Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: I'm Lauren bvogelbamb And Today I've got a classic.
Speaker 2: Episode of a podcast for you.
Speaker 1: In this one, we're talking about these slightly gross but
Speaker 1: totally awesome science behind bruises and why they change color
Speaker 1: while your body is healing from a bump. Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: I'm Lauren vogelbamb And. If you're anything like me and
Speaker 1: absentmindedly attempt to walk through solid objects instead of around them,
Speaker 1: you're familiar with bruises. They can be embarrassing reminders of
Speaker 1: less than graceful moments, or, perhaps for an athlete with
Speaker 1: hard won marks from a vigorous workout, a mark of
Speaker 1: profound pride. But however you choose to view bruises, they're
Speaker 1: pretty fascinating. The variety of colorful patterns they create on
Speaker 1: the skin is reason enough to want to learn more
Speaker 1: about these weird and sometimes painful spots that everyone is
Speaker 1: coped with at one point or another. Otherwise known as
Speaker 1: a contusion, a bruise is a mark that appears when
Speaker 1: when blood is trapped underneath the surface of the skin.
Speaker 1: Bruises occur when some type of trauma or injury crushes
Speaker 1: tiny blood vessels known as capillaries, but doesn't break the skin.
Speaker 1: As a result of the injury, the broken capillaries leak
Speaker 1: out red blood cells, which get trapped under the skin,
Speaker 1: collecting in a pool that forms the blue, purple, red,
Speaker 1: black blemish. Bruises can feel tender when they first form
Speaker 1: and can be accompanied by some swelling. They usually take
Speaker 1: about two weeks to heal, but some bruises can last months.
Speaker 1: During the healing period, the body breaks down and reabsorbs
Speaker 1: the pooled blood that produced the mark. As this happens,
Speaker 1: the color of the bruises can fade from dark to
Speaker 1: light and take on all kinds of interesting hues along
Speaker 1: the way. When a bruise first forms, it's usually some
Speaker 1: shade of red thanks to the fresh blood just below
Speaker 1: the skin's surface. After about a day or two, the
Speaker 1: hemoglobin in the blood cells starts losing its oxygen, which
Speaker 1: is what gives blood its red color in the first place.
Speaker 1: Hemoglobin is the protein that transports oxygen to cells, so
Speaker 1: as it's broken down by the BOTO, it loses that
Speaker 1: oxygen it was carrying, and its red tone darkens and
Speaker 1: shifts to blue. Purple and blackish tones. After a few
Speaker 1: more days, the mark usually fades to greener yellow, before
Speaker 1: being hit with a hint of brown and then fading
Speaker 1: away completely. This color change.
Speaker 2: Occurs as the body reuses the iron in the hemoglobin
Speaker 2: to form new red blood cells. The unused decomposed hemoglobin
Speaker 2: transforms into a green pigment called biliverdin, which then converts
Speaker 2: into a yellow or light brown tinged compound called bilirubin.
Speaker 2: As all these products are either reabsorbed or purged from
Speaker 2: the body, the mark fades and disappears. Just About everyone
Speaker 2: gets bruises, but some people are more prone to them
Speaker 2: than others. Elderly people, for example, may be more likely
Speaker 2: to bruise to to thinner skin and softer tissue. Other
Speaker 2: factors like certain diseases, medical conditions, and medications can also
Speaker 2: increase a person's risk for bruising. So what do you
Speaker 2: do when you get a hickey, a shiner, or any
Speaker 2: other form of contusion. Usually time real life does heal
Speaker 2: all wounds. Eventually, A serious bruise can develop clots that
Speaker 2: take months to resolve, but will usually go away on
Speaker 2: their own. And while there are plenty of urban myths
Speaker 2: and tales about how to magically banish bruises in a snap.
Speaker 2: The only legit healing method is to chill, literally and figuratively.
Speaker 2: Doctors recommend applying ice right after the injury occurs, and
Speaker 2: then resting the injured area as much as you can
Speaker 2: for the next few days. After that, you can try
Speaker 2: applying mild heat to increase blood flow, which might speed
Speaker 2: the healing process up a little bit. By the way,
Speaker 2: if you find yourself constantly battling bruises, you might want
Speaker 2: to talk to a doctor to investigate whether you have
Speaker 2: a nutrient deficiency because your blood requires vitamin K to
Speaker 2: clock properly. If you don't have enough, you might bruise
Speaker 2: more easily. Vitamin C is also important to protect your
Speaker 2: blood vessels. Today's episode is based on the article why
Speaker 2: do bruises change color as they heal? On hostifforks dot Com,
Speaker 2: written by Shell cons Standinofsky. Brainstuff is production by Heart
Speaker 2: Radio in partnership with how Stuffworks.
Speaker 1: Dot Com is produced by Tyler Klag.
Speaker 2: Four more podcasts my Heart Radio, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Speaker 2: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.