Fan every now and then I do not find a few purple bruises on my forearms for no reason. They usually disappear after a few days and I am otherwise fit and healthy. Do I have to deal with my family doctor?
For sure. Any unusual changes to your body should be discussed with your doctor. More often than not, symptoms will not be in any sinister way, but if it is something serious, the chances of effective treatment and cure are always better if a problem is detected early.
Bruising usually occurs when blood vessels are damaged by an injury, causing a slight bleeding under the skin. Special chemicals in the blood called clotting factors cause the blood to clot, and stop a bladder from spreading too extensively. If you start to bleed more than for no reason, it could indicate a problem with your blood’s ability to die.
Many older people suffer more bruises than a normal part of the aging process – the skin deepens as we age, it is less protective and the blood vessels underneath are more likely to be damaged by even a small blow.
Bruising usually occurs when blood vessels are damaged by an injury, causing a slight bleeding under the skin.
Effervescent can also be a side effect of many medications, especially aspirin and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
But bruises can be a sign of a problem with the platelets of the blood and for this reason tests are important. Low platelet count can be caused by a variety of reasons – from blood diseases such as thrombocytopenia, to cancers such as leukemia or myeloma.
Blood tests are also important to check for liver and kidney disease, which can also affect how the blood clots.
An urgent appointment is important, despite the pandemic.
I have developed an uncomfortable crawling sensation in my body and although I can see nothing, I wonder if I have threadworms, as I had a persistent bolt three years ago. I’m not sexually active, but I’m thinking this is something I could go through.
Threadworms are small parasitic worms that often infect the gut of children and spread very easily. They resemble 1 cm long strands of white cotton thread and can cause intense itching around the bottom, especially at night.
Medication called mebendazole is usually very successful and can be purchased over the counter, but sometimes a second dose is needed two weeks later.
But this does not sound like threadworms. Another parasitic infection such as scabies, which is not necessarily sexually transmitted, should be considered.
Scabies, which are a type of myth, also cause intense itching, more often in the lower abdomen and body, but also in hands, feet and insides of the bracelets.
A family doctor can prescribe the right medicine here, whether a cream or a solution for insects.
It’s also just to clone it without feeling affected. I have described to many patients an unusual writing-crawling sensation when there was absolutely nothing there.
This can happen after something like scurvy, if that uncomfortable feeling persists. In this case, I would suggest a medicine that controls itching, such as an antihistamine.
Itching can also become psychological and can be perpetuated by what we call the ‘itching scratch cycle’: you itch because you scratch and this repeats itself. Again, this can be treated with medications that control the itching in the long run.
Itching can also be aggravated by hard toiletries, so I would recommend using only soft, specially formulated products for the area.
I have experienced incredibly painful sciatica that has been bruised, throbbing, pins and needles and causing numbness in my big toe. I also find it hard to get out when my legs ache when I start running.
This does not sound like sciatica, which is typically pain in the lower back that travels through the leg, normally on one side, but it can be both.
It is caused by a pressure on the sciatic nerve and can cause pain, pins and needles, numbness or even weakness.
Most often, these changes are in sensation in the back of the leg. It is also more typical that the smaller toes are affected as the problem spreads to the foot. It is not normal for sciatica to treat such specific symptoms of big toe.
You also say that your leg swells and pints after walking.
This sounds more like the symptoms of a vascular problem inside the leg. Leg swelling can be caused simply by lack of movement or weakness, as fluid builds up with the leg.
But it can also be a sign of problems within the vein of the leg, including a blood clot.
Walking pain can also be a sign of a separate problem known as intermittent claudication. This happens because of a problem with the arteries instead of the veins that cause pain every time you walk – normally the pain stops when you stop and rest.
It can also be a sign of peripheral arterial disease, which occurs when your arteries narrow. You should urgently visit your family doctor for further examination.
Life would be harder in a zero-covid UK
Zero-Covid – or eliminating Covid-19 from the UK almost completely, with hardly any cases to detect – is the strategy that Boris Johnson should adopt if we are to have the chance to defeat the pandemic. That’s what the All Party’s Second Chamber group said about Coronavirus last week.
And it may sound desirable … but it’s not only a deeply unrealistic approach, it’s also harmful, when you think about what we have to sacrifice to achieve it.
It would include stricter, more frequent lockdowns, the destruction of the economy, more delays in vital cancer treatment, less access to health care and crushing insecurity for all Britons.
It is also a meaningless goal. We’ve never had zero knives or zero tuberculosis, despite successful vaccinations – and we’re just getting on well with the few cases that come up each year.
There is nothing to suggest that Covid-19 would not follow the same manageable path. We need to get rid of the meaningless buzz words and focus instead on accepting our new reality. It is the most realistic, and healthiest option.
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