Alcohol-related abnormalities in RBC production manifest themselves not only in the bone marrow but also through the presence of defective RBC’s in the blood. As a result, alcoholics frequently are diagnosed with anemia (figure 1). Another way to identify blood disorders is to perform a complete blood count (CBC), in which a machine counts all the cells within a blood sample. In addition, these machines can determine several other parameters of blood cells, such as their average size, which may be diagnostic for certain disorders.

And when the blood vessels underneath your skin break, it causes blood to leak out. Because denial is common, you may feel like you don’t have a problem with drinking. You might not recognize how much you drink or how many problems in your life are related to alcohol use. Listen to relatives, friends or co-workers when they ask you to examine your drinking habits or to seek help. Consider talking with someone who has had a problem with drinking but has stopped.

Top What is Easy Bruising a Sign Of Related Articles

Some research results indicate that alcohol can interfere with leukotriene production. Rarely, severe pain after drinking alcohol is a sign of a more serious disorder, such as Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Although the classic ‘drinker’s nose’ (rhinophyma) was thought to be related to excess alcohol consumption, it has never been proven. In a case-control study of 175 people with rosacea and 145 people with normal skin, there was no significant difference in alcohol consumption between the two groups.

Alcohol use disorder is a pattern of alcohol use that involves problems controlling your drinking, being preoccupied with alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems. This disorder also involves having to drink more to get the same effect or having withdrawal symptoms when you rapidly decrease or stop drinking. Alcohol use disorder includes a level of drinking that’s sometimes called alcoholism.

What can you do to improve your liver health?

Finally, alcohol-induced abnormalities in the plasma proteins that are required for blood clotting can lead to the formation of blood clots (i.e., thrombosis). Furthermore, if alcohol bruises are a result of liver damage, you likely have alcoholic liver disease, which causes severe dysfunction in the liver. Alcohol is known to be toxic to the liver, and a majority of people who regularly consume 4 or more drinks per day will develop a fatty liver. The first step in treating any level of alcoholic liver disease focuses on removing alcohol from the diet.

In addition, about 40 to 60 percent of people who experience chronic alcohol misuse also experience alcohol-related myopathy. To prevent alcoholic liver disease and other conditions linked to the consumption of alcohol, doctors advise people to follow National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) guidelines. In 2015, 16.5% of all liver transplants in the United States occurred due to alcoholic liver disease, making it the third most common reason for transplants behind chronic hepatitis C and liver cancer. Rarely, an increase in bleeding and bruising may be a sign of leukemia. After all, heavy alcohol consumption increases the risk of serious injuries from falls, burns, and motor vehicle crashes.

Some Types of Cancer

This article explains why some people may bruise more easily than others. A fall, blow, or other impact that exerts sudden high pressure on the skin can cause a bruise. Very forceful blows can damage bones, causing deep bleeding and bruises that take several weeks to heal. Because there is more blood at the surface of your skin when you drink, when those blood vessels break, it makes it that much easier to create the beautiful visual effect of a good ol’ black-and-blue. Bruises that take a long time to heal or getting bruised for no apparent cause could be signs of a bleeding disorder. If your bruise doesn’t improve within two weeks, or if you start to notice frequent, unexplained bruises—whether you’re drunk or sober—call your doctor.

But as you continue to drink, you become drowsy and have less control over your actions. Robert is our health care professional reviewer of this website. He has a nursing and business/technology degrees from The Johns Hopkins University. If you develop unexplained bruising on your arms or legs, something caused it — you touched or bumped against something that resulted in that bruise. Easy bruising is the frequent appearance of purple, brown or red discolorations on your skin. Most bruises aren’t much more than a nuisance, but if it’s very painful, or if you’ve had it for 2 weeks and it doesn’t show signs of getting better, call your doctor.

When to contact a doctor

Family members can learn how to talk to and respond to their loved one in ways that reward being sober but don’t enable drinking-related behavior. These methods have been shown to increase the chance that people with alcohol problems will reduce their drinking and get treatment even more than Al-Anon or interventions. If you use multiple drugs like alcohol and pot, or alcohol and pain pills, you have a high risk of addiction and overdose. Many people have died from using alcohol and pain pills together, or alcohol and anxiety medicines. Talk to your doctor if you drink and take prescription medicines. They can also form beneath the skin, on the scalp, nose, or ears, or under a toenail or fingernail.

• Heavy alcohol consumption thus may increase the drinker’s risk of suffering a stroke.
• They are most frequently found on the face, v of the neck, chest, arms, hands and abdomen.
• When you drink, different enzymes in your liver work to break down alcohol so that it can be removed from your body.
• They may also develop large bruises after minor injuries or have bruises that take many weeks to heal.
• They may be visible in areas with less melanin, such as the forearms.

According to the Mayo Clinic, skin becomes thinner with age, resulting in a smaller barrier between skin and the blood vessels. In fact, alcohol causes lots of people to bruise more — and not just because you’re more prone to falling when you’re drunk. Alcohol happens to be something does alcohol cause bruising called a vasodilator, which causes, you guessed it, vasodilation. It’s not likely, but it’s possible that your bruises are a sign of blood cancer, such as leukemia. If you also feel tired, achy, and weak all the time, or lose weight without trying to, give your doctor a call.

The liver makes proteins that the blood needs for clotting, so if it’s not doing its job, you may bleed or bruise more easily. It could be a sign that you’ve got a condition called cirrhosis, which is scarring of the liver. As long as someone is able to move the affected eye in all directions and does not have vision changes or a headache, it may not be a serious injury that requires a visit to the hospital. If there are any concerns about injury to the eye, see a doctor. Bruises in elderly people frequently occur because their skin has become thinner with age . The tissues that support the underlying blood vessels have become more fragile.