Apply ice immediately after the injury. Apply heat to bruises that have already formed to clear up the trapped blood. Compression, elevation, and a bruise-healing diet can also help speed up the healing process.
Vitamin K clarifying cream is recommended. A pulse dye laser can be used to help clear bruises within 24 to 48 hours after the bruise appears. Arnica gel is an herbal remedy that has proven to help reduce inflammation and bruising.
Ice Therapy
Put ice on your bruise right after you get injured. That can reduce the size of your bruise, which may allow it to heal faster. The cold temperature from an ice pack makes the blood in that area flow more slowly. It may reduce the amount of blood that leaks out of your vessels.
Arnica cream or arnica gel can be used to decrease swelling, bleeding, bruising and reduce pain. Arnica creams such as Skintensive Bruise And Scar Cream can be used for topical application to heal bruises effectively.
Bruises usually fade away in about 2 weeks. Over that time, the bruise changes color as the body breaks down and reabsorbs the blood. The color of the bruise gives an idea of how old it is: When a bruise first happens, it's looks reddish as the blood appears under the skin.
A neutralizing concealer can cover up any bruise.
Neutralizing colors are those which appear opposite each other on the color wheel — green neutralizes red, for example, and blue neutralizes orange. A green concealer hides a red bruise, then. You'll want to follow application of the concealer with some foundation.
Heal bruises
It is believed that toothpaste helps break up the clot and increase blood flow. People report noticing a difference after just one night, but it may take several applications to make the bruise completely disappear.
Within 2 to 3 days, your body starts reabsorbing the blood. There's a greater concentration of yellow or green. Light brown. By day 10 to 14, the bruise fades to light brown before disappearing completely.
After 2 days, warmth may aid healing.
A heating pad or warm washcloth wrapped in a towel can help some bruises heal. Even a warm bath can soothe sore areas. Warmth brings more blood flow to an area of the body, which can help as the body tries to heal the injury.
Vaseline easily removes makeup, protects sensitive skin, and can even be used to help small cuts and bruises heal.
Don't massage or rub the injury because you can break more blood vessels in the process. Instead, give yourself time for the pain and swelling to subside and apply ice immediately and as needed.
After 1-2 days the blood that has leaked out begins to lose oxygen and change color. Depending on the size, location and severity of your bruise, it could appear shades of blue, purple or black. Between 5-10 days after the initial trauma your bruise will begin to turn a yellow or green shade.
Consider Color Correcting
Think of the color wheel. For bruises, which normally boast a purple or blue hue, you'll want to use a yellow concealer to neutralize their appearance.
A flat, purple bruise that happens when blood leaks into the top layers of your skin is called an ecchymosis. A black eye, or “shiner,” is an example of this kind of bruise. A hematoma happens when clotted blood forms a lump under your skin. The area is usually swollen, raised, or painful.
It can take months for a bruise to fade, but most last about two weeks. They start off a reddish color, and then turn bluish-purple and greenish-yellow before returning to normal. To reduce bruising, ice the injured area and elevate it above your heart.
Put ice or a cold pack on the area for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. Put a thin cloth between the ice and your skin. If you can, prop up the bruised area on pillows as much as possible for the next few days. Try to keep the bruise above the level of your heart.
It often starts red because fresh, oxygen-rich blood has newly pooled underneath the skin. After around 1–2 days, the blood begins to lose oxygen and change color. A bruise that is a few days old will often appear blue, purple, or even black. In about 5–10 days, it turns a yellow or green color.
Bruising can take weeks to fade away, and the amount of time is different for each person. Bruised areas can swell and get worse in the first few days. After that, all symptoms should gradually diminish. If you have severe or increasing pain and swelling, fever, call your doctor for advice (and treatment if needed).
Follow-up care
Sometimes a bruise gets worse instead of better. It may become larger and more swollen. This can occur when your body walls off a small pool of blood under the skin (hematoma). In very rare cases, your doctor may need to drain extra blood from the area.
Once you have iced the bruise for 24 hours, you should start applying heat to the bruised area. This will increase circulation to the affected area and help to break down the pooled blood. An electric heating pad works best and should be used for 20 minutes several times throughout the day.
Heat should never be used on acute injuries like recent falls or trauma with signs of obvious swelling and bruising. Heat will increase blood flow and reduce the spasms in the muscle. Moist heat, such as a warm heating pad available at most pharmacies, works best. Apply heat for a maximum of 10-15 minutes.
If needed, anti-inflammatory pain relievers such as ibuprofen (Advil) or aspirin can help reduce swelling and pain. Physical therapy may also be needed. Surgery is sometimes considered for torn or ruptured muscles.
The first rule of thumb is to never use heat on an acute injury. That extra heat can cause an increase in inflammation and delay proper healing. Applying an ice pack within the first 48 hours of an injury can help numb pain, relieve inflammation, and limit bruising.
On the day you get a bruise, apply an ice pack to reduce swelling as well as constrict broken blood vessels. Those vessels then may leak less blood. Avoid heat. In the first two or three days after bruising yourself, a very hot bath or shower could cause more bleeding and swelling.