Any way to make a bruise go away faster?

[Dee*Jay]

Let me start out by saying that I bruise easier than any person on the planet. I don't have anemia or any other issues that would make me more prone to bruising, I am just a klutz and always have a bunch of black and blue marks. Anyway, on Saturday I was showing a property to one of my clients and as I was going through the bedroom to open up the closet doors for them I walked right into the corner of the footboard of the bed. It hurt so frickin' bad that if I could have uttered a sound I probably would have screamed, but instead I just stood there seeing stars. (Note to those who are planning on selling your house: DO NOT put some giant fluffy comforter over your bed that camaflauges the fact that you've got the pointy bed fram from hell under there!!) Now I've got not only a slight bump and a nasty purple/blue bruise, but it actually hurts when I walk or workout or do anything that use that muscle (the bruise is about half-way between my knee and my hip toward the outer part of my thigh). And actually touching it is VERY painful.

Please, someone, tell me there is SOMETHING I can do to make this thing go away faster... Heat? Ice? Some specific vitamin? Anything?!

 

[Love in Bloom]

Drats Dee*Jay! Those footboard bruises are the *worst*

!!! I am not a doctor, but I am accident prone

. I was always told ice, then heat. I think if you ice immediatley after the mishap (1-2 days?) and then warm compresses after that. It should help speed up your healing a bit although I don''t think there is anything to do to make them disappear. I''m sorry you ran into that darn bed! I don''t even cover my up with my comforter and klutzy me, I run into it anyway. Sheesh!

 

[Ellen]

Funny, I just got these books in the mail on hundreds of home remedies for all kinds of stuff. Bruises has a couple.

First one's not too practical for working people though.

This is a Mayan remedy. Cut a lemon in half and rub the pulp over the bruise every hour until you go to bed. Should be a big improvement when you wake up.

Hey, I just report em....

Or, before you go to bed, soak a washcloth in a mixture of equal parts water and apple cider vinegar (I do know vinegar is good for like a zillion things). Wring out the cloth, and wrap it around the bruised/swollen area. Then put plastic wrap around that, and then a towel, all just to protect the sheets. Tape it in place and sleep with it on.

It says in the morning there should be a tremendous difference.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:28:39 AM
Author: Ellen

This is a Mayan remedy. Cut a lemon in half and rub the pulp over the bruise every hour until you go to bed. Should be a big improvement when you wake up.

Do I drink the vodka and tonic that I normally have with my lemons, or should I sprinkle that on there too?

Love in Bloom - oh, that was just ONE of MANY things I've done of that magnitude. Usually I can just pass it off and keep on going, but the pain from this little poke was pretty intense, LOL.

 

[Love in Bloom]

Hey Dee*Jay, wouldn't the world be a lot different if we saw *diamonds* when we hurt ourselves instead of stars??? hehe

(sorry you are hurtin!)

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:39:38 AM
Author: Dee*Jay

Date: 6/18/2007 10:28:39 AM
Author: Ellen

This is a Mayan remedy. Cut a lemon in half and rub the pulp over the bruise every hour until you go to bed. Should be a big improvement when you wake up.

Do I drink the vodka and tonic that I normally have with my lemons, or should I sprinkle that on there too?

Oh, definitely drink it, the more you drink, the less it hurts.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:28:39 AM
Author: Ellen

This is a Mayan remedy. Cut a lemon in half and rub the pulp over the bruise every hour until you go to bed. Should be a big improvement when you wake up.

I bruise like CRAZY. Every time I bonk my leg on my desk or some such, I''m like "OH GREAT NO SKIRTS FOR THREE WEEKS". I''ve heard Vitamin C helps. Like, take a supplement.

Can''t say whether it''s worked well for me or not, because I am horrid at keeping up a regimen of any sort. But that kinda goes along with the lemon suggestion, makes sense.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Juliana, thanks for the vitamin C suggestion. Every morning I have EmergenC, which is 1000 mg of vitamin C that you disolve in water, and I''ll be curious to see if that helps at all.

As for bonking your leg on the desk, my big one is jamming my thigh into the key that sticks out from the lock on my top desk drawer (but if I don''t keep it there I forget to lock my desk at night). I''ve done that SO MANY TIMES to both legs that I don''t even notice it any more...

I wonder if just keeping the blood flowing a lot will help. I wasn''t going to work out tonight but maybe I''ll go spend a gentle hour on the treadmill just for this reason.

 

[VegasAngel]

I am a hug klutz & bruise very easily too. Sometimes it looks like someone beat the crap out of me. Unfortunately I think I passed it on to my daughter as well. I always put pure Aloe Vera on my bruises. Not sure if it really does anything or if you can speed the healing of a bruise, but it does feel good to put cold aloe vera on them.

 

[Ellen]

Dee, I would think keeping the blood flowing would definitely help.

 

[Julianna]

Date: 6/18/2007 11:26:11 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
Juliana, thanks for the vitamin C suggestion. Every morning I have EmergenC, which is 1000 mg of vitamin C that you disolve in water, and I''ll be curious to see if that helps at all.

As for bonking your leg on the desk, my big one is jamming my thigh into the key that sticks out from the lock on my top desk drawer (but if I don''t keep it there I forget to lock my desk at night). I''ve done that SO MANY TIMES to both legs that I don''t even notice it any more...

I wonder if just keeping the blood flowing a lot will help. I wasn''t going to work out tonight but maybe I''ll go spend a gentle hour on the treadmill just for this reason.

I take two of those EmergenC dealies before going to the gym in the mornings, the tangerine flavor. Yums! Even if it isn''t helping my energy level as claimed, at least I can BELIEVE it is. Heh.

I always wondered about the blood flowing thing, too. Because neither heat nor cold works for me. Let me know if you come up with anything groundbreaking.

 

[snlee]

For bruises, you can try using Burt''s Bees Doctor Burt''s Res-Q Ointment. It works great. I love Burt''s Bees.

 

[marvel]

Get some arnica, it's an herbal supplement that you can find at Whole Foods. It's specifically for brusing and sprains.

BTW: I hate those stupid foot boards

They're evil!

 

[Skippy123]

DeeJay,
I am sorry, I am the queen of bruises. I might try out these suggestions, thanks.

 

[rainbowtrout]

So, bruises are bleeding under the skin, so putting stuff ON your skin wouldn''t seem to help much?

The only surefire "remedy" I know for bruises is leeches, and that''s certainly not practical! THey take the old blood out from under the skin and promote bloodflow with anticoagulants in their saliva. Hospitals use them.

But anything that promotes bloodflow and getting the body to eat the old blood would help. Exercise should help, even if it hurts a bit. Not sure about supplements for it.

 

[divergrrl]

Deejay: I second Marvel''s suggestion. I bruise easily & when in college on our dance team we used to do a lot of moves that made us land on our knees (a la Janet Jackson style choreography) I''d have black & blue knees year round. So sexy in a short skirt. My chiro turned me onto Arnica & the stuff is AMAZING!

The formulation that worked the best for me was Weleda''s Arnica Massage oil. I''d massage it into my bruises & they''d be gone in a fraction of the time. A day or two tops.

I''ve also bought straight Arnica oil from the essential oils shop, but for some reason the Weleda stuff (got mine at a grocer that was later bougth by Wild Oats) rocked.

Lovin'' the arnica....its miraculous.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 6:05:54 PM
Author: Skippy123
DeeJay,
I am sorry, I am the queen of bruises. I might try out these suggestions, thanks.

Try the lemons, will ya??

If nothing else, you'll fmell good.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/18/2007 6:51:48 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 6/18/2007 6:05:54 PM
Author: Skippy123
DeeJay,
I am sorry, I am the queen of bruises. I might try out these suggestions, thanks.

Try the lemons, will ya??

If nothing else, you'll fmell good.

LOL

Ellen, white vinegar is good for swimmers ear. I found that out on vacation.

It worked for me.

 

[Kaleigh]

I right there with ya Dee, so am interested in these remedies. I''m not a klutz per say, but one good bump and there goes the bruising. Soooo annoying!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

I didn''t make it to Whole Foods on the way home, but I''m really interested in the arnica remedy. I did duck into CVS though and got some Burt''s Res-Q ointment BUT it hurt so frickin'' bad to rub it in that I had to go back and ice my leg and try it again. (And why the hell didn''t I think of that in the first place? Rub ointment into already very sore sport = YOWCH!!!) I also want to try the lemon idea but the HH said he needs them for the marinade so I have to pick, either bruise remedy or dinner. Hmmm... maybe I''ll have a glass of wine and think this over while the smell from the Res-Q ointment subsides...

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 6:57:35 PM
Author: Skippy123

LOL

Ellen, white vinegar is good for swimmers ear. I found that out on vacation.

It worked for me.

Oooh, I haven''t got that far in the book, I''ll have to see if it says the same thing. lol I believe it though. My dad gave me a book on vinegar (I know, funny), and it really IS an amazing product!

Thanks Skippers, I''ll tell my son, but hopefully he doesn''t ever need it.

Did you just put drops of it in your ear? And I know how it can hurt, sorry you got it.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 7:04:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
I didn''t make it to Whole Foods on the way home, but I''m really interested in the arnica remedy. I did duck into CVS though and got some Burt''s Res-Q ointment BUT it hurt so frickin'' bad to rub it in that I had to go back and ice my leg and try it again. (And why the hell didn''t I think of that in the first place? Rub ointment into already very sore sport = YOWCH!!!) I also want to try the lemon idea but the HH said he needs them for the marinade so I have to pick, either bruise remedy or dinner. Hmmm... maybe I''ll have a glass of wine and think this over while the smell from the Res-Q ointment subsides...

If you''ve got vinegar (and with that live in cook you prolly do

), try the wrap at bedtime, couldn''t hurt.

 

[Pandora II]

We used to put toothpaste on hickeys at boarding school - seemed to work quite well!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/18/2007 7:19:28 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 6/18/2007 6:57:35 PM
Author: Skippy123

LOL

Ellen, white vinegar is good for swimmers ear. I found that out on vacation.

It worked for me.

Oooh, I haven''t got that far in the book, I''ll have to see if it says the same thing. lol I believe it though. My dad gave me a book on vinegar (I know, funny), and it really IS an amazing product!

Thanks Skippers, I''ll tell my son, but hopefully he doesn''t ever need it.

Did you just put drops of it in your ear? And I know how it can hurt, sorry you got it.

Actually, I didn''t want to go to the hospital in Hawaii since you have to wait forever, so I called dial a nurse and described my symptoms. I had a super itchy ear and it burned too (I snorkeled) everyday so I wasn''t sure what was going on. The nurse said buy white vinegar and mix it with half water, then use a dropper and put it in the ear making sure it gets in by stretching the ear (I hope that makes sense). You have to be lying down and keep it there for 5 mins and do it twice daily. After one day I felt much better.

My friend is a medical doctor and I told him about it today at lunch and he said that is a great idea.

He never thought of it since people always want prescriptions. Those nurses are awesome

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 6/18/2007 7:20:57 PM
Author: Ellen

Date: 6/18/2007 7:04:45 PM
Author: Dee*Jay
I didn''t make it to Whole Foods on the way home, but I''m really interested in the arnica remedy. I did duck into CVS though and got some Burt''s Res-Q ointment BUT it hurt so frickin'' bad to rub it in that I had to go back and ice my leg and try it again. (And why the hell didn''t I think of that in the first place? Rub ointment into already very sore sport = YOWCH!!!) I also want to try the lemon idea but the HH said he needs them for the marinade so I have to pick, either bruise remedy or dinner. Hmmm... maybe I''ll have a glass of wine and think this over while the smell from the Res-Q ointment subsides...

If you''ve got vinegar (and with that live in cook you prolly do

), try the wrap at bedtime, couldn''t hurt.

Heeheee. I bet DeeJay will smell yummy. That is the only thing that bothered me. . . the smell.

I am sure her hubby will appreciate her coming to be w/her leg wrapped in it.

 

[VRBeauty]

Hmmm... I have a half-dollar sized bruise on my arm from running into something... and there's some arnica gel around here somewhere... I'll have to give it a try.

I run into things often enough that I have no idea anymore how I got that bruise!

Dee*Jay, your bruise sounds nasty. I hope it gets better soon!

 

[diamondfan]

Making a Big Fat Greek Wedding joke and saying WINDEX..

But seriusly, there is something called arnica, saw it at Whole Foods, which helps with bruising. I think you can either take it internally which I am not sure about a potential reaction, or you can buy a gel form and put it on. Not sure if it it needs to be used immediately. Sometimes patients take it in some form before plastic surgery to prevent or minimize swelling and bruising.

I am sorry you got hurt, I am a klutz too and seem to have a bruise or two all of the time.

 

[Lorelei]

Ditto arnica, I have used it with great results so many times. One occasion, Hubby''s ankle rolled and started to blow up and go red and grey

I immediately grabbed some arnica pellets ( from homeopathy stores) he took them and the ankle improved quickly and the next day was fine....Amazing stuff.

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/18/2007 10:55:06 PM
Author: Skippy123

Actually, I didn''t want to go to the hospital in Hawaii since you have to wait forever, so I called dial a nurse and described my symptoms. I had a super itchy ear and it burned too (I snorkeled) everyday so I wasn''t sure what was going on. The nurse said buy white vinegar and mix it with half water, then use a dropper and put it in the ear making sure it gets in by stretching the ear (I hope that makes sense). You have to be lying down and keep it there for 5 mins and do it twice daily. After one day I felt much better.

My friend is a medical doctor and I told him about it today at lunch and he said that is a great idea.

He never thought of it since people always want prescriptions. Those nurses are awesome

Yes.

My hubby used to think I was nuts trying to find natural remedies for things, so I had to remind him of where a lot of modern medicine comes from. He doesn''t think I''m so nuts now.

I''m glad you got help, NO fun not feeling well on vaca!




I may have to grab some of this Arnica....

 

[Dee*Jay]

OK, so this is what I've done so far:

I drank the vodka and tonic and rubbed the lemon on my leg. The dogs licked it off and later puked (I think there might be a connection there).

I opened the bottle of vinegar but the smell grossed me out so I never actually got to the point of applying it to my leg.

I got the Burt's Bees stuff, which I reported earlier hurt like hell when I rubbed it in. It didn't seem to do any good.

Last night I got the arnica from Whole Foods and applied it a few times. No real discernable result as of this morning, but when I went to the dermatologist for another reason I asked her about the arnica. She was like, sure, it won't *hurt* you to rub it on there. And I was like, but will it *help* me? She said no...

How can that be? So many good results reported here!! I was a little skeptical since I read about the double blind tests and how the results didn't seem any different than a placebo, but I was so hopeful! Oh well, I'm going to keep smearing it on there and hope for the best because this thing is nasty looking and if I don't have anything to lose by doing it, why not?

If there are any other suggestions (except the leeches, LOL!) I'm definitely open!