How do nurses describe bruises?

Bruises Nursing Care Plan
Bruises are bluish or purple-coloured patches, which appear on the skin when tiny blood vessels, called capillaries, break or burst. The blood from the capillaries leaks into the soft tissue under the skin, causing the discolouration.
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How do you describe a bruise medically?

Your healthcare provider may refer to bruising by its medical term: ecchymosis (ech-e-moe-sis). Bruises are also called contusions. The different types of bruises include: Hematoma: Trauma, such as a car accident or major fall, can cause severe bruising and skin and tissue damage.
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How would you describe an old bruise?

A bruise that is a few days old will often appear blue, purple, or even black. In about 5–10 days, it turns a yellow or green color. These colors come from compounds called biliverdin and bilirubin that the body produces when it breaks down hemoglobin.
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How do you address a bruise?

For both injuries, the answer is often RICE: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.
  1. Rest. Depending on where your injury is, you may need to keep weight off it for a day or two. ...
  2. Ice. To curb swelling and pain in the first 24 hours after a minor injury, apply a cold compress for 20-30 minutes. ...
  3. Compression. ...
  4. Elevation.
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How do you describe a bruise in a story?

Describing bruises as “discolored” or “shadows” comes with a more melancholy connotation. If you want to get more poetic, you can describe bruises like watercolors or sunset clouds, but be aware that language like that inherently romanticizes the injury (or the injured character), so be mindful of when you do this.
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Forensic Nursing: How We See Bruises



How do you write an injury description?

Describing a wound in your notes:

Shape: linear, crescent shaped, stellate. Orientation: vertical, horizontal, oblique. Margins: regular/smooth, irregular/rough, bruised, abraded. Wound type: laceration, incision, open wound.
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How do you describe a wound in writing?

Use correct terminology to describe your findings, such as ecchymosed (bruised), erythematous (red), indurated (firm), edematous (swollen). Wound edges must also be carefully defined. Wound edges can be described as diffuse, well defined or rolled.
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When is a bruise an emergency?

Call the doctor if the bruise is accompanied by swelling and extreme pain, especially if you take a blood-thinning medication for a medical condition. Call the doctor if bruising occurs easily or for no apparent reason. Call the doctor if the bruise is painful and under a toenail or fingernail.
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What does a hematoma look like?

A hematoma can look like a bruise, but bruises occur due to damage to small blood vessels rather than large ones. While many hematomas are relatively harmless, some can indicate a more serious medical problem.
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How do you describe abrasion?

An abrasion means that the surface layers of the skin (epidermis) has been broken. Thin-skinned bony areas (like knees, ankles and elbows) are more prone to abrasions than thicker, more padded areas. The scraped skin of an abrasion can contain particles of dirt.
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What is the difference between bruise and ecchymosis?

Ecchymosis is a skin discoloration that results from bleeding underneath the skin and usually larger than 1 cm or . 4 inches. A bruise is a discolored skin area that is caused by a blow, impact or suction (suction bruise) that ruptured underlying small blood vessels.
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How do you describe blood?

In humans, blood is an opaque red fluid, freely flowing but denser and more viscous than water. The characteristic colour is imparted by hemoglobin, a unique iron-containing protein. Hemoglobin brightens in colour when saturated with oxygen (oxyhemoglobin) and darkens when oxygen is removed (deoxyhemoglobin).
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What are 5 symptoms of a contusion?

Contusions on your bones
  • stiffness or swelling.
  • tenderness.
  • trouble bending or using the affected area.
  • pain that lasts longer than the symptoms of a typical bruise would.
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What is considered severe bruising?

Severe symptoms

swelling and pain in the area of bruising. bruising that occurs after a hard blow or fall. bruising that occurs along with a suspected broken bone. bruising for no reason.
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What does a raised bruise mean?

Bruises are dark colored areas of the skin which may be raised in the center. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin near the surface. When the bleeding causes a raised area, the area is called a "hematoma.” A bruise may have a bump or knot in the middle.
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What does a yellow bruise mean?

If your bruises are yellow, this means that they will soon be completely healed. This final stage of healing is characteristic of the yellow hue. Hemoglobin, a protein containing iron, is released into the body upon the breakdown of red blood cells.
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Does a blood clot look like a bruise?

While a blood clot and a bruise both affect the blood vessels, they are significantly different. Bruises are prominent marks on the skin that vanish over time. Blood clots are a build-up of blood deep inside the tissue or within blood vessels.
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What is a sentence for bruise?

Bruise sentence example. She had a scab on her forehead over her left eye and a bruise on her cheek. A very small bruise is called a petechia. Even though she had a bruise , we only have her word that Shipton beat her.
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What is the synonym of bruised?

bruised. past tense of bruise. Synonyms of bruised (Entry 2 of 2) as in lacerated, mangled.
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How do you document a wound?

Use the body as a clock when documenting the length, width, and depth of a wound using the linear method. In all instances of the linear (or clock) method, the head is at 12:00 and the feet are at 6:00. When measuring length, the ruler will be placed between the longest portion of the wound between 12:00 and 6:00.
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How do you write an injury scene?

The Beginning
  1. The Inciting Injury, the moment and manner in which the character gets hurt.
  2. The Immediate Treatment, what the character does to feel better and avoid further injury in the moment. This can include everything from returning fire and fleeing the scene to bandages and impromptu splints.
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How do nurses measure wounds?

The wound is typically measured first by its length, then by width, and finally by depth. The length is always from the patient's head to the toe. The width is always from the lateral positions on the patient. The depth is usually measured by inserting a q–tip in the deepest part of the wound with the tip of finger.
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How do you write an incident report in nursing?

What Information Do You Put in an Incident Report?
  1. Detailed description of the event with events listed chronologically.
  2. Witnesses or injured party statements.
  3. Injuries sustained by the person(s) as a result of the incident or the outcome.
  4. Actions taken immediately after the incident occurred.
  5. Treatments administered.
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