What Causes Swollen Bruise With White In The Middle And Purple Around?

Posted on Sun, 6 Apr 2014

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

Mon, 7 Apr 2014 Answered on

Sat, 3 May 2014 Last reviewed on

Question : Hi My mother fell and bruised her leg. She has a round swollen bruise white in the middle and purple around She has dimensia and is on blood thinners Could this be an infection?

Answered by Dr. Ivo Ditah (6 hours later)

Brief Answer: If in doubts, get it examined/upload a picture! Detailed Answer: Hi and thank you so much for this query. It is difficult from the description of this lesion to tell whether this bruise is infected or not. This is because nothing points to a glaring infection and yet nothing tells me it is not. If there is any purulent secretion draining from it, increasing diameter of redness and worsening pain, then it is infected and would need specialized care. However, bruises do not often get infected unless something else is going on. I will suggest that you upload a a picture of this bruise so that I can take a look and tell whether it needs further medical evaluation at this time or not. For now, wash is with an antiseptic solution to keep it clean and free from germs. She may want to take some pain medications if she is in pains. I hope this helps. I wish her well. Thanks for using our services an hope to get the picture uploaded for more insight and personalized information. Thanks. Dr. Ivo, MD.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T