thin skin and bruising

[Twopies]

I am slogging my way to 3 1/2 mg pred, 8th year. My skin is paper thin and now everyday I get more bruises…I tap a counter, I knock a drawer, etc.—gentle moves that shouldn’t bruise. And I won’t mention my legs…gah! I asked my nurse practitioner if they were pred induced, she said nope, old age, my bruises are nothing compared to what she sees, she added. However, friends my age do NOT have bruises like mine. Here’s my question: will my skin ever get better? A long time ago I read on here a post where a pmr patient said when she got to 3 mg, her skin actually got better. I know we’re all different, etc.; just wondering whether there is any hope that my skin will ever improve. If not, so be it. Thanks!

[Bridge31]

I’m taking 3 tapering to 2.5. Sorry but my skin is no better. 5 plus years now.

I do wear arm and leg protectors if I know I’m going to encounter my children’s dogs.

[Twopies in reply to Bridge31]

Thank you, at least I’ve got company!

[Timelost in reply to Twopies]

I’m exactly the same. I bruise all the time and I have to wear protectors on my arms and legs when I’m with my granddaughters dogs as I end up with broken skin which takes ages to heal. I’m on 4mg of Pred now.

[SnazzyD]

Yes, it can be ageing but Pred is known to thin skin so I’m surprised they said what they did. My skin became thin and bruised so easily even in my mid-late 50’s on Pred. It did definitely improve after Pred but with 7 years ageing that reduced the skin quality. My skin has never been that thick in the first place. There is hope but age and genes son’s help!

[Twopies in reply to SnazzyD]

My non-pmr non-pred twin has nice skin, nary a bruise so I might have good genes? One can always hope….except at this point, I’ll never be pred-free.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I am down to 7mg using Actemra and my skin has improved a lot. My shins still bruise easily as I tend to catch them getting in and out of the van but sometimes they are almost bruise-free. I'm also on anticoagulants so I do expect bruises. What has disappeared is the petechiae/purpurae that used to form on my arms, all gone.

The trouble is, as the nurse says, it is often also a part of aging and obviously by the time we get to low pred doses we are often much older. Maybe your friends are a fairly select bunch?

[Angelsmummy]

A bit of old age but DEFINATELY the Pred.,I could show you pictures of leg tears gashes over the last 18 months that have required visits to A and E to be steristripped.Doesnt help only having one eye as I tend to bump into things on blind side.But I am now on nearly 5 mg of pred,still got a gash but it healed in just under 3 weeks so obvs getting better skin health wise.Was thinking of buying myself some cricket shin pads.mxxx😱🤣🎄😜

[Miacaro45]

it is a good thing that my husband is not alive. I look like he beat me up. Between the Prednisone, Psoriasis and blood thinner, I have no chance! Oh well…

[agingfeminist]

definitely the pred...now at 1 to 2mg and problem has gone away and I am 5 years older. Don't forget to cream any dry skin...Nivea seems to help.

[Sandmason]

Ive been under 10mg for a year and at 3mg my skin in much better. I'm 73 with thin, fair skin and had horrible tears on my hands, arms and legs. I started on 20mg for a month.Slow taper as I flared a lot.

[Twopies in reply to Sandmason]

A little hope? 🤞

[Angelsmummy in reply to Twopies]

Always hope Twopies!!xx🎄🎁🤶🦃🦃😜

[Racer2024]

I'm on Pred only and bruise/bleed far more than ever used to. My friends joke that i must have upset my wife because it looks like she's been stubbing cigarettes out my arms. My shins frequently bleed after an indoor climbing session and my head is always full of scabs. None of this happened before Pred.

[Twopies in reply to Racer2024]

Stubbing cigarettes…I’m gonna borrow that and blame my husband!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Racer2024]

I presume you mean petechiae and purpurae? You may blame pred there - it makes the capillaries in the middle layers of the skin delicate and they leak blood when damaged

verywellhealth.com/purpuric...

The pictures are rather misleading - purpurae are 4-10mm so some of those images aren't really purpurae, they are too large. They can result from relatively minor scrapes. But the good news is that they should improve as the dose of pred falls. I had loads on my arms but now I am 7mg pred I have hardly any.

[Teekay2]

Does anyone recommend any creams for the thinning skin?

I just discovered a couple of big purple pathches and do not recall knocking myself. Also just had a couple of skin biopsies slow healing and one is inflamed so GP has put me on antibiotics.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Teekay2]

In UK DoubleBase is popular -but there are other emollients -just have a look online

doublebase.com/the-doubleba...

Sometimes you may get it on prescription 😊

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Teekay2]

I think it is really just keeping well moisturised with what suits your skin. But really prevention is better, nothing really stops the thinning of the layers that makes the small blood vessels fragile. Protect yourself when doing jobs that might result in bashes - but I don;t do any and still get bruises! It does improve as the pred dose falls.