Unsatisfactory explanation of recent bruising on forearms/hands

HI @tcokeefe, I too have thin skin and have gotten mysterious skin tears that seemingly take a long time to heal. I bandage them and soon have several more. Although I can blame our 3 cats for some of the wounds, some of them just appear. None of this was happening prior to surgery and dropping Advil every day, so I'm thinking there is a connection in there somewhere. Perhaps even internally when they went inside 3 different places.
I'll keep you posted on whatever the dermatologist tells me. Thanks!

I'll try to keep you posted. I'm older, but not to the seventies yet. And no blood thinners at all other than Advil for years and Vit E/fish oil which I was told were thinners. I don't take any of those anymore. Thanks

Wow, I'm sorry about your situation. It sounds like this Purpura condition is related to sun damage, and my arms from mid bicep to wrist have had a lot of sun from both outside working and outside running for many years. Nothing on my face though, other than the itchy, scaly skin underneath the bottom of my sunglasses. Guess its because I don't use my face for anything! Nothing on my legs at all, although I used to get a good suntan there for years too. Guess I'll need to watch for that. I wish you the best.

Thanks Colleen, I will have a look at the link.
Thank you!

My great aunt developed this problem severely but only in the few years preceding her death at an advanced age (98). That is not only the blotchiness, but much thinned, easily torn skin.

I am almost 77 and have scarcely any "sun spots and no fragility. I attribute this to avoidance of sun exposure (tans be damned!) and daily application of moisterizing cream (all over my body) after my morning shower. I rub it in a bit too.

Even the sun-exposed parts of my arms are almost exempt and the few discolorations on my face are remediable by cosmetic dermatologists (by lasers, for example).

I'm not bragging, as except for the laser treatment, there seems to be little to make them go away - just repeating a frequent warning to avoid sun exposure, at least, not without a good sun screen. (UV light also damages eyesight - I hate to think what would have become of my light colored eyes if I had been more sun exposed, as I already am gradually going blind from macular degeneration.)

The only useful advice I have for those of you who've already developed "age spots" is to start now to avoid the sun, or at least, to do avoid it at broad day and never without a good sun screen and ideally both a sun hat and loose clothing over your otherwise exposed area. In the "better late than never" spirit, also, moisterize your skin as much as possible frequently throughout the day - your hands most of all, especially with the frenzy of hand washing we have all been advised to engage in thanks to Covid.

I was shocked to see a friend recently - one I hadn't seen for the COVID years - and in that time, she had become blotchy all over with cafe au lait spots, and markedly wrinkled skin on her exposed upper chest, face and arms. She's almost 15 years younger than me.

She's fortunate to have young grandchildren to walk to and from school, as well as parks and others (I have none) but she has paid a heavy price cosmetically. If only she had at least applied high quality (ELTA is one) sun screen - both a UV blocker and moisterizer.

My only complaint is that my hands alone look almost dessicated from lost fatty covering which has for a long time made me look markedly older if they are expose. I attribute that to hitching around Europe when I was young, carrying my bags over my wrists which lifted them and forced my blood flow below the straps. In effect, I've developed severe varicosities over my hands along with losing all the fat. (And most lately, since I've begun lifting weights for upper body strength - which I sorely need - I'm developing varicosities on my forearms. It's a trade-off).

Nothing to be done! I can see why Victorian ladies carried parasols and wore gloves to preserve their youthful skin, though they didn't subject themselves to the unfortunate weight lifting at the wrists I did. (Ignorant youth!)

80 year old man.

The bruises started when I was about 70 I believe.

I have had Solar Purpura for years. I get easy purplish bruises on my arms, often even when I did not even notice the touch. If I groom yard plants, I may get several of the quick appearing bruises and never notice that I've been touched. The only good news is that the bruises go away in 4-5 days. It was first diagnosed as "Senile Purpura". Later a young dermatologist called it "Solar Purpura".

Time in Sun. I am certain that my purplish bruises were caused by the sun. For decades, I played tennis and did not use sun block. (Often in evening after work.) The location of my T shirt sleeve line shows skin above that looks young and healthy. The skin below looks different thinner and more wrinkled and gets the Solar Purpura bruises. My arms below the T shirt line gets these bruises and nowhere else. I did not do much time at the beach or otherwise get sun. For other activities than tennis, I usually had long pants on. The arms received much more sun. My legs do not get the Purpura bruises.

Sometimes the bruises get brushed and might bleed more easily. I don't regularly take any know blood thinners.

Off topic - a year ago I learned the veins in my legs have little valves that help blood flow one way - up. When these valves fail, blood does not move up efficiently. It's called "venous insufficiency". This also contributes to varicose veins. There are treatments for the legs, such as compression stockings, elevation and exercise.

You should ask your Dr or a specialist if there are any treatments for your arms.

(I got very enlarged veins in my right arm only from exercising in my 60s.)

Bill (89) has a lot of purpura on his arms and legs - plus a lot of bruising which just appears for no apparent reason. He spent a lot of time in the sun - 3 skin cancers removed on right leg (which has CVI). Many of his purpura will start bleeding for no apparent reason and he isn't aware of it until he notices it on the floor, running down his legs, etc. He is also anemic. And clinically malnourished as he will hardly eat anything any more. Even his favorite sweets taste weird to him now. In one month he lost 20 pounds.