Brusies

[Guest]

Dear Doctor: I have been trying to stop but have not been real succesful. What I wanted to ask is this. Can there be any relation to having brusies and drinking wine. No I did not fall or anything. I have bruises on my arms, my inner thigh. My foot. I was just wondering if drinking too much red wine could be a factor or if this is possibly a sign of something more serious. Thank you for your time.

Linda

[Guest]

Brusies

Bruises

Hi Lin,
Once again, I'm not Dr. Garcia but I can tell you that alcohol does cause bruising. Back when I was in the worst of my alcoholism, drinking from 1 to 2 bottles of wine a night, I had the most incredible bruises! I do jazz and contemporary dance, and at one point, I was doing a movement on the floor and moved around on my butt. The next day (and for at least 2 weeks afterwards) I had a HUGE bruise on my posterior, incredible!

I talked to my sister in law who is a former nurse and she told me that alcohol tends to really deplete our systems of Vitamin C, and that could cause the bruising. She advised me to take Vitamin C and it did help, but I still had problems with bruising until I quit drinking. Now I have almost none.

So I think the answer to your question is, yes, the wine is responsible for your bruising most probably. However, I'll play Dr. Garcia here and tell you to check with your doctor to make sure, because there are of course other reasons for bruising, some which can be serious. But if you do that, do let him know that you drink, because there's no point in doing other things when cutting out the alcohol may solve the problem completely!

Anne

[Guest]

Brusies

Re: Bruises

I don't know why I keep getting you when I thought I went to ask the doctor. Sorry to have bothered you, but thank you for the advice I have changed my PCP but can not go to him untill December. Insurances are not patient friendly anymore. But thank you again, and continued good luck with being sober. Have a great weekend

[Guest]

Brusies

Re: Bruises

Hi.

Thanks, Anne. Alcohol does indeed deplete many of the vitamins and proteins that are essential to good body protoplasm so the individual is more vulnerable to all sorts of injuries. Alcohol causes many changes in the liver cells, from fatty infiltrations of the cells to scarring and fibrosis. The liver cells have many important functions in the overall factory assembly line of the body. Production of clotting enzymes is one of them. When the liver cells have been exposed to alcohol (even one bottle of wine) the delicate reactions don't occur as they should and many problems, including bruising, can occur. A common injury often unrecognized is chronic subdural hematoma. This is a slow bleed between the membranous tough covering layers of the brain and beneath the skull. Because it develops slowly the personality changes are subtle and often attributed simply to alcohol abuse. However, it is fairly easy to treat once recognized, although it may sound crude: drill a hole in the skull to release the blood. Otherwise the condition is lethal.

Thanks for your input on bleeding and drinking.

--Dr. Garcia

[Guest]

Brusies

Brusises

Thank you doctor for your answer. I figured that was what it was from. I just didn't want to admit it. Thank you again. My fater had the problem with the brain. So I take this as a true wake up call.

Linda don't wanna drink

[Guest]

Brusies

Re: Brusises

Thank you for your info. I bruise too and this is probably why. I've had constant bruising like this before with my eds.