Rarely, severe pain after drinking alcohol is a sign of a more serious disorder, such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Alcoholic liver disease is damage to the liver and its function alcohol and bruising due to alcohol abuse. When the cause of bruising is unclear, your doctor will likely order blood work to check for platelet problems or other blood clotting abnormalities.
Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped. Alcohol use disorder can include periods of being drunk (alcohol intoxication) and symptoms of withdrawal.
Is Bruising A Sign Of Alcoholism?
Vitamin K is an essential nutrient that helps with blood clotting. Vitamin K cream was shown to reduce the severity of bruising after https://ecosoberhouse.com/ laser treatment in a small 2002 study. To use this treatment, gently rub vitamin K cream onto the bruise at least two times per day.
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. If you bruise easily and are worried that it may be a sign of alcoholism, talk to your doctor. The exact mechanisms underlying alcohol-related thrombocytopenia remain unknown. Some researchers have suggested that alcohol intoxication itself, rather than alcohol-related nutritional deficiencies, causes the decrease in platelet numbers.
Strategies for Dealing with Alcohol Use Disorder: What to Say and Do
They may also recommend imaging tests like an MR elastogram that checks for scarring in the liver or an MRI of the abdomen, CT scan or an ultrasound. A biopsy may also be required to identify the severity, extent and cause of liver damage. Older adults often bruise more easily, because the skin becomes less flexible with age, and there is less fat to protect the blood vessels. Hemophilia involves low levels of blood clotting factor VIII (hemophilia A) or factor IX (hemophilia B). Synthetic versions of these clotting factors can help treat hemophilia and reduce the risk of serious bleeding and bruising. Von Willebrand’s disease, the most prevalent bleeding disorder, affects about 1% of the population.
- Sometimes, bruising is a sign of a more serious issue, so talk to a healthcare provider if you experience unexplained or large bruises.
- The tears bleed profusely and develop thick scabs and large bruises.
- In healthy people, stomatocytes account for less than 5 percent of the RBC’s, whereas their number can be significantly higher in alcoholics.
- For example, stomatocytosis (an RBC disorder; see main text) is characterized by abnormal, mouth-shaped RBC’s.
- This causes blood to seep out of your blood vessel and pool underneath your skin, as there isn’t an opening (wound) for your blood to get out of your body.