 · answered by free-spirit 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
she needs to see a doctor to check her iron level and to make sure that the MOtrin is not thinning her blood out too much
2007-01-15 16:53:57 · answer #9 · answered by hiding1959 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I would have to assume it's Leukemia, a very deadly disease that causes the carrier to bruise easily, even on slight touch. It may be starting slowly, but I don't know for sure.
I'm giving you to option to say "It may be Leukemia, talk to your doctor about it."
Leukemia is pronounced (Loo-kee-me-uh) for those of you that do not know.
2007-01-15 17:00:09 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋