Skin hard and sore after black & blue (bleeding, dermatologist, doctor)

[NJDevil]

I got bit by a horse (over clothes - didn't break skin) 2 weeks ago, on my thigh. The black and blue is gone, but one spot still hurts when I touch it and the skin is hard. Has anyone had this reaction to an injury in a fatty area?

[veuvegirl]

Did you see a doctor? You may have internal bleeding. I doubt it since it has been so long, but it can't hurt to double check.

[NJDevil]

I have an appt with a dermatologist next week. I don't think there's anything in my thigh there except fat -- so nothing important could have been damaged LOL. There's nerves there, but they wouldn't get hard.

[pinetreelover]

I have had hard spots that form after a bad bruise before. I think it is more common in fatty areas. They take months to completely go away. My doctor says it is just part of the healing process when the internal tissue is damaged.

[NJDevil]

thank you!

[Marylandkitten]

Yup yup.

I took a bad spill down a little set of stairs a few years back, outdoors. The back of my calf was black and blue - one of the most beautiful and horrific bruises I've ever had!

Well the color faded - but I was shocked and alarmed when I felt the back of my calf and compared it to my other - and it was hard as a rock! (thinking this couldn't be a good thing, I turned to self diagnosing online)

The very first thing that jumped out at me online, was that residual hardening of the area, and permenant bruising could be a very easy oncoming symptom of cancer!

Needless to say, I made an appointment to have it looked at. (this was 8 months later, the color was gone, the statue-hardness underneath had not faded). The doctor told me to stop looking things up online, for my sanity, lol. It's very common for your body to sustain injuries beneath the skin, in the muscle/fat areas, that can take up to a year before they have been reported to "dissolve" on their own - it all depends on the severity of the bruise. He sent me home with a slap on the wrist, and the advice to (if it will make me feel better) to soak it with warm compresses, elevate it at night if it bothers me, and massage it, all to circulate and stimulate the blood flow. The more or faster the blood flow returns to it's normal pattern down there (or anywhere) the faster or sooner the body will take it upon itself to right its wrongs, in time.

It's always best to ask a professional when it is in regard to your health. But in this instance, next time I'll know better and wait it out. My leg's fine now. And it's good to know. But that's usually the run-of-the-mill pattern for me. If something new crops up - I panic and see a doctor - then I treat it, and store the knowledge! that way if it recurrs later in life, I can skip that step and save myself some stress.