I know steroids make the skin fragile. But I seem (to myself anyway) to have an excessive amount of bruising, petechiae, etc. on my arms , often near a vein, but without any injury. Does anyone else experience this?
Bleeding Under Skin Without Injury: I know steroids... - PMRGCAuk
Bleeding Under Skin Without Injury
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Christophene
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Yes. Some people even have their skin tear easily. Usually I just get liitle red marks but last winter I found I had completely unknown to myself done something which caused a flap of skin to peel off my forearm. It took ages to heal but there's no sign of it now.
Yep I have the same thing. It is a nuisance. I can't let the dog jump on me or I will be bruised, have red marks or a skin tear. Looks awful. Aww the joys of prednisone.
Bruises and purpura appear as if by magic.
Yes, me same as above!
Yes I am very much the same. Although you haven’t had any injury, it takes very little to cause bruising. You only have to brush against something without realising and a bruise appears out of nowhere.
Yes I have the same problem, but it has got a lot better since I have got onto a lower dose of steroids. I was originally on 40 & am now on 8.5
I get this too and quite often just from putting my rucksack on. They can last for 2 weeks.
I have the same problem, 3 years of high pred has resulted in my skin thinning also the peripheral blood vessels have been weakened, so slightest bang or bump causes bruises & bleeding under the skin.
My legs look like I have been in a Kick-Boxing fight - not a pretty sight!!
It could be an old age thing (with me) but also a side-effect of prednisone and other drugs. My hand was most affected and had to give up shaking hands!!
yes I have noticed more bruising since being on prednisolone x
Just happened for first time yesterday. (Two years post diagnosis, currently on 7mgs). No injury, just a large 'blood blister' type thing on hand near thumb joint. Oh the joys!
Hi Christophene, Thank you for giving me the word 'petechiae' - now I know what to call the wretched things! Yes, I have those and the bruising and last Friday had an experience that showed me just how fragile my skin had become. I tripped over a door step, a minor fall that should have just resulted in bruising, but I ended up with a gashed leg. If you missed my post about it, it's here:
healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk......
It certainly taught me a sobering lesson.
Bleeding under the skin began with pred. Having tapered to 5.5 mg pred, the bleeding is just as bad. The risk of an infected gash is also greater on pred.
I hope you all are using Double Base Gel............dropping soap, especially the sort with micro-plastic in it. The Double Base gel does help and I will be always grateful to a fellow sufferer to steered my to ask my GP for a prescription. I now just buy it OTC.
It does seem as though it's helpful to use something on the skin. (Moisturizer doesn't seem like the right word, we are really maintaining body oils, what is the right word?) And I can't give up soap. I stink if I do.
I wish I lived near you than I could give you a bottle of it. I am surprised that you smell if you do not use soap. Is it all soap and shower stuff?
My friend (a support group leader) had been told about it from someone who worked in Great Ormond Street hospital. It was used for the children in the hospital instead of soap.
It helps to keep those natural oils etc which you lose every time you bathe or shower and as we now shower everyday no chance of recovery. In the days when I was a child, tin bath brought in from yard, Friday night only. Top and tail everyday.
It is the available on prescription in the UK for certain conditions. Otherwise you buy it OTC.
"The product helps to:
– soften, moisturise and protect your skin by trapping moisture in the skin and restoring the normal protective function of the skin.
– prevent the skin-drying and irritant effects that can be caused by washing and bathing and by the soaps, foaming additives and fragrances used in ordinary cleansing products.
There is another one, which gives higher protection.
Doublebase Dayleve Gel contains a high level of oils plus a high level of glycerol. It also has a film-forming ingredient included called povidone, which helps to trap the oils and moisture in the skin.
Methinks about how thorough you are, so am I writing something you already know? 🤔
I used to use a lovely cream called Impruv, made by Steifel. Which was bought out by GSK, and subsequently this product was discontinued. i am down to the last dregs, having used it very sparingly this summer. Still trying to find a replacement. I may have something new, made by a company with the unfortunate name of Green Beaver which seems to have the ingredients I've found helpful like shea butter and no chemical names I don't understand. Truth will be told when winter arrives.
And I very much doubt that after over seven decades of using soap there is any way I could develop an odor-free skin biome. I have in the past (when I was in late thirties I think) tried the soap-limiting thing, and it really doesn't work for me.
I only use plain soap. No silly body washes for me!
in reply to HeronNS
I am the same re smell if I don't use some soap. But I have noticed my skin is softer and less crinkly when I use the double based gel, a couple if times a day on places like elbows. I also use it before and after showers. Unlike some body cream/lotions etc it doest feel slimy when you add water to your skin. I tried aqueous cream in the shower for a while but it made the floor slippy.
Takes about 6-8 weeks - worked for me after 50 years of soap. jinasc says I don't smell ...
Did she get that close??😂
Big hugs - of course!!!!!
I use soap lightly on my body, but never on my face. Just water. I do get compliments on my skin (on face) ; I think it is genetic b/c my mother and grandmother had beautiful skin, even in old age. I do use a moisturizer b/c my hair and skin is dry; It's been like that since I was a child. And dry skin is typical with hypothyroidism which I have as well.
Important to remember that everyone's body chemistry is different; maybe why some people smell and other's don't.
theconversation.com/ten-ste...
Yes I already have that site bookmarked and sent to all my contacts.
How on earth did we ever manage without plastic? And yet I remember in The Graduate the young man was told plastics were the future, which means we didn't have much plastic yet, as recently as the 70s.
microdyneplastics.com/2016/...
Yes; I remember that scene too, very well. And now we are finding out the damage plastic can do the environment and to ourselves from drinking bottled water. I think a lot of this alarm is overdone. Alarm sells news. But I remember being at the beach and seeing a poor gull tangled up in plastic in the water. A few men went into the ocean and freed the struggling bird.
I just read the recycling rules for my town which uses mechanized trucks to pick up garbage and recyclables. After I read it, it seemed there was nothing you were allowed to put in. I live in New Jersey; my brother lives in Connecticut, and their supermarkets have gone back to paper bags only; we are not allowed to put plastic in our bins b/c it clogs the trucks, but I don't recall the town residents being given a voice on the purchase of those plastic unfriendly trucks . All said as I am drinking water out of a plastic bottle.
Seabirds are dying because of small pieces of plastic mistaken for food. Whales are dying because they become entangled in plastic fishing gear. Plastic "ghost" nets fish the seas for years catching and killing countless creatures. Far from being overdone this situation is being underplayed by those who can do something about it. But I probably shouldn't have carried on this conversation because it isn't anything to do with PMR/GCA! But for me it's a lot more important than any ache or pain I might have.
P.S. I use a stainless steel water bottle, have done for maybe ten or twelve years.
Good idea, a stainless steel water bottle.
Think of the pain and fear the bird feels.
My arms are really bad, usually wear long sleeves when I go out to a social occasion. The last week, I have been rubbing moisturizing cream on both arms. It seems to help a little, or it maybe they are fading somewhat over time. I heve become very careful going through doorwaysm holding my arms close to my body.
in reply to Noosat
I have some shirt thing with those ties on the sleeves that are semi rolled up. I constantly get them attached to door handles.
Noosat in reply to
Yes, they are a nuisance, but right now a necessity for me.
I found a body concealer which will cover a tattoo. You must mix 2 colors to find your skin tone and subtly blend it in. I don't have a tattoo, but it does work to cover anything. It's called GHeart, and available on Amazon, and it is waterproof. Only problem, it's very difficult to get off. I just used it for a special occasion which I recently had and wanted to wear a sleeveless long , cocktail length dress, with ankles exposed. I also have a lot of scarring from many skin cancer surgeries on my chest, arms and ankles. It seems you need PERMANENT make up remover to get it off. Nothing will get it off; after 3 weeks, and many showers later, it finally wore off. I guess you need a theatrical make up supply shop to find Permanent Make Up Remover. On any other day, I don't care if anyone sees the marks and bruises. I think other people don't notice things we ourselves are self conscious about. But it does work.
My "markings" are from hands to elbows. I just wear the long sleeves to bypass comments/concerns. To-morrow will wear ls blouse in the morning but later when I go to gym I'll be wearing short sleeved top. I have wondered if juice from aloe plant might help. Anyone tried it?
Yes to petechiae...also to easy bruising and skin tears in earlier days of pred. Now I have fewer skin issues, but petechiae still present, mostly on chest, and bruising happens easily, sometimes quite dramatic looking. I'm always knocking about on my arms and legs, gardening etc.
I know I have gone on about my favorite toiletries before but I find Lush non irritant even though they smell great. They have 'naked' products with no plastic wrapping. Shower gel, shampoo ,conditioner and so on. I have pretty pottery dishes in the bathroom for them. I do use double base gel if I get an extra dry, itchy patch . thanks to this forum. My OH has terrible thin skin and bleeding and he has no illness and takes no meds. My skin is in better shape than his and I am on Pred. So I think some have naturally more thin skin than others
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