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Bruises discolor your skin due to an injury to your skin or tissue. While bruises can impact the appearance of your skin, with treatment, they can be healed within two weeks.
So, how do bruises form, and what treatments can you take for healing bruises?
Any breaks or injuries in the blood vessels can make your blood clot out the blood vessels and discolor the injured area. This discoloration is referred to as blood clots. There are several methods to heal bruises; one of the phenomenal treatments is red light therapy.
Let’s discuss these in detail.
How do Bruises Form?
In our daily lives, we can suffer from different injuries or blows. When these blows impact the blood vessels near the skin surfaces, blood leaks out of them and forms dark marks in the impacted area.
In general, harder blows cause larger bruises. However, if you tend to bruise easily, even minor bumps can cause substantial bruises.
Some people tend to bruise more than others. For example, women may develop bruises more easily than men. Also, age can be a great factor in understanding bruises. As people age, the skin gradually loses its fatty acid layer and becomes thinner. Therefore, there are not many protective layers to protect blood vessels from hard blows, bumps, and injuries.
As one gets older, even minor injuries can cause bruises, which may take longer to heal.
Hematoma, a severe type of bruise, can occur when damages occur in large blood vessels. This kind of damage often occurs due to severe trauma or accidents. These bruises may get swollen, painful, and raise bumps.
As bruises progress, they may change color till your skin regains its natural color. From the color of the bruises, you can tell at which stage the bruise is.
One can sustain various types of bruises; on the skin, or bones. Among them, bone bruises are the worst and take more time to heal. These bruises can get swollen and cause pain.
It may take several weeks to a month to heal bruises. Using ice on the bruises may decrease swelling and help with bruise healing.
However, if you get bruised for no apparent reason or see your bruise getting infected, it is recommended to see a doctor as soon as possible.
Effects of Red Light Therapy on Bruises
Red light therapy, also known as low-level light therapy, is a non-invasive way that can help in healing bruises. In this therapy, LED bulbs are used to shine specific light wavelengths to help with bruise healing along with other health benefits.
650 nm red light wavelength and 850 nm near-infrared light wavelengths consist of healing properties. These light wavelengths go deeper into the skin and energize the body cells.
Energized body cells then start repairing the damage and replicating healthy growth to rejuvenate the injured area. Also, increased energy in the cells shows increased metabolism in the body. This increases blood flow all over the body.
Increased blood flow can deliver oxygen and other necessary nutrients to the bruised area. Therefore, the bruise starts to heal sooner than later.
Another important thing red light therapy offers is increased collagen production in the body. The majority of our skin and blood vessels are made of collagen protein. With age, collagen protein production is reduced in the body. However, red light therapy triggers collagen protein production from a cellular level.
With boosted collagen production, the skin can repair damages rapidly and reduce bruising within a short time.
How Do You Use Red Light Therapy to Heal Bruises?
Using red light therapy is very straightforward. You can either go to a red light therapy center and book a therapy session or purchase a red light therapy device,
Either way, you will just need to turn on the red light therapy device and expose the bruised areas for 10 – 20 minutes to the red light. You can see a noticeable difference from the first therapy session. However, to make this difference permanent, you will need to have multiple therapy sessions.
Red light therapy is non-invasive and has no drastic side effects. However, if you have light-sensitive skin, you may want to take protective measures to avoid temporary redness or burning sensation after getting red light therapy.
In case of an unlikely situation, if you suffer from severe burns after red light therapy, you should consult a doctor or your therapist to determine your next steps.
Bottom Line
Bruises can cause you severe discomfort and compromise your appearance. In some cases, these bruises may alert you of underlying chronic conditions that need to be treated rapidly.
However, red light therapy technology can help in healing bruises at the soonest possible time. This therapy is convenient and can help almost everyone. Consult your doctor first to see if this therapy is safe for you. Then keep receiving the amazing benefits that red light therapy has to offer.