Mixing alcohol and medicines is harmful and may cause unpleasant side effects, one of which is bruising. Chronic heavy drinking can cause alcoholic hepatitis, which is the inflammation of your liver. One common sign of alcoholic hepatitis is jaundice, where the skin and whites of your eyes look yellowish.
Why you bruise more easily when you drink alcohol
When platelet levels fall below 50,000/μL due to thrombocytopenia, leukemia, or aplastic anemia, even very minor bumps can result in large patches of ecchymosis. You may avoid possible health problems by limiting your alcohol consumption. When it comes to drinking, remember to always prioritize your well-being and make appropriate decisions.
- These organisms play a crucial role in your gut and immune system function.
- Examples of drinking in dangerous situations include driving while under the influence or drinking before operating some form of heavy machinery.
- Bruises that take a long time to heal or getting bruised for no apparent cause could be signs of a bleeding disorder.
- Alcohol has a thinning effect on the blood, making it easier for blood vessels to rupture and leading to more substantial and frequent bruising.
- This is swelling and tenderness where your toe bones connect on the bottom of your foot.
- Vitamin K is crucial for synthesizing clotting factors in the liver.
Liver Disease
This prolonged bleeding time can result in visible bruises, even from minor injuries that typically would not cause bruising. Often, bruising after drinking is a result of falling or bumping into something. Coordination problems from alcohol consumption make injuries more likely, and since alcohol dilates the blood vessels, you’re more likely to bruise if you do fall or bump into something. Sometimes, bruising after drinking occurs because of the fact that alcohol dilates the blood vessels. When blood vessels are dilated, you’re more likely to experience a bruise after bumping into something. This effect may explain why you’re waking up with bruises after drinking.
Pregnancy and breastfeeding while taking Plavix
- Don’t do this yourself because you could hurt yourself further, cause an infection, and slow your healing process.
- Every sip does another tiny bit of damage and impairs healing, and that can lead to more bruising.
- Don’t stop taking any prescription medicine without talking to your doctor first.
- When a person consumes alcohol, their blood vessels dilate, and this increased blood flow can lead to minor injuries becoming more noticeable bruises.
- And finally, she adds, pay attention to other changes throughout your body, like unexplained weight loss, fevers, or swelling.
Other health conditions like weight may also lead to an increase in bruises. An elderly adult’s skin is prone to bruising because the blood vessels underneath the skin are no longer cushioned by fat. “In fact, the reason people put lemon and limes in their drinks is because vitamin C deficiencies are common in alcoholics,” Goldenberg says. “A lot of people think they bruise easily; that’s subjective and may or may not always be the case. It’s helpful when people take pictures of bruises they’re concerned about and make a note of the trauma that caused it,” says Angelini. Some people bruise easily because of mild bleeding disorders they’ve inherited, says Dr. Angelini.
While the liver is designed to filter out toxins, the sensitive cells that line the liver can be damaged by alcohol exposure. Your liver can begin to develop fatty deposits because alcohol rehab of alcohol exposure, and that fat makes it harder for your liver to work effectively. If you keep drinking, your liver can swell, and cells within the liver can die.
Serious side effects of Plavix
As you get older, your skin produces less collagen, a protein that keeps skin looking firm and plump. When collagen production declines, the dermis — the middle layer of skin that makes up 90% of skin’s thickness — shrinks. If you’re bruising easily, even when you don’t remember banging yourself, you’re not alone, especially if your younger days are behind you. The occasional accident—shin to the coffee table, hip to the doorknob—is inevitable, as are the minor hits and jabs of everyday does drinking make you bruise easier life, so you probably can’t prevent bruises entirely. But moving a bit more slowly through the world can help you become more aware of your surroundings and better navigate around obstacles, Dr. Young says.