Hematoma Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention
Understanding
Hematoma is a collection of blood under the skin that occurs due to broken blood vessels under the skin. Actually, hematomas can not only occur on the skin, but can also occur in the lining of the brain or in organs in the body, such as the lungs, liver, intestines, and so on. However, this article will only discuss hematomas on the skin.
Symptom
Hematomas show signs of blue-black or bluish-red spots on the skin. As time goes by to heal, the hematoma will change color to yellow-green. The spotting occurs at the impact site. If the spot is pressed, it will feel painful.
Reason
Most cases of hematoma on the skin occur as a result of an impact or other trauma. The impact was hard enough to cause rupture of blood vessels under the skin resulting in a hematoma.
However, there are also hematomas that occur without a previous collision. This can happen because of a blood disorder. For example in blood vessel disorders and platelet disorders.
Blood disorders that often cause hematomas are immune thrombocytopenia purpura (ITP), which is an autoimmune disease that causes excessive destruction of platelets. ITP usually occurs in children and is preceded by a previous viral infection. In addition, people who regularly take blood thinners are also more prone to developing hematomas.
Diagnosis
To determine the presence of a hematoma, no special examination is needed. By examining skin abnormalities, it is enough for the doctor to be able to confirm the presence of a hematoma.
However, if the hematoma is suspected to be caused by a blood disorder or due to the use of blood thinners, the doctor will generally ask the patient to do a blood test. Such as: an examination of platelets, bleeding time, and examination of blood clotting factors ( activated partial thromboplastin time/APTT and prothrombin time/ PT).
Treatment
Naturally, a hematoma will actually heal by itself within 2-4 weeks, depending on the area and location of the hematoma. Hematomas that are located on the legs generally take longer to disappear than hematomas that occur on the arms or other parts of the body.
So that the hematoma does not expand and disappears more quickly, the affected area can be compressed with ice or cold water as soon as the hematoma occurs. Meanwhile, if the hematoma is caused by ITP, the doctor can give steroids to increase the platelet count.
If a hematoma is triggered due to the use of blood thinners, you need to consult with your doctor whether the dose of blood thinning drugs should be reduced or stopped temporarily.
Prevention
To prevent the occurrence of a hematoma, as much as possible the risk of experiencing a collision must be avoided. People who regularly take blood thinners should consult their doctor regularly about the use of the drug.
Especially for people who receive warfarin (a type of blood thinner/anticoagulant) from a doctor, it is important to check the INR of the blood every month to prevent bleeding.