Suggest treatment for purple lesions on the arms due to subcutaneous bleeding
Patient: My forearms began subcutaneous bleeding three years ago. The ugly deep purple lesions about the size of a quarter appear suddenly without any trauma and take about three weeks to go away. I am 75 years old. Have AFIB since 2002. Was on Coumadin until 2012, when I began to see grapefruit size purple lesions on my back. Changed to aspirin 325 mg daily and that worked OK until last January when I started to get nosebleeds about 1 - 2 times a week. In February I changed the dosage to 81 mg daily and the nosebleeds stopped. I take metoprolol 100 mg twice a day and diltiazem 120 mg SA once a day since 2002 for my AFIB. My primary care doctor says my skin is too thin because of my age. My dermatologist says the lesions are not treatable. Can anything be done to stop this? Doctor: Hi,Thanks for asking.Based on your query, my opinion is as follows.1. You are at present having senile vasculitis.2. Avoiding injury or rubbing your skin on rough areas is very important.3. Also, good hydration and applying moisturizers on skin, to prevent skin dehydration is important.4. The purple areas will slowly become darker and disappear. It wont be painful. At joints, cushion and other places, light protection could be helpful. It is not treatable, but further injuries can be controlled.Hope it helps.Any further queries, happy to help again.