When you’re trying to determine the severity of bruises, whether you have them or they are on someone that you love, it is necessary to remember that there are specific, different kinds of bruises out there. If you educate yourself a little more about the different types of bruises that there are, you are going to become much more knowledgeable of what treatments are available and how best to use them. Make yourself aware of how much you really know about bruises and the best ways to treat them. If you learn how to determine how mild or severe a bruise is, you are going to have a significantly better thought process of how to best treat it.

First, determine where the injury actually is. A subcutaneous bruise is one that occurs just below the skin and will normally be considered mild. At another level, an intramuscular bruise occurs deeper within the belt of the muscle underneath and can cause some more significant damage. An even deeper bruise is a periosteal bruise which refers to a bone bruise, which can be very painful.

When giving a rating to bruises, professionals in the medical profession can use the following index to outline the severity:

0- a light bruise with no damage at all 1- a less than moderate bruise with a small amount of damage done 2- a moderate bruise with some damage 3- a serious bruise with some possibility of permanent or impermanent harm 4- an extremely serious bruise with possibility of permanent or impermanent harm 5- a critical bruise with a risk of death

With a light bruise, there may be a bit of pain, whether it happens immediately or is delayed. An inflammation may take place due to the fact that histamines will have been released into the bloodstream. Even after the capillaries have repaired themselves, blood can leak out and cause the bruise to look darker, and it normally takes approximately two weeks for a light bruise to cure, although a darker bruise may take a longer time. Mild bruises usually need only a little amount of treatment, though depending on where the bruise is located, you could need to do some stretching exercises while it is healing so that the muscles beneath don’t become stubborn or stiff.

When you diagnose bruises to be moderate or severe, you’ll determine that you are going to have to deal with somewhat more serious complications. Increased bleeding may occur, and it is likely that swelling could reduce or impair the flow of blood to the tissues. The blunt force trauma that takes place in creating bruises of this intensity can cause injury to the internal organs or bones, and if the strike is severe enough, you may have concussion, coma and even death to deal with. In this instance, emergency treatment becomes madatory.

Fortunately enough, most of us only have to deal with light bruises in our day to day lives. Take some time and make sure that your bruises, no matter what their severity, get treated appropriately.