A little help - with a bruise

[SonofaBish]

A couple weeks ago i went riding with mark, joe, etc and i came home with a small cherry (brushburn) on the inside my elbow (toward the forearm)... I really didn't think much of it, but the next day i woke up and my elbow was bruised along with half of my forearm.... I found it funny and all, and it was tender for a week or so... Now, two weeks later, the bruise has finally receeded, but I have a spot on my forearm that seems like a sack of fluid under the skin... Seems to be under thick skin too, nothing that i could easily poke a needle thru... I'm not one for going to the doctor, and it doesn't hurt at all actually, but it does bother me that its there... its a round area, probably 1.5" in diameter

has anyone ever had this, or know what I should do??

Thanks!

[Stangman701]

Well it's been nice knowing you pal, but I think you've only got a few days to live

[Sonic03snake]

Go get it checked. it could be celulitus (SP?) I had it and it can be ugly if not taken care of.

[MBH]

bring out the bandsaw bish, we're going to have to amputate :(


Just go to the doctor, I bet he could have saved your arm from getting to this point - and this is coming from a guy that rarely goes himself.

[blizzard]

don't want to cause any alarms or anything BUT... i had a very similar thing happen to me and it ended up being a freak blood clot. from what i don't know (pinched blood vessel in the funnybone?)... i got a big'ol popeye arm for a week or so til i collapsed to the fetal position and had to be ambulanced to the hospital and spend a week hooked up to an IV of Heparin and then took Coumadin for a couple months... i'm only 36 and all my vitals and bloodwork was fine.

oh yeah, i don't go to doctors either and have no health insurance so FYI, a near stroke costs ~$15k

[SonofaBish]

I made an appt. for as soon as they could get me in... that's tomorrow morning.....

Money isnt' a factor - I work for Highmark, so i have good health insurance... Normally i'd never go to the doctor for something like this, but it just seems awkward to me... I guess we'll find out tomorrow morning. My biggest fear is that the doctor is going to be like "well, go ahead and keep an eye on it for a week or so... if it doesnt get any better, then come back to me"... Translation - "Thank you for the money - if you want, feel free to come back and give me some more next week!"

[SonofaBish]

Weird part is that it doesn't hurt one bit... and i'd have never noticed if the scab from my brushburn was itching... thought that part of my arm felt awful soft ... and realized that its soft b/c there's some sort of fluid on top of the muscle ... Otherwise, there's no marking, no redness, no pain...

O well, i guess we'll find out in the morning...

[SonofaBish]

bring out the bandsaw bish, we're going to have to amputate :(


Just go to the doctor, I bet he could have saved your arm from getting to this point - and this is coming from a guy that rarely goes himself.

See but that's why premiums are so high nowadays... b/c people have this theory... everytime they get a scratch, they go to the doctor.... Its was a bruise... there was no need to go to the doctor...

[Sonic03snake]

I hit mine playing back yard football, it hurt for a day or two then felt fine. A month later I woke up to severe pain and my leg was 3 times the size it was when I went to bed. They had to drain the infection and stuffed 50 yds of iodine soaked guaze in the hole. I was pretty close to losing my leg the doc said.

[MBH]

See but that's why premiums are so high nowadays... b/c people have this theory... everytime they get a scratch, they go to the doctor.... Its was a bruise... there was no need to go to the doctor...

Yes, and with what you've said above "keep an eye on it...."

However, it can sometimes be much more cost efficient to stop a big problem before it starts.

The only times I've actually gone to see the doctor about something is because I was taken in to the emergency room - if you don't count my junior year of high school when I had a stress fracture in my fibula that got so bad that I couldn't even put weight on my left leg and could barely walk (I wish I would have thought to have it checked out for being more than shin splints from hell)

All I'm saying is that for weird shit that looks like it might be getting worse, you need to go to the doctor. I wouldn't have gone in if I had a bruise either.

[SonofaBish]

I hit mine playing back yard football, it hurt for a day or two then felt fine. A month later I woke up to severe pain and my leg was 3 times the size it was when I went to bed. They had to drain the infection and stuffed 50 yds of iodine soaked guaze in the hole. I was pretty close to losing my leg the doc said.

yikes

[no1fordgirl]

I am not a doctor.... but I will play "nurse" ;) LOL

Seriously, I type medical reports every day and it sounds like you have a hematoma.

(from webmd)
Bruises

Bruises develop when small blood vessels under the skin tear or rupture, most often from a bump or fall. Blood leaks into tissues under the skin and causes the black-and-blue color. As bruises (contusions) heal, usually within 2 to 4 weeks, they often turn colors, including purplish black, reddish blue, or yellowish green. Sometimes the area of the bruise spreads down the body in the direction of gravity. A bruise on a leg usually will take longer to heal than a bruise on the face or arms.

Most bruises are not a cause for concern and will go away on their own. Home treatment may speed healing and relieve the swelling and soreness that often accompany bruises that are caused by injury. However, severe bruising, swelling, and pain that begin within 30 minutes of an injury may mean a more serious problem, such as a severe sprain or fracture.
If you bruise easily, you may not even remember what caused a bruise. Bruising easily does not mean you have a serious health problem, especially if bruising is minimal or only shows up once in a while.

Occasionally after an injury, blood collects and pools under the skin (hematoma), giving the skin a spongy, rubbery, lumpy feel. A regular bruise is more spread out and may not feel like a firm lump. A hematoma usually is not a cause for concern. It is not the same thing as a blood clot in a vein, and it does not cause blood clots.

You should be fine Good luck and let us know what happens at your appt.

[SonofaBish]

Thanks! I found a definition for a Hemotoma somewhere else, but it wasn't quite as descriptive as that.... that seems to describe it perfectly!

[SonofaBish]

Welp, the doctor said its' a hematoma, so that was dead on fordgirl!

he also gave me a script to go to the hospital and have an ultrasound done, so they can look and see just how much fluid is there and what the muscle looks like... what i dont like is that it seems like there is a crater in the muscle, right where my forearm muscle meets my elbow.... but... o well i guess we'll see....

[John4cam]

Welp, the doctor said its' a hematoma, so that was dead on fordgirl!

he also gave me a script to go to the hospital and have an ultrasound done, so they can look and see just how much fluid is there and what the muscle looks like... what i dont like is that it seems like there is a crater in the muscle, right where my forearm muscle meets my elbow.... but... o well i guess we'll see....

People like you make make heathcare way overpriced!

[SonofaBish]

People like you make make heathcare way overpriced!

well its not my fault... he said if i wanted to get one and i said "i don't care... as long as it goes away, i'm fine with it"... he just chuckeled and wrote up the script...


and actually, you're exactly right, people like me decide how much you pay for your healthcare... ;) without me, you'd be on your own :) haha

[jaa55]

I hit mine playing back yard football, it hurt for a day or two then felt fine. A month later I woke up to severe pain and my leg was 3 times the size it was when I went to bed. They had to drain the infection and stuffed 50 yds of iodine soaked guaze in the hole. I was pretty close to losing my leg the doc said.

my dad did the same thing, he had a core harvester fall on his leg at the golf course when they were loading it......it was a huge bruise that turned into a lump. he went to the doctors after it started to swell, they sent him home and said it would heal. a few weeks later it kept getting worse and he went to another doctor. it ended up being super infected and filled with puss. the blood was pooling in his leg and not circulating. they had to cut the section of the leg out and stuff it with gauze and let it heal from the inside out. doctor said it would never get better on its own if they had done anything to it, just worse

[John4cam]

well its not my fault... he said if i wanted to get one and i said "i don't care... as long as it goes away, i'm fine with it"... he just chuckeled and wrote up the script...


and actually, you're exactly right, people like me decide how much you pay for your healthcare... ;) without me, you'd be on your own :) haha

HaHa

[SonofaBish]

my dad did the same thing, he had a core harvester fall on his leg at the golf course when they were loading it......it was a huge bruise that turned into a lump. he went to the doctors after it started to swell, they sent him home and said it would heal. a few weeks later it kept getting worse and he went to another doctor. it ended up being super infected and filled with puss. the blood was pooling in his leg and not circulating. they had to cut the section of the leg out and stuff it with gauze and let it heal from the inside out. doctor said it would never get better on its own if they had done anything to it, just worse

I guess stuff liek this is the reason they're sending me for an ultrasound... maybe they will be able to tell from that if it needs further attention.

[Shorty429]

we get those all the time at football in our knees and elbows, but our trainer always says we popped the "bersa sack" and that it'll fix its self. Sure hope one of us doesn't end up like lou