I am such a klutz
and the bruises last for weeks.
(camera flashing)
What can I do to make them go away or prevent them?
(guests clapping)
I love this question.
So what works to fade bruises
and even prevent them in the first place.
And Doctor B, I know you're the skin expert.
Number one question I have,
is it true that women, like in the video,
bruise easier than men?
Actually it is true
and that's because women often have certain areas
that are more prone to bruising,
like the upper arms, our bottoms, our thighs.
That's where our skin is thinner.
We have a little more subcutaneous fat
and it's the way the fat and the blood vessels
are actually arranged in those areas.
So who of us hasn't gone to put on a really cute tank top
and then had this horrible bruise
on their upper arm and you can't.
And that's real; that's actually an issue.
It's much more noticeable if your skin is lighter.
And also some people are just genetically
more prone to it because it runs in families.
But we actually have a great graphic
that shows you what happens in your skin
when you knock into something.
This is what happens when you bruise.
If you look inside the skin,
you're actually sheering the blood vessels,
so the red blood cells are released
into that layer right under the skin and discolor it.
And that's what we're waiting to fade
when the bruise is there.
So to her and your question,
there actually are a few things you can do.
The first is we often get asked about Arnica.
And so, Arnica is something
that can either be taken in pellet form,
where you take it before a procedure.
So if you know you're going in for surgery
or going in for something where you're likely
to bruise up, like a hard intense workout,
something like that.
I think it's a great idea to start this
a night before, with the pellets,
and I don't know if you'd recommend this--
I think everybody does it.
I remember the first time I heard of Arnica
was back in the 80s.
A woman I did a facelift on
had a ton of bruising, like a plum.
I saw her two days later,
and I said, wow, I've never seen, what did you do?
She goes, "Arnica;"
I have never heard of it. Yeah.
Isn't it funny when the patients tell you about things.
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean 20, 30 years later, everybody gets Arnica.
Yeah, so a day before,
and then for three days after your procedure
you can certainly take the pellets.
And so that's good preventively.
I think the Arnica gel is really helpful after a procedure.
That's when it's going to have some clearance value as well.
This one is really cool.
This is actually Bromelain,
and it comes in pineapple stocks.
And this is a great anti-inflammatory.
You can actually buy it as a supplement.
When I tell my patients to take it,
it's 250 mg three times a day
for three days after a procedure.
A great way to disperse inflammation
and get those bruises to go away more quickly.
But one thing to do,
and this may be relevant for this viewer,
is try to avoid blood thinners.
Because if you're already prone to bruising
and you're taking a bunch of ibuprofen
or aspirin or naproxen.
Even things like fish oil and Vitamin C
are kind of hidden things that we all
sometimes have in our diet.
And we don't realize thin our blood
and make us bruise a little bit more easily.
We live in an age now where you go online
and there's advertising for everything.
And there's tricks for everything, right?
So what are the ones that really don't work.
So these work. Yeah,
these are things that work. (all talking at once)
These are my favorite ones
that are all over the internet of things that don't work.
Oh boy.
Mouthwash.
So, mouthwash is one we've seen out there.
This does nothing.
So just erase this from your memory.
And then the other is banana peels.
Because that's one that people often talk about.
Put it on a bruise; it should not have any effect.
So, you know, really an ounce of prevention
worth a pound of cure.
But let's say you have a huge event
and you really have a horrible bruise,
or even lasers, like a VBeam vascular laser,
can go in and disperse the bruise more quickly.
And early on, when you first bump yourself,
if you have a minute to put some ice on it.
(Sonia) Absolutely.
That will, you talked about what causes a bruise,
is that sheering effect of the blood vessels.
If you can keep that at bay a little bit with ice early on,
the bruise may not be as bad.
Absolutely, yeah. All right.