Does anyone else take ages to heal from cuts'n'bruises?

[Shell]

This isn't a big issue in the great scheme of things but I was just wondering if anyone else finds that cuts, brusies and scratches take forever to heal?
The lower down my body the longer it takes.
So a carpet burn on my ankle from my seizures nearly 8 weeks ago is still bruised, scabby and swollen. Brusies on my legs just seem to stay forever.
Anyone else?

 

[SunnyInside]

I had a nasty wound on my shin at the beginning of September which needed stitches. I was expecting it to take ages to heal but it didnt. It healed well and in reasonable time.
I was wondering if it was due to my body putting iteslf in some sort of relapse which laid me out for a few weeks so my energy was directed at healing the wound. ??? I didnt bruise too much but had taken arnica pillules within an hour of recieving the injury.
I'll be interested to hear form others Shell, I wonder how busy you are and if you are using your healing cuts n bruises energy to do other things?

 

[Enid]

Yes very much so Shell too - a twisted ankle and a fall brought immense bruising and cuts taking a long time to heal. Don't know the answer but hear it has to do with restricted blood supply and peripheral vein damage (I go onto aspirin) - hope someone can help you more.

 

[justy]

Hi Shell - no idea why, but the same here. Small cuts, bruises and even spots take forever to heal - or to completely disappear. I know from testing i have a lot of oxidative stress - but i take lots of antioxidants to try and counteract this. Funny thing is my nails and hair are really healthy and grow quickly!

All the best, Justy

 

[loayachil]

Hey Shell,

I was also wondering about that. I had my wisdom teeth pulled, and they were supposed to fill up in half a year. Didn't happen, and then 4 years later they filled. Popped my ACL. After surgery supposed to fill up in a year. Also didn't. And many scratches etc on my calves just never fill up or heal???

 

[Merry]

I don't know if this information will be of any use, Shell, but since I followed PR member Sherlock's suggestion that I replace fish oil and/or aspirin (sometimes I tried both at once) with turmeric, the problem I had had all my life with easy-bruising, has been much diminished. I've been on turmeric a couple of months now.

I wish you the best.

 

[SilverbladeTE]

hm, interesting merry, need to try that

yeah had same problem when ME got worse, used to heal very fast
now I get deep long lasting "black blood" bruises :/

 

[maryb]

Me too Shell I was getting a bit worried about a bruise on my calf after 2 months it was still there and sore, but it did eventually go. Merry I tried curcumin (similar to turmeric) some time ago, but I couldn't tolerate it. Maybe time to try it again, something isn't right thats for sure. Mind you its not so much easy bruising as bruises that won't heal.

 

[Esther12]

Easy bruising and scarring could be a sign of EDS III/Hypermobility Syndrome.

Also... healing from these sorts of things tends to get slower as one ages... and I'm now 30!! Curses.

 

[SOC]

Yeah, although it has gotten a lot better in the past year or two. I attribute that to improved immune function after antivirals reduced my viral load.

 

[Merry]

I should have said that how Sherlock came to recommend turmeric to me was that we were discussing anti-inflammatory medications (and supplements) in a thread about research suggesting that aspirin reduces the risk of some kinds of cancer. I complained that even a small amount of aspirin increases my bruising and fish oil seemed to be just as bad.

Sherlock said to be sure to get turmeric with black pepper. I think he said the black pepper aids in absorption of the turmeric.

This is the product I ordered:

http://www.iherb.com/Gaia-Herbs-Turmeric-Supreme-120-Veggie-Liquid-Phyto-Caps/40783

Unfortunately it is not as cheap as aspirin. I do believe that it is more effective relieving muscle soreness than aspirin or anything else I've tried. Yes, I know that we are all different, and this is one reason I hesitate to endorse any supplement or medicine. Sorry to hear that so many people are suffering from slow healing. Best of luck to you all.

 

[Ema]

Excessive bruising and poor wound repair are reported as symptoms of zinc deficiency.

Rich VanK mentioned that an easy way to assess zinc was to look at the alkaline phosphatase on a routine CMP lab. If it is less than about midrange, that indicates a deficiency because it is reliant on zinc.

 

[taniaaust1]

when I was sicker, I used to get easy bruising as well as it taking far longer then it should for bruises on my legs to go away, a bruise could last for 2-3 weeks. I dont thou get those things happening now (Ive no idea why it changed).

 

[Shell]

Fascinating stuff peeps. Thanks for all the replies. It's interesting to see so many of us have noticed this at some time or other.
SunnyInside; arnica is excellent stuff, but it seems to work better with the kids than with me for some reason. Even so, I think it's saved me from worse brusing than I would have had without it.
I think your idea that the body could be using healing energy just to get me through a day might be right.
I am working on slowing down, but it's hard with little ones around and just being a wife and mum!
Enid I used to be on aspirin, can't remember why I stopped taking it. I was given heparin as well after my 7 year old was born (self injecting was horrible and painful).

I'll have to try with turmeric and black pepper. I use a lot of cumin in cooking because it's supposed to help with memory loss. I heard a science paper talked about on a radio show some time about how cumin had been shown to do this, and it wasn't just a medical myth.
My memory is still rubbish, but hey, maybe it would be even worse.

On the EDS III - as I have POTs that's a possibility, but who knows.

On zinc deficiency - that's pretty definate with me. My nails are awful because of it. I did take zinc for a time but it didn't make any difference to my nails so I gave up - but I wasn't ill then.
Why are so many of us deficient in minerals?

 

[SunnyInside]

I have heard about using tumeric before. Maybe its time i started trying it out. Good advice, thankyou.

eta, I really admire you people who have children depending on you. Mine are grown up. I just cannot imagine how you cope and deal with the daily needs of them as well as everything else.
I hope you give yourself good recognition of what you achieve each day. x

 

[PhoenixDown]

Yes, even when I was a kid.

 

[Hip]

Yes, small wounds (cuts and grazes) tend to take longer to heal now that I have ME/CFS. Though I get the impression that large cuts are less affected by this, and heal at a normal rate.

I found that putting a dab of zinc powder, from a crushed zinc supplement, on the wound helps a lot to speed healing. Zinc is known to promote wound healing. See this study:

Studies on zinc in wound healing
The study's conclusion: "In conclusion, topical zinc may stimulate leg ulcer healing by enhancing re-epithelialization, decreasing inflammation and bacterial growth. When zinc is applied on wounds it not only corrects a local zinc deficit but also acts pharmacologically."

 

[Shell]

I found that putting a dab of zinc powder, from a crushed zinc supplement, on the wound helps a lot to speed healing. Zinc is known to promote wound healing. See this study:
Studies on zinc in wound healing
The study's conclusion: "In conclusion, topical zinc may stimulate leg ulcer healing by enhancing re-epithelialization, decreasing inflammation and bacterial growth. When zinc is applied on wounds it not only corrects a local zinc deficit but also acts pharmacologically."

Thanks for that tip Hip. I'm going to give that a go.

 

[iacyi]

My wound healing has been getting worse and worse. My acne doesn't even heal any more, it simply becomes crystalised with the wound still underneath.

I have been supplementing with a lot of zinc orally without taking any copper, and I think this may have made things worse. I tried applying some 'ionic' copper topically and one spot healed a bit better. I am trying a bit of zinc topically now too.

"Expression of the metallothionein gene is up-regulated in the skin following topical application of zinc and copper, and in wound margins particularly in regions of high mitotic activity. This induction of metallothionein in the wound margin may reflect its role in promoting cell proliferation and reepithelialiation. The action of metallothioneins in these processes may result from the large number of Zinc-dependent and copper-dependent enzymes required for cell proliferation and matrix remodeling."

 

[elbosque]

I noticed this after I got sick. The other thing is that I became such a klutz that i was always getting burns and cuts. I am not as sick as I was before, but I am still a klutz and injuries still seem to take much longer to heal than before I got ME/CFS.