Bruise Photos

Have any of you ever had bruises so bad that you've felt compelled to take a photo of them? I was diagnosed with ITP in Dec 2008 and I've got pictures going back to at least 2006 where I've had a bruise which was worse than was deserved by the injury that caused it, which I can only guess is due to low platelets.

I did this one closing the car door 2 weeks ago - bottom corner scratched my leg.



And this one from 2006 was where someone opened a door into my shoulder - yet I thought nothing of it.



My worst was being covered in them when my count crashed back down to 24 and I had 3 in a row about 5" long by 2" high going round my right thigh. But never got pics....

Wow that certainly shows the difference in how this disorder affects people differently. I was diagnosed with ITP last August my count was 20k. The day before they found out my platelets were so low I had been laying block (80 lb interlocking stacked wall block). If I bruised like that I would have been black and blue from head to toe. I had at least a half dozen cuts on my hands and one smashed finger. None looked like as bad as your bruises. I think that was the one thing that kept them from admitting or even treating me that day.

For me it's more the proof that I've had ITP for at least 2 years prior to diagnosis - I'd always had unexplained bruising and it took ages for me to stop bleeding, and I'll be honest, I used to find it amusing - never once did it worry me, i just have a morbid fascination with my own injuries. Until I got my diagnosis. The day before I'd shut the carpark gate at work and it had nipped my finger and it took half an hour to stop bleeding. Anyone else it would've been minutes.

Last saturday i was at my friend's hen night (i was the only sober one there) and someone had chucked their drink down my leg - i was wearing a long dress and i lifted up the bottom bit to flap it dry, only to see red wine - no, actually it's blood and quite a lot of it - dripping down my leg. everyone starts screaming wondering what I've done, and i wandered off to find a member of staff and a first aid kit. they panic and start asking if i did it on the premises and i could only guess yes - i cleaned myself up (i'm a first aider and i've done more on myself than on anyone else) and even though it looked like i'd gashed my leg open, all i'd done was knock the tiny little shaving cut by my knee!

So all this bleeding and bruising, and yet it was only when i first saw 2 streaks of petechiae that i worried there was something wrong.

wow, those are some doozies. I've never thought of taking pics of my bruises. I've had some pretty bad ones too. Some that lasted more than a month. I've got on on my foot now that seems like it's going to be around for quite awhile.

Honestly, those aren't too bad for an ITP'er. I've had some the size of my fist that were solid black and had black trails that were blood running down my leg on the inside. I never took any pictures though.

I have never thought to take photos either, but I once had one that covered almost all of my lower left leg and I don't know how u got it, I didn't have a bad fall or anything

The year I was diagnosed, I fell down a couple of steps at a beach and wound up with a bruise 9.5 inches long by 3.5 inches wide. Wish I had taken a picture of that! My sister offered to take one; not sure why we didn't.

I have one right now, it showed up yesterday, on the inside of my arm by the elbow that looks like a bite mark but there aren't any teeth marks.

I've had bruises that look like the ones posted.

It was Bruises which helped me find out tht m suffering from ITP.
I underwent Splectonomy in Aug 2008 and till the start of this year my counts were satisfactory but now it has again come down to 17k.
I am not sure what should i do now. I dont want to start with prednisone as i hate its side effects. Infact i have not yet visited a doc again with a fear of Prednisone. Will Rituxan help me ? or is there any other alternative to this ?
I am a 28years old female. And planning to get married this decemeber. Can anyone tell me if ITP can affect my married life in anyway ?
Really appreciate a advise on this.
PLEASE HELP !!

Got another corker from Monday! Scraped past the corner on a dresser by accident:

Nice I agree that those bruises aren't too bad for ITP, especially since you hit yourself in each instance. The troublesome bruises have no explanation - huh, when did I do that? Those are often diffuse gray rather than the traditional, multi-colored impact bruise.

Fortunately, I don't bruise too badly, but I often get "pressure bruises" from doing yard work, etc. A few weeks ago, I chased my daughter through a rabbit hole at our local amusement park - and got a nice gray kneecap the next day!

-Todd

I sometimes struggle to get my head around this, I have had counts as low as 2 and I never get bruises or Petechiae but I bleed like crazy, not complaining about the bruising thing just trying to figure all this out.
Uurehsalla if you don't mind me asking what are your counts at?

My legs are also covered in bruises (about 1-2cm) which are spontaenous. Counted 7 this morning.

Last platelet count was 32 but I've just had a cold too, which has probably knackered my count.

Its hard for me to imagine what it like to bruise like that, and as for Petechiae I probably wouldn't know what to look for. I have searched for pictures but I imagine the ones on the net are extreme examples.
I hope you are ok, look after yourself.

I've also had bruises like yours--but my count was all the way down to 1000. I had some really dark-looking bruises that took over 6 weeks to go away. What I did do when my counts were really low was to take a look at what I was eating and drinking. I stopped the coffee and tea and stopped eating certain foods (some of the things that are "good" for us also "thin" our blood). You might want to take a look at some of the lists that relate to our platelets to see if you can get this bruising to slow down.

Good luck to you:)
DeeDee

Milly

I've taken a photo of Dougie's bruises and rash today so that I can show the doctor how bad they've been the next time he has an appointment. The first is his arm, and I think the petechaie might be from carrying his backpack at school. The bruise on his thigh is unexplained and a week old - it was far more impressive than this last week! He genuinely has no idea how he got it.

Hey Allison, that was a light bulb moment for me, I do get this rash often. Sometimes just from having a shower or scratching an itch. I have often wondered what is was but as I said the photos on the net always look so bad. I have even had it from carrying my handbag. Thanks for your help and I follow Dougie story on here, this must be so hard for kids and their parents.
Thanks for the photo's

Milly, glad to help!

I sympathise if you get this rash all the time. Dougie normally only gets tiny little spots like pinpricks on his lower legs when his count is under 20K or so. I don't know why it is different at the moment. He has these marks all over his arms and back where his backpack has been. He also has marks and bruises on his legs which I suspect have been caused by him playing footie at break - LOL, its difficult if not impossible to persuade him that its not safe, so don't feel too bad for him!!!!!!!

Yeah I can really understand how Dougie feels, I am 49 (50 in a few days) and at the moment have this rash on my face, arms and chest and my mouth was bleeding this morning but I am determined that I am not going to let this stop me from going on a beach holiday on Monday. I will worry about Drs and tests when I get back.

this was the bruise that made me go to docs i had 1 on each arm exactly the same and one on the back

of my leg thought it was strange at the time

Now that's a bruise! I had a similar spontaneous one on my thigh that was completely black.

I had an EMG two weeks ago which caused two nasty black bruises and my counts are fine. They are still there.

I also get Petechiae on my arms when I carry in the groceries. I hold the bags with my wrists without thinking. Later, I look and have petechiae in the same area. I fell this week and ended with them on my thigh. I've been this way even when my platelets are high.

But,I will have to say that is a nasty bruise!

Okay.. I can't compete with that crazy leg bruise! This is the best I got.. heheheh.. It's what got me to the hospital. Little bump on the arm going sailing. My count was 12 then....

That's pretty nasty!

Well guys I feel kinda guilty....I have had counts at 11000 and even though I have little bruises (size of a nickle) They are not black and they are just a bit purple then they turn green and yellow and go away. They may take 4 weeks to go away but I have never seen big bruises on me. I guess maybe the platelets I do have are working overtime.
Does everyone get bruises like the ones on here or am I different?
Shannon

When my count was really low, I was playing with my dog and she accidentally bit my thigh. Didn't puncture the skin but I had an enormous bruise that looked like the ones here, and turned amazing colors and lasted a long time. Most of my normal bruises didn't look so crazy.
Erica

Shannon - you have nothing to feel guilty about. I'm glad that some people don't get the nasty bruises. I never considered myself to be a bleeder, but I did have those large, black spontaneous ones.

I don't think you are different, I'm sure others get the little ones too.

yes, I've had those little ones. It's kinda like, "Why bother?!" lol. I've had the nasty big black/purple ones too. Thankfully, not much of a bleeder though!

Back in 1988 I discovered a bruise like that. It ran from my elbow to my shoulder and was almost black in color. I went to my PCP who did a CBC and discovered a count of 2,000. That was the beginning of my life with ITP.


Debbie D

Shannon i think you'll probably find that different people experience ITP differently. Some people get major bruises but no petechiae, others get constant petechiae and some people get the inexplicable petechiae at a 'good' count but nothing at all when they've dropped. A lot of us get tired, but some don't - some to the point that the fatigue stops them doing the most basic things, others get it a bit but are able to soldier on through it, and others are bursting with energy. I think a lot has to do with things like general fitness, age, platelet count, what treatments you've had, whether you're on or off the meds, other conditions etc. We truly are a spectrum disorder!