Unexplained armpit bruises

[Farhad99]

Hi, I am a 38 yr old, and generally healthy. All of a sudden I got bruises on my armpits, and the left side much bigger, and still not healed. The right side was smaller and looks like it's healing.
A few days before the bruises appeared I had gone to gym after 4 weeks of not going, and lifted heavy weighs with my hands and arms.
Should I be worried? I did search the internet and am getting worried.


This discussion is related to Bruising under the arm..

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi,

I suggest that you seek immediate consult at the ER. If you describe these as bruises then I would assume that these are reddish to violaceous in color.Are they painful or itchy? Are these lesions swollen and blanch to the touch?

At this point,one may consider contact or allergic dermatitis but just to allay your fears an immediate consult is necessary.You have mentioned of straining prior to the onset of the lesions.Do you have any associated headaches or dizziness? Any underlying disease like a bleeding problem, diabetes or hypertension?

Do keep us posted regarding your physician's advice.

[Farhad99]

Thanks Venessa for your post. I went to a walk in clinic today (I live in British Columbia, canada).  The doctors examined it and told me, it is not "bruise" as defined in medical terms, it is more like a skin reaction to something irritating. But on the left side (the worse of the two) it sort of looks like an opened up blister, and on the right side it looks like a healed wound (much smaller).
Anyway, she told me it is nothing to worry about, and said it was most likely caused by skin reaction to a substance (something like yeast), heat and sweat and caused the skin to become irritated like that.  So, she prescribed a cream substance and told me to apply it 3 times a day every day, and it should start getting better in 4 or 5 days. She said if it is not, then she gave me a list of blood test that I should do, but she told me it will be very unlikely that I would need to do the blood test.  
Anyway, this whole episode was very strange for me, because I've been through hot summers, sweaty, playing soccer and other things, but nothing like this has ever happened. But now all of a sudden I had these sort of blisters on my armpits. They are not really in the middle of the armpits, they are sort of to the sides, as if someone was trying to lift me and it left scars.  
When I searched the internet, I found another person around my age who had exact same things at exactly same spots, and his doctor told him the same thing. But others have talked about lukimia and also scary skin diseases, that got me really worried. So I am hoping this will get better, and will turn out to be not a big deal.

Thanks again, and i will keep posting here so others can refer to here if this happens to them. Scary stuff.

[Farhad99]

oh...btw, no they are no itchy or painful at all, it just feels uncomfortable, and i had put band aide on it, but the doctor said leave it open if it does not hurt it will probably heal faster.
They are not swollen either.
the colour is red, sort of like burned skin (blister like).

[Farhad99]

One more comment: No i did not have dizzieness or headaches or any of those other issues. I am generally a healthy person, but the day I went to the gym, i was fasting. (this is a fasting period in my religion). During these times, I do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. and It was around 5 pm that i went to they gym. and it was the first or second time in 4 or 5 weeks that i had gone back to they gym.

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi,

I suggest that you refrain from going to the gym or engaging in highly strenuous or vigorous acivities when you are fasting.These activities require lots of energy and you may end up dehydrated if water and electrolyte losses are not replenished immediately.

Just avoid unnecessarily touching the area.Wear sleeveless shirts for the mean time and avoid using abrasive soaps and creams on the area.Always keep the area clean and dry.

I hope you are better now.