"For months, I kept waking up to find purple and blue marks scattered across my legs and arms like a connect-the-dots puzzle I never asked to play. At first, I brushed them off. Maybe I bumped into the coffee table again? Perhaps I was just clumsy during my morning runs? But when my partner started pointing out bruises on my back that I couldn't have possibly caused myself, I knew something wasn't right."
"The breaking point came during a weekend trip with my core group of friends. We were getting ready for dinner when one of them gasped at the sight of my legs. "What happened to you?" she asked, eyes wide. I looked down to see what looked like a watercolor painting of purples, yellows, and greens running from my thighs to my ankles. That's when I finally admitted I had no idea where any of them came from."
"Then she said something that surprised me: "Bruising easily can be normal in some people and becomes more common as we age," she explained, echoing what hematology specialist William Nichols, M.D., often tells patients. But she wasn't ready to dismiss it as just aging or clumsiness. She ordered blood tests to check my platelet count, clotting factors, and vitamin levels. The waiting period for results felt eternal."
A person woke to unexplained purple, blue, and multicolored bruises across limbs and back, sometimes without any remembered injury. Friends noticed the marks and expressed alarm, prompting medical attention. A physician inquired about medications, supplements, diet, and fatigue and noted that easy bruising can occur in some people and becomes more common with age. The physician ordered blood tests to evaluate platelet count, clotting factors, and vitamin levels. While awaiting results, the person researched causes and mechanisms of bruising to better understand potential underlying conditions and next steps.
Read at Silicon Canals
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