In short, no, they aren’t. While it is very common to acquire some small bumps and bruises from instances of everyday carelessness or clumsiness, when you experience some severe skin trauma, bruises can be much worse.

Read on to learn more about what bruising is and what it can look like from our AFC Urgent Care Memphis team.

What Exactly Is a Bruise?

When your skin experiences trauma, blood vessels underneath the skin can pop, causing blood to pool and form what’s known as a bruise. When this happens, it will show up as a discoloration on the skin, usually black, blue, purple, brown, green or yellow in color. There’s no external bleeding unless the skin breaks open.

Not all bruises are the same, though, and we’ve listed the different types below.

Types of Bruises

• Purpura: This is perhaps the most common type of bruise, as it typically involves small bleeding under the skin.
• Hematoma: Severe bruising that is often caused by trauma, such as a car accident or major fall. A hematoma is a collection of blood outside the blood vessels that causes pain and swelling.
• Senile purpura: This type of bruising is more common among older adults. As you age, the skin becomes thinner, dryer and more prone to bruising. This condition is known as senile purpura.
• Black eye: You’ve likely heard or experienced this type of bruising before. A black eye happens when you’ve been hit in the face, and swelling and bruising causes a discolored ring to form around the eye.

Do Some Bruise Easier Than Others?

Yes. While some people are simply more active and experience more skin trauma than others, other factors can contribute to more bruising.

One of the most common reasons for more bruising is age. As you get older, you slowly lose the fatty layer underneath your skin, which causes blood vessels weaken, thus allowing them to be injured more often. Weakened blood vessels leads to less protection to soften a bump against a table or chair. We’ve listed a few more contributing factors to frequent bruising below.

Reasons You May Bruise Easier

• Medications. Certain medications, like blood thinners, antibiotics and steroids, can contribute to your blood not being able to clot as well, which can leave you prone to bruising.
• Family history. Not only do things like freckles and moles run in the family, but frequent bruising can, too. Plus, women usually have more delicate blood vessels, which can lead to more bruising.
• Too much sun. Years and years of spending lots of time in the sun without adequate sunscreen protection can weaken the walls of your blood vessels, which can make them vulnerable to damage that leads to bruises.

When you need non-emergency care, we’re here for you! Don’t hesitate to stop by our AFC center today to get the quick, quality care you deserve.