Noticed Flat Red Bruise At The Base Of Finger. What Could This Be?

Posted on Thu, 22 Nov 2012

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 22 Nov 2012 Answered on

Tue, 11 Dec 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I just noticed yesterday a small round flat bruise at the base of my left ring finger. It is reddish brown in color. I don't notice any other bruising and I was wondering what this is? A couple of months ago I noticed two of these types of bruises on my right arm. They disappeared after a few days.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Praveen Tayal (3 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for posting your query.
Easy bruising can be for many causes such as
- Platelet disorders of counts like thrombocytopenia,
- Disorders of function like Glanzman syndrome where platelets are lazy i.e. normal in number but slow to clumping and degranulation.
- Deranged Prothrombin time (PT) /activated Partial Thromboplastin time (aPTT) secondary to many causes including iatrogenic cause by taking warfarin for cardiac arrhythmias
- And lax and fragile skin secondary to senile atrophy of dermis and reduced connective tissue supportive parenchyma and as a result of treatment with steroids.

So I believe getting your blood counts repeated along with Capillary fragility test can be helpful to detect bleeding tendency.
Discuss about these possibilities with your treating physician and he/she can stream line these tests for you. You also may start with Vitamin C and Vitamin A supplements to improve skin texture and reduce easy bruising.

I hope this answers your query.
In case you have additional questions or doubts, you can forward them to me, and I shall be glad to help you out.
Please accept my answer in case you do not have further queries.
Wishing you good health.
Regards.
Dr. Praveen Tayal.

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar