I have asked for help with this health issue on other forums and asked a couple of doctors, too. No one seems to know what causes pin point bruising on the skin. I have done alot of my own research and the closest I can come to an answer is vessels bleeding into the skin because of low blood platelets. I have also done tons of reasearch on how to increase blood platelet levels and the only thing I could find were Chinese herbs. Has anyone experience this or know what it might be? It looks like all of the hair follicles on my legs are red and inflammed. Any advice would be appreciated! It would be nice to wear shorts again!
I have seen that type of thing before on many people's legs, but I don't know what the cause is. It looks like the hair follicles themselves are inflamed. Have you researched "purpura" and "folliculitis" to see if it fits any of the descriptions of those? In any case, I'll certainly help you search it out and see what we can come up with.
I searched purpura and that is where I came up with leaking blood vessels. There is a name for it immume thrombosis something or other which is caused from low blood platelets and all I could find was that it is not life threatening and there is no cure!!! I noticed the pores on my calves started getting a little red about ten years ago. Now they are very red. There are no other symptoms. Except that they are not very attractive!!! One doctor really just blew it off and the other one said it could be from chemicals in body products and soaps. I only use organic chemical free products and have not seen any change in the redness at all. Thanks so much for offering to help!
Follow-up reply. I did a quick search for folliculitis, and it sounds like that may be the cause of it. There are several different types of bacteria that can cause it, but it usually begins with damage to the hair follicles, usually from shaving, or you can get it from hot tubs. Check out all the links on this page. Some look very different from what you describe, but others look like what I'm picturing you have:
That looks like a mild case of it. After reading this, I now recall that I always see it on the legs of women who shave their legs regularly, and often put baby oil on them afterwards.
Also, there is a good description of it and it's causes here:
I just checked out some pictures of what folliculitis looks like, and that is definitely not what I have. The hair follicals on my calves are completely smooth, not raised at all. Just looks more like skin discoloration. It's weird. When I get a tan, the skin around the hair follical turns brown, but hair follical stays red. I thought if got a good tan, that would solve the problem! Not!!! I tried the tan in a bottle and OMG!!! Just made the pores an extremely bright orange. Not a good look at all!!!
Not all of the pictures look the same. You'll need to keep searching more sites to definitely rule it out. Check out this site for some silver cream to cure it. There is also a picture there, but not a very good one:
I think we were searching at the same time. I checked out your websites and I don't think it could be folliculitis. It doesn't look like a rash at all. Every single hair follicle is red and does not look like a pimple. I get those when I shave around the crotch area, and they go away if I put alcohol on them. Actually, now that I think about it, the redness on my calves is more of a purplish red than red. The lighting in my house is not that great and I can barely see them, but when I walk outdoors in the bright sunlight they are really noticeable!
The product for follicullitis on one of the websites has silver in it. Could be bacteria way down deep in the skin. I have some of Larry's silver hydrosol. I think I'll try it on my legs and see what happens!
The product for follicullitis on one of the websites has silver in it. Could be bacteria way down deep in the skin. I have some of Larry's silver hydrosol. I think I'll try it on my legs and see what happens!
Sally B.
Yeah, that's what I noticed and it's all natural ingredients, so I thought you might like to try it. If you have some silver already, then try it. It could be some sort of bacterial or fungal infection. Have you tried hydrocortisone cream on it? Some of these things can be cured by ultraviolet light too.
And are you saying that it's not every hair follicle? I thought that was what you meant.
It is every single hair follicle on my legs. At first I thought it could be from shaving since I have developed an allergy to nickle. Maybe I developed and allergy to the metal in razor blades?! I don't shave my legs in the winter and there was no change. It is bizarre that every hair follicle is affected!
I'm kinda thinking out loud here--if you think the problem is with platelets, have you evaluated your vitamin K intake? If, however, the problem might be with infection and/or inflammation, have you considered using coconut oil on your legs to combat the pathogens--perhaps along with the silver?
I was concerned about taking more vit K, until I discovered that it not only thickens the blood, but also thins it, too. Whatever is needed! I had planned on ordering some K2 from Dr. Mercola.
Why do you think coconut oil would be useful?
Besides having anti-inflammatory properties, coconut oil can kill viruses, bacteria, and fungi (as I recall) which can attack the skin. Besides, it will make your legs beautiful! Acccording to an article from the mercola site:
"For skincare, using the Tropical Traditions Virgin Coconut Oil I am offering as you would any lotion is ideal. It prevents destructive free-radical formation and provides protection against them. It can help to keep the skin from developing liver spots, and other blemishes caused by aging and over exposure to sunlight. It helps to prevent sagging and wrinkling by keeping connective tissues strong and supple. In some cases it might even restore damaged or diseased skin. The oil is absorbed into the skin and into the cell structure of the connective tissues, limiting the damage excessive sun exposure can cause.
"Coconut oil will not only bring temporary relief to the skin, but it will aid in healing and repairing. It will have lasting benefits, unlike most lotions. It can help bring back a youthful appearance. The coconut oil will aid in removing the outer layer of dead skin cells, making the skin smoother. The skin will become more evenly textured with a healthy "shine". And the coconut oil will penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin and strengthen the underlying tissues."
I knew it was good for yeast and fungus, but I forgot about all the rest. Thanks, I will start using it on my legs immediately, and other body parts, too!! I bought a gallon of coconut oil not too long ago. My hubby puts it in his bath and he has baby soft skin. I haven't been using it for cooking. I use my rice bran oil for that cause it doesn't taste so strong. And I use coconut cream in smoothies cause it doesn't clump like the oil does. Unfortunately, not even coconut oil will be able to make my legs "beautiful". It would take a miracle for that to happen!
Thanks, Mike, can't wait to see what the silver, K and coconut oil results will be.
BTW, thanks Shapshftr, for taking the time to do the research. I do appreciate it!
It is every single hair follicle on my legs. At first I thought it could be from shaving since I have developed an allergy to nickle. Maybe I developed and allergy to the metal in razor blades?! I don't shave my legs in the winter and there was no change. It is bizarre that every hair follicle is affected!
Sally B.
It is all of them then as I thought. That is a sign of folliculitis, either from shaving or spas or friction from tight clothing, damaging the hair follicles, and then a fungus or bacteria gets down deep in the follicles causing the problem. It would be very difficult to get anything way down deep into the follicles to kill the infection.
And you say you are allergic to nickel. That is one of the disorders listed on that "skinsite" page I posted above:
So you may have gotten it from shaving. Razor blades say they are made of stainless steel, but it's cheap stainless, that is usually a thin layer of stainless on top of nickel.
I would try long hot soaks in the tub with epsom salts to open the follicles up and then immediately apply silver or something antibacterial to your legs right afterward. You could try the coconut oil as Mike suggests, but I think it may require something alot stronger. Don't use any other kind of oil on your legs, especially baby (mineral) oil. Mineral oil is very bad stuff, it destroys vitamin D on the skin, and prevents it's absorption in the digestive tract as well.
Pin Point Bruising on Legs!
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