When closed damage to tissues or organs that did not violate their structure, doctors talk about a bruise. What constitutes such an injury, how its symptoms appear and first aid is provided, we will describe later in the article.
A bruise is the result of a blow
Each of us probably fell more than once, knocked down his knees, hit a hard surface with his elbow, head or other part of the body, and as a result received an injury that could be characterized as a bruise. Remember what he looks like?
In this case, those tissues that are located on the surface are damaged to a greater extent - that is, the skin (the most common type of injury), subcutaneous tissue, muscles, and sometimes the periosteum. In some cases, internal organs may also be bruised - for example, as a result of a blow to the head, you can get a bruise to the brain.
That is, the main cause of any bruise can be called a blow (to something or something), which affects the soft tissues, forcing them to press against the bones with force, which, in fact, leads to injury.
How a bruise manifests
To understand how serious the situation is after a fall or impact, you should have a good idea ofthe main symptoms of a bruise.
- The main one is the pain that occurs on the damaged area of the body.
- If the blow was strong enough, then as a result of rupture of small vessels under the skin or on it, hemorrhages may appear in the form of a bruise or bleeding abrasion.
- Another sign of a bruise can be considered small swelling that occurs at the site of impact or around it.
It should be noted that during a fall or a blow, the pain can be very strong (especially when the periosteum is bruised), then, as a rule, it gradually subsides, but after 3 hours it can increase again - this is usually associated with the occurrence of a hematoma, an increase in edema or hemorrhage (impregnation of tissues with blood).
What a bruise looks like
As already mentioned, a bruise is an injury that does not lead to significant disturbances in the structure of tissues. But ruptures of small or large vessels, resulting in a bruise, are still a characteristic phenomenon after a strong blow or fall.
Blood from small vessels inside the tissues can continue to ooze for about 10 minutes after injury, and large vessels can bleed up to 24 hours. if this happened to the muscles or periosteum, then bruising can occur even after 2 days and, by the way, often away from the site of impact.
A bruise that occurs after a bruise has a purple hue, but after 3-4 days it brightens a little, becoming greenish, and then turns yellow. Often on hisa swelling is immediately formed in the place, which is why the injured person feels pain, aggravated by movement or touch. Gradually she leaves.
If the bruise turned out to be very strong, then it can be suspected that it also touched the internal organs located close to the impact site.
How the diagnosis is made
A bruise is an injury both independent and accompanying more serious injuries, such as torn ligaments or fractures. Therefore, it is very important to correctly assess the condition of the injured.
So, with bruises of the limbs, the ability to move them is initially preserved, and in the process of increasing swelling and hemorrhage, it becomes very difficult, and this is especially noticeable with hemarthrosis (bleeding into the cavity of the knee or elbow joint) caused by a bruise. It is this feature that helps to determine whether it is a bruise or, for example, a fracture, in which movements become impossible immediately after the injury.
To accurately determine the severity of the patient's condition, they check the pulsation in the peripheral arteries, compare the skin temperature on both limbs and examine the sensitivity of their remote areas.
At the slightest suspicion of the possibility of a fracture or crack in the bone, the patient is shown an X-ray examination.
Consequences of brain injury
Most often, the consequences of a bruise disappear without a trace in 2-3 weeks. But in medicine, there are also cases when quite serious pathological changes occurred in the body of the victim caused by him.
So, for example, a brain injury can lead toIt is a neurological disorder accompanied by severe headache, nausea, vomiting, and in some cases death. The thing is that in the cranium, a hematoma, which in any other area would resolve over time without causing much concern, leads to squeezing of vital structures that cannot function normally because of this.
Consequences of injury to other body tissues
In general, the symptoms of bruising of internal organs force doctors to conduct examinations to clarify its severity and localization. After all, a contusion of the lungs, kidneys, liver or spleen can lead to serious disruption of the functioning of these organs and endanger the life of the patient.
A serious consequence is the rupture of a large vessel caused by the impact. This can cause significant hemorrhage and in some cases even internal bleeding. As a result, a thrombus is formed, which entails a serious complication - thromboembolism, in which, with the movement of blood, it can end up in a vessel of a smaller diameter and clog it, causing a heart attack, stroke, or necrosis of an internal organ.
Much less often, but there is a calcification of a hematoma, in which a seal forms in the soft tissues, causing pain when moving. And in women, the long-term consequences of a bruise of the mammary gland may be the development of a malignant neoplasm. In men, a bruised testicle can lead to the same sad results.
How to give first aid whenbruises
In order to minimize the severity of injury, first aid must be administered correctly. To do this, you need to remember a simple algorithm of actions.
If an adult (or child) hurts a limb, be sure to inspect it and check how it functions. In the absence of severe edema and severe pain during flexion-extension and other movements, a fracture can be ruled out.
- In such cases, the patient is cold applied to the injury (for no more than 15 minutes), after which a break is taken for 20 minutes, then cold can be applied again.
- Try not to use painkillers. They will blur the picture if the patient's condition worsens and new symptoms join.
- If you are sure that damage to the internal organs is excluded, anesthesia can be carried out, but not with acetylsalicylic acid, as it increases bleeding.
Treatment of bruises
The patient is put on a pressure bandage and provides rest for the bruised limb. At the same time, the leg is kept in an elevated position, and the arm is fixed with a scarf bandage.
One or two days after the injury, soft heat in the form of heating pads and compresses is used to dissolve hematomas. And as restorative procedures, the patient is prescribed physiotherapy, massage and electrophoresis on an outpatient basis.
To relieve pain and severe swelling, gels and ointments "Diclofenac", "Ibuprofen", etc. are often used. In the presence of large hematomas, it may be necessaryremoval of their contents by puncture or opening.
Help for head bruises with loss of consciousness, bruises of the lower back, abdomen and chest implies an urgent call for an ambulance. These injuries require hospitalization and, in severe cases, surgery. At the same time, ruptures of large vessels are sutured, the blood that has poured into the organ cavity is removed, the wound is drained, and anti-inflammatory and analgesic drugs (Indomethacin, Analgin, Voltaren, etc.) are prescribed.
