Nasty, nasty bruise.

[Lothlorien]

I got my lower leg caught and bruised it pretty severely. I put vaseline on the skin (once I could tolerate touch) to prevent the brusing coming to the skin (yes this does work, really well in fact). However, this was weeks ago. The bruise is under the skin and is very lumpy and itches.

Yeah, I work for an ortho, but hate calling him unless I have to.

Is that normal? It's not really painful, but it is really annoying. It's a little sore and there is some redness, but I'm not sure if that's just from me scratching at it.

 

[gcvmom]

I had a bad bruise like that on my shin. Developed a similar itchy lumpiness, too. I found that if I massaged the lump, over time it broke up and blended with the rest of the tissue. I'm not a doctor, but I suspect it has something to do with residual blood products and collagen/granulation tissue sent to repair the site. It took mine over 6 months to heal, and 18 months later I still have a pink scar on the surface where the skin was abraded. Hope you heal quickly!

 

[Lothlorien]

Yeah, sounds just like what I have. It's not actually on the shin, but very close to it. Thanks!

 

[susiestar]

It takes longer to heal as you grow older. I remember sunburns healing in a few days as a kid, ones with blisters in about a week. Now that I am an adult it takes a week or more for a mild sunburn to heal. Massage can help break up scar tissue etc... and mederma cream makes a huge difference in helping a scar heal. As it still hurts you may want to ask your doctor about it, just to be sure. One thing to be careful with is blood clots from any large injury. Read up on the symptoms to make sure you can tell if you are having a problem develop.

 

[AnnieO]

Sweetie, when Onyxx attacked me two years ago my Mom suggested baby aspirin (81 mg) once a day to help prevent clots. Have you done something like this? I don't know if it's too late to start or...

FWIW, I still have faint scars from that day.

 

[Fran]

Loth, I'm not too sure about massaging any bruised area for fear of dislodging a clot which could give you a blood clot to the lung or worse. Same with ASA. Unless your doctor says it's ok, I would be very hesitant to take it.
You might need to have it checked out but it sounds like it's just healing and blood reabsorbing. in my humble opinion.

 

[TerryJ2]

I'd have to see it to know for sure, but it sounds like you have it under control, even though it's still swollen and itchy. Unless you bruised the bone, which can take yrs. You said near the shin, not on it, so that's probably a good thing.
Just wanted to send gentle hugs.

 

[hearts and roses]

In delerium from the flu, I once climbed on top of our freezer to let in cool are (??) and when I 'jumped' off, I really slid off and gouged HUGE into my upper outer thigh, creating a HUGE hematoma (really really bad deep bruise through the tissue to the bone, breaking many blood vessels). It took almost 9 months for the bruise to finally go away. After the initial first few hours I was told NOT to massage it for the same reasons Daisy mentioned. Also, ice and elevation. I even consulted my Dr for it and he said to basically just give it time. Sometimes when there is pressure applied to that area, it still is sore and it's been 3 years! Unfortunately, when I'm seated at the dinner table, it's the exact location that my pitifully begging dog does pawsprings off of. Ouch.

If you're concerned about what steps you should take going forward, ask your Dr.