Superficial Vein Leak in Forearm

@predictable Hi Martin,

What a puzzling thing to happen. Have you had any strain or injury to that area?

Hi, Teresa. Thanks for looking in on me. Yes, I strained my forearm muscles as I resumed bowling after being away for 18 months. The suspected vein, however, is superficial to the muscle and just under the skin. It swelled a bit as though blocked, then I awoke the next day with the blood spot I described. The blood has now spread far beyond the original spot and now discolors the skin from the elbow all the way to my thumb on the inner side of my forearm. No pain or other symptoms. Just lots of bruise-colored skin that a good night's sleep seems to help. Martin

I apologize for tagging onto your comments, but I have a similar situation in both of my shins. Both shins have heavy red and brown coloring down the front of them and no one seems to know what, if anything, can be done about it. I’ve been to seven doctors five of them specialist and the latest vascular surgeon says they don’t really know if there’s anything that can be done to remove the ugly stains on both of my shins. Also, it is not a vanity the area is extremely painful to the touch. If anybody has any idea what to do about this or how to get rid of this discoloration I would really, really appreciate it thank you

Certainly no reason for your apology, @sharonallen. Your condition is understandably troubling for you. It seems to have been with you for a long time -- time to see seven doctors, none of whom ventured even a guess about what's causing your problem. Mine is different. First, although the originally large bruise-like area of my arm later stretched from my elbow to my thumb (18 inches yesterday), today the coloring has faded so that it is hardly visible. I'm presuming normal metabolic activity in my body has carried away much of the venous blood that had collected just under the surface skin of my arm. My personal care physician (PCP) will see me tomorrow, and we'll discuss what caused the problem as well as the after-effects. Second, my discolored surface area was not painful, although deep forearm muscles developed some pain from moving or stretching, and it's possible those muscles squeezed a vein, causing it to bulge and leak. Finally, I have to emphasize that my problem began only nine days ago and is now on the verge of disappearing. I was concerned early on that I might have been attacked by a large blood clot that could damage my brain or a major organ, but that doesn't seem to have occurred. I'll let you know what my doctor says and if the problem recurs. Martin

Martin, thank you so much for your information. You’re very fortunate if this discoloration is fading for you and you have no pain. I hope it goes away forever. Unfortunately mine is just big ugly thing on both of my shins and my vanity is affected as well, I have to wear long pants all the time and live in Arizona. It was 112 last week so wearing long pants is a bit of a chore. I’ll keep watching to see if you or somebody else comes up with a problem again and can help me. The doctor I have now has done tests on it but nothing shows it being blocked or causing this. Thank you again for your comments. Sharon

Yes, I have had this problem on both forearms for over a year. I have been advised by the doctors not to worry about them. Sometimes, a slight scratch of the skin will start bleeding because the skin gets very very thin. So now, I carry a bandaid in my wallet to cover the leak. Does not look very good, and I have learnt to ignore them. I apply moisture cream at bedtime to keep the skin moist.