What may increase the risk of a problem from a bruise or blood spot?
Many conditions, lifestyle choices, medications, and diseases interfere with your ability to heal or fight infection. You may be at risk for a more serious problem from your symptoms if you have any of the following. Be sure to tell your health professional.
Conditions
- Being older than 60
- Having had a recent blood transfusion
- Nutritional deficiencies, such as deficiencies of vitamins C, K, or B12, or folic acid
- Pregnancy
- Widespread infection that causes the buildup of toxin in the blood or tissues (sepsis)
Lifestyle choices
- Alcohol abuse or withdrawal
- Drug abuse or withdrawal
- High-risk sexual behavior
- Smoking or other tobacco use
Medications
- Anticoagulants, such as aspirin, enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, or warfarin (Coumadin)
- Corticosteroids, such as prednisone
- Estrogens, such as in hormone replacement therapy or oral contraceptives
- Medications to prevent organ transplant rejection
- Medications to treat cancer (chemotherapy)
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as aspirin, ibuprofen, or naproxen
- Radiation therapy
Diseases
- Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus
- Bleeding disorders, such as hemophilia or von Willebrand's disease
- Cancer
- Decreased blood flow (venous insufficiency)
- Diabetes
- Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
- Heart failure
- Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection
- Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Malabsorption syndromes
- Malnutrition
- Multiple sclerosis (MS)
- Spinal cord injury
- Stroke
| Author: | Jan Nissl, RN, BS | Last Updated: May 8, 2007 |
| Medical Review: | William M. Green, MD - Emergency Medicine Alexander H. Murray, MD, FRCPC - Dermatology | |
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