Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - why do bruises turn yellow?

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why do bruises turn yellow?

when i get bruises..(usually from playing paintball skirmish), my bruises turn yellow ..sometimes even greenish/grey after initially being blue/purple. i know the science behind it being burst blood vessels under the skin..just wondering what makes the bruise change colour?

any idea?

Hmmm,

Its been a long time, but if I remember correctly, what is happening is that the blood from the burst vessels is being broken down by your cells as things are healing and that is just the color of the byproducts.

after i had my wisdom teeth taken out the bottom of my cheeks by my chin were yellowish green for 3 weeks. i asked the doctor and he said it was bruising from them having to pull my cheeks really far back during the surgery. it was pretty embarassing having green cheeks, my friends liked to make fun of me for it.

i have no idea what causes it though.

yeah i would have made fun of you too :D

but in all seriousness, i just wanted to make sure that it was 'normal'.. maybe it is?

Totally normal. Here's from the first hit on Google for "bruise colors":

Quote:

Initially, a fresh bruise may actually be reddish. It will then turn blue or dark purple within a few hours, then yellow or green as it heals.

It is the hemoglobin in the red blood cells and the breakdown products of the hemoglobin that cause the coloration seen in bruises as they age. Although bruises may appear black eye, the blood is never really black, rather it is a dark purple and green. Most of the color seen in bruises is due to the biochemical breakdown of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of blood (white blood cells are removing the decayed blood products little by little). Different components of the blood have different colors, and these colors in turn lend color to the bruise. There are two major breakdown products that can lead to visible color in a bruise. These are a green pigment called biliverdin and a yellow-brown pigment called bilirubin. Bruises usually start out as a dark blue or crimson; fade to violet, green, and dark yellow; then turn a pale yellow; finally disappearing completely.

Google got it pretty well. The lighter yellow color can also be indicative of white (actually pale yellow) blood cells coming to the site of injury to aid in wound healing.

thanks for your help :) guess google is my friend next time :) but thanks heaps anyways guys