Hi,I am Dr. Shanthi.E (General & Family Physician). I will be looking into your question and guiding you through the process. Please write your question below.
My friend has had a hematoma for over a week. Sheathes been using Epsom salts wraps with heat and following with ice.. I am not sure the area or size has changed but is turning a brownish color..she did see a physician 3 days after this developed due to a fall. Why would you recommend ?
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advise.
Hematoma happens due to blood vessels getting broken during trauma and blood leaking in the tissues. It will take 1-2 weeks for the hematoma to absorb, and this depends on the size of the hematoma. It is recommended to not apply anything in the area and just minimize the local trauma so not to worsen the hematoma. The only thing that could be done to minimize the size of the hematoma is the first few minutes by applying ice packs for at least 30-40 minutes on the area. This would cause those damaged vessels to be more narrow and bleed less. Now the bleeding has happened and it is in the stage of absorbing the hematoma and the best is to just let it heal. If heat was applied the first hour of the trauma that might had contributed to a bigger hematoma due to increasing the diameter of the vessels and increasing the bleeding.
If you friend has hematomas in areas that are not due to trauma (inner arms or inner thighs than she needs to speak with a doctor and have some blood tests to rule out other causes of hematoma.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
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How Can A Hematoma Be Treated?
Hello and Welcome to ‘Ask A Doctor’ service. I have reviewed your query and here is my advise. Hematoma happens due to blood vessels getting broken during trauma and blood leaking in the tissues. It will take 1-2 weeks for the hematoma to absorb, and this depends on the size of the hematoma. It is recommended to not apply anything in the area and just minimize the local trauma so not to worsen the hematoma. The only thing that could be done to minimize the size of the hematoma is the first few minutes by applying ice packs for at least 30-40 minutes on the area. This would cause those damaged vessels to be more narrow and bleed less. Now the bleeding has happened and it is in the stage of absorbing the hematoma and the best is to just let it heal. If heat was applied the first hour of the trauma that might had contributed to a bigger hematoma due to increasing the diameter of the vessels and increasing the bleeding. If you friend has hematomas in areas that are not due to trauma (inner arms or inner thighs than she needs to speak with a doctor and have some blood tests to rule out other causes of hematoma. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.