Bruising and bleeding

[Dorothey Allen]

Bruising or bleeding after an injury is normal (see also How Blood Clots). However, some people have disorders that cause them to bruise or bleed too easily. Sometimes people bleed without any obvious triggering event or injury. Spontaneous bleeding may occur in almost any part of the body, but it is most common in the nose and mouth and the digestive tract.
People with hemophilia often bleed into their joints or muscles. Most often, bleeding is minor, but it can be severe enough to be life-threatening. However, even minor bleeding is dangerous if it occurs in the brain.
Several symptoms may suggest that a person has a bleeding disorder:

Unexplained nosebleeds (epistaxis)
Excessive or prolonged menstrual blood flow (menorrhagia)
Prolonged bleeding after minor cuts, blood drawing, minor surgical or dental procedures, or tooth brushing or flossing
Unexplained skin marks, including tiny red or purple dots (petechiae), red or purple patches (purpura), bruises (ecchymoses), or small blood vessels that are widened and therefore visible in the skin or mucous membranes (telangiectasias)

Sometimes a laboratory test done for some other reason shows the person has a susceptibility to bleeding.