Quitting drinking can be really difficult, even if you only consider yourself a casual drinker. If you’re having a hard time stopping, learn more about alcohol use disorder and whether treatment is right for you. You can also talk with your healthcare provider about medications that can help you stop drinking. Liver cirrhosis is linked to bleeding complications and can even lead to the formation of a large type of bruise called a hematoma. Long-term alcohol misuse can lead to numerous health problems. It increases the risk of various types of cancer, as well as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.
Does drinking alcohol cause bruising?
Even though most people with VWD are born with the condition, it often remains undiagnosed until adulthood, as symptoms tend to be mild. Your body’s ability to form a proper clot can be affected if you don’t have enough platelets (low platelet count) or they aren’t functioning properly. Bruising occurs more readily as a person ages, making age the most common cause of easy bruising. Aging skin becomes progressively thinner, making blood vessels more prone to injury. „Having a vitamin deficiency can hinder your body’s ability to create blood clots, which can lead to bigger and darker bruises,” Dr. Johnston says. Specifically, deficiencies in vitamins K and C can cause more severe and sometimes unexplainable bruising.
More on Skin Problems and Treatments
Alcohol can contribute to different types of heart disease. If you do choose to drink alcohol, keep to no more than moderate intake. In this case, researchers concluded that for some people, binge drinking increased the immediate risk of a heart attack.
Weight gain
They may also recommend blood tests, such as a complete blood count (CBC) and a coagulation factor test, which check to see if there’s an issue with your ability to form blood clots. Because of this, easy bruising is often a symptom of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Cushing’s syndrome is a condition that arises when levels of cortisol, a stress hormone, are too high in the blood. Although vitamin deficiencies can lead to random bruising across the entire body, one case report found the bruising to be localized to the legs. Putting ice on the affected area for a few minutes at a time can help reduce swelling.
They can diagnose bleeding disorders, thyroid disease, or even simple aging that can be the cause of bruising. Easy bruising can be a sign of an underlying condition and a higher risk of bleeding overall. Risk factors for easy bruising include older age and taking blood-thinning medications.
Von Willebrand disease
Some people experience a faster onset and progression of alcoholic neuropathy than others. It’s not completely clear why some people are more prone to this complication than others. Treatment for ITP may include prescription medications to boost platelet production, steroids, and injections of immune globulin, which help boost platelet production. In some cases, surgery to remove your spleen may be recommended as a way to improve your platelet count.
Alcohol and Plavix
Even though it is a biased measure, BMI is still widely used in the medical community because it’s an inexpensive and quick way to analyze a person’s potential health status and outcomes. Severe alcoholic neuropathy may cause can drinking cause bruising motor weakness due to nerve damage. Our muscles need to receive a message from nearby nerves in order to function. When this message is interrupted due to damaged nerves, the muscles cannot function as they normally would.
How can I prevent or treat bruises?
People that are active should take special precautions while participating in physical activities to prevent injuries that could lead to bruises. This can be done by wearing protective gear while you play sports or engage in other physical activities that could lead to bruising. Bruising occurs when there is an injury to tissues underneath the skin.
- Some conditions can make it harder for your blood to clot, which may increase your chance of bruising and bleeding.
- Alcoholic hepatitis occurs when the liver becomes damaged and inflamed.
- Don’t do this yourself because you could hurt yourself further, cause an infection, and slow your healing process.
- Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) is an inherited condition that affects connective tissue like tendons and ligaments.
- When someone develops an alcohol use disorder, they will show signs or symptoms that are characteristic of this condition.
- However, some people notice an improvement in symptoms a few months after discontinuing alcohol intake.
- About 90% of heavy drinkers will develop alcoholic fatty liver disease.
- Without a vitamin K injection at birth, babies may bruise easily or bleed excessively.
- If you’re experiencing easy bruising, you might have questions about what’s causing it and what you can do about it.
- Medications and lifestyle modifications may also be prescribed depending on the stage.
- Keep reading to learn about the more common, mild, and serious side effects that Plavix can cause.
- Iron deficiency anemia is a frequent cause of easy bruising.
ARLD does not often cause symptoms until it’s reached an advanced stage. If you misuse alcohol, you may have liver damage, even though you have none of the symptoms above. By Heidi Moawad, MDHeidi Moawad is a neurologist and expert in the field of brain health and neurological disorders. Dr. Moawad regularly writes and edits health and career content for medical books and publications.