Thanks to the people who replied to this. I'll respond to each: Day -- yes, and I do bruise easily, normally. This just seemed to be something entirely different. I haven't been taking my Vit. C -- I'll do better on that score. And I will check out Linus Pauling's website. Thanks.
Annie -- I have also broken a blood vessel before, and you're right -- it hurts a lot. This was just so odd that the bruise followed the vein first -- and caused pain further on down the arm. Perhaps you're right that the vein burst somehow -- but I don't understand why the bruise would first be a little ribbon, and then spread out like a regular bruise. I suppose it would be prudent to see a doc. I've been wracking my brain trying to remember if I somehow injured that arm. Seems like I'd remember, doesn't it? Malcolm -- sorry that I wasn't clear about that -- I do sleep with my head on a pillow, but with my arm outstretched underneath the pillow. Even with the pillow in place, my arm couldn't tolerate the weight of my head over that area. Even as of last night, it was still uncomfortable and I had to find another position for my arm. And I suppose it could have been a clot. Would that cause bruising though? I suppose it might if the clot caused a vein to burst. Wouldn't say much for the relative health of my veins, would it. :-( ________________________________ From: Day Sutton <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, May 30, 2009 9:09:49 AM Subject: Re: CS>A puzzle............. easy bruising is a sure sign of a vit c deficiency. do a google search. Also check out Linus Paulings website.. On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 10:02 AM, Annie <[email protected]> wrote: Bruising is caused by blood leaking into the surrounding tissues. And the blood can come from a lot of different places..It may be that a weak vein just gave way. Kind of like an anuerism, just not in your head. I would definitely have your medical professional of choice check it out. If it had been an artery you would have been in some serious trouble. Artery pressure is much much higher than the BP in veins. Arterial blood is being pumped from the heart to the body so it's under much more pressure. Veins return the blood to the heart. That's why folks get varicose veins, the little valves in the blood vessels of the legs get less effecient, and blood pools in the tiny veins, and the veins bulge out. My aunt started developing varicose veins, so I did some research about them online, to see if I could find something to help reduce them. And I found all kinds of interesting stuff. I've hit my fingers on things and burst a vein before. And It does hurt. Not just the blow, but the burst vessel, it stings and aches for days, and the skin around it turns blue/black/purple. Annie On Fri, May 29, 2009 at 10:29 AM, MaryAnn Helland <[email protected]> wrote: An odd thing happened to me this week. Tuesday night when I went to bed, I felt a sharp pain in my left arm -- high on the inside about midway between the shoulder and elbow. I ordinarily rest my head on the inside of my arm to sleep, and this was painful enough to disallow that. On Wednesday morning, I had a bruise along the artery there, running down to and including the inside of the elbow -- and the top of my forearm was painful to the touch. I *lased* (low-level-light laser) the place on my arm where the original pain was (which was still painful to the touch). By Thursday, the pain was pretty much gone, but the bruise had spread to generous proportions -- almost all of the inside of my upper arm. Today the pain is still gone and the bruise is beginning to lighten. But here's the puzzle -- the whole thing was pretty much spontaneous. I don't remember doing anything that could cause an injury -- much less something as painful as that, or to cause that kind of bruising. I sensed that it was the artery itself that was hurting. Is that possible? Can arteries (or veins) *hurt*? Anybody have any idea what the heck that was all about? I'm not one to run to the doctor quickly -- I'm inclined to wait a day or two and see what develops. But I don't want to be stupid either. Of course, if it happened again, I'd go see my doctor immediately. But I was hoping that someone might have some insight. TIIA. MA -- Day Sutton [email protected]
