Red Dot Appears On Arm After Scratching. Is This Serious?

Posted on Wed, 17 Oct 2012

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

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 Answered on

Wed, 7 Nov 2012 Last reviewed on

Question : I barely scraped my arm on a shelf this morning. There was no blood but there is a tiny little red dot that looks like blood but will not wash away. I am wondering if the skin is broken, or if it would have had to bleed for that to be the case. I am a germaphobe, and am worried that i may have contracted something. Please help. Thank you :)

Answered by Dr. Pavan Kumar Gupta (4 hours later)

Hello,
Thanks for the query.
This red dot appears to be a small bruise which results from rupture or tear of small blood capillaries below the skin.
Such type of bruises heal of their own and nothing specific is to be done.
As far as chances of infection are concerned,it looks remote since outer most skin has not ruptured and so germs can not gain entry inside.
There should not be any cause of worry for you.

I hope to have answered your query however you may revert to me for any further query.
Best of luck
Thanks

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