People with leukemia are more likely to bruise because their bodies don't make enough platelets to plug bleeding blood vessels. Leukemia bruises look like any other kind of bruise, but there tend to be more of them than usual. Additionally, they may show up on unusual areas of your body, such as your back.
These bruises are different from the ones we're used to seeing: they might be much darker red or purple and could be irregularly shaped. Bruises that could indicate cancer might also appear on parts of the body where bruises wouldn't normally occur, like on the head, face, thighs or back, Dr. Wang says.
A person with leukemia may bruise more easily than before and in unusual places. They may also develop petechiae or purpura — red or purple patches that, like bruises, result from bleeding under the skin.
Bruising and bleeding more easily than normal may be a side effect of your cancer treatment. The most common reason for cancer patients to experience excessive bruising or bleeding is a low platelet count, a condition also referred to as thrombocytopenia.
Easy bruising sometimes indicates a serious underlying condition, such as a blood-clotting problem or a blood disease. See your health care provider if you: Have frequent, large bruises, especially if your bruises appear on your trunk, back or face or seem to develop for no known reasons.
Other symptoms can include fever, enlarged veins on the abdomen that can be seen through the skin, and abnormal bruising or bleeding.
Some people (it's usually women) just have more fragile blood vessels, and that makes them more likely to bruise, especially on their upper arms, thighs, or butt. It may seem scary, but if you feel fine and don't have any other symptoms, it's probably nothing to worry about.
Examples of suspicious bruises can include: Bruising on babies or children who are not independently mobile. Bruising in clusters, that occur multiple times in similar shapes and sizes. Bruising on areas of the body such as the torso, ears, neck, eyes, cheeks and buttocks.
Symptoms of liver cancer include fatigue, jaundice (yellowing of the skin), pain, easy bruising or bleeding, and weight loss.
Inflammation and tenderness over the bone. Problems with mobility such as stiff joints or reduced movement. Development of an unexplained limp, joint stiffness and reduced range of motion. Easy bruising.
These symptoms can be associated with a variety of medical conditions, including generalized anxiety disorder and acute stress reaction.
Unexplained bruising on the legs can occur in both adults and children due to a variety of factors, including injury, age, an underlying health condition, or even things like medication. For example, in adults, bruising can occur more easily as we age due to thinning of the skin.
Vitamin K. According to Women's Health, vitamin K deficiency could be the cause of easy bruising. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble nutrient that is essential for blood clotting and helps strengthen the walls of the capillaries so they will be less prone to breakage.
Older adults often bruise more easily, because the skin becomes less flexible with age, and there is less fat to protect the blood vessels. Sun exposure can also increase the risk.
People with leukemia are more likely to bruise because their bodies don't make enough platelets to plug bleeding blood vessels. Leukemia bruises look like any other kind of bruise, but there tend to be more of them than usual. Additionally, they may show up on unusual areas of your body, such as your back.
Leukemia can produce a variety of symptoms, although most are not often apparent in the earliest stages of the malignancy. The most common symptoms of leukemia—fatigue, pale skin, weight loss and night sweats—are often attributed to other less serious conditions, such as the flu.
Some symptoms, like night sweats, fever, fatigue and achiness, resemble flu-like symptoms. Unlike symptoms of the flu, which generally subside as you get better, leukemia symptoms generally last longer than two weeks, and may include sudden weight loss, bone and joint pain and easy bleeding or bruising.
Bruising or bleeding is one of the most common symptoms associated with a blood cancer diagnosis. According to our 2018 patient survey, “Living with Leukaemia”, frequent bruising and bleeding precedes a diagnosis of leukaemia in 24% of patients.
A damaged liver produces fewer of the proteins necessary for blood clotting, which means you may bleed and bruise more easily.
Causes of a Bruise
These bruises result from microscopic tears in blood vessels under the skin. Unexplained bruises that occur easily or for no apparent reason may indicate a bleeding disorder, especially if the bruising is accompanied by frequent nosebleeds or bleeding gums.
There's not enough iron to produce haemoglobin, which causes the production of platelets to dip. Platelets are an important component of proper blood clotting, so a drop in platelets leads to increased bruising, along with fatigue, weakness, cold hands and feet, and lightheadedness.
The bruising appears as a blue discoloration, and is a sign of retroperitoneal hemorrhage, or bleeding behind the peritoneum, which is a lining of the abdominal cavity. Grey Turner's sign takes 24–48 hours to develop, and can predict a severe attack of acute pancreatitis.