blood clots on my arms

i have blood clots only from my elbows to my wrists.  I go for a few days with none then all of a sudden I wake up in the morning and have the blood blisters all over my arms or sometimes just in one place.  They take weeks to heal and look really ugly.  Can you tell me what they are and how to stop them.  Thank you

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,
From the symptoms I understand that you are talking about blood blisters and not about petechiael spots under the skin. It can be due to blood blisters or pyogenic granuloma also. A blood blister is a type of blister that forms when subdermal tissues and blood vessels are damaged without piercing the skin. Give rest to the part, apply cold compresses, soak the blister in Epsom salt and keep the arm bandaged so as to avoid its rupture. If the blister breaks, quickly rinse the area and apply an antiseptic such as neosporin. It is not recommended to break a blister because it may often lead to infection.

Pyogenic granuloma is usually a small red, oozing and bleeding bump and head, neck, upper trunk and hands and feet are the most commonly sites. To confirm the diagnosis, I suggest you to get an evaluation done from a dermatologist.

It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.