Ibuprofen use side effects - bruising?

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#1 Post by **TsuKata** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:28 pm

I did a search for this, and I did come across someone mentioning something vaguely similar in the surgery forum, but it was related to post-surgery bruising, so I figured it was still worth asking.

I'm a fair-skinned person; thus, I bruise very easily. I've been taking ibuprofen more regularly than normal (but still no more than 1-2 times a week, and only like 2-400mg at a time) since I got the braces...usually to help with bad pain or in advance of knowing that I'm eating something tough.

I've been noticing some random small bruises...cat footprints, generally.

My cat can bruise me by walking on me on a normal day, but I'm noticing a few more than normal, and I seem to notice the extras a day or so after taking ibuprofen...and they fade fast thereafter. I thought I remembered that ibuprofen can cause you to bruise easier, but I can't seem to find anything confirming that on the web, except in relation to extreme reactions indicating internal bleeding. I doubt I'm having an extreme reaction. The bruising is in "normal" places, and as I noted, I tend to bruise easily anyways. Plus, I feel fine.

I've cut myself off of ibuprofen for now, as I just don't like getting bruised, but my bottom teeth are really achy, and it's driving me batty that I can't take anything for it. I was considering Aleve (naproxen), but I can't remember if the bruising is a specific side effect of ibuprofen or if it's common to all NSAIDs.

#2 Post by **joele** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:24 pm

May be a side effect for you, everyone is different. It's similar to aspirin.
Have you tried Tylenol? Maybe just sucking on some ice may help too.
If the bruising is unusual and continues check with your MD.

#3 Post by **TsuKata** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:53 am

I found this article online today that actually answered some of my questions in terms of what I can use in place of ibuprofen and what will not work as well:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/articl ... ophen.html

I figured it might help others, so I wanted to add it to this thread.

As for my specific issue, my dentist-friend said any NSAID is going to cause some extra bruising, but that experimenting with different ones might help me find one that works best for me. I also found this article that discusses the bruising problem by searching for bruises rather than for ibuprofen side effects:

http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/At ... ruises.jsp

#4 Post by **TexasAggie09** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 1:56 pm

Wow, that's an odd thing to happen. I've never heard of that! At the beginning of my treatment I took the maximum amount of ibuprofen everyday for several days. I didn't notice bruising, but I did have some problems with my stomach bleeding! My mom is an RN and told me that it can be very hard on your stomach, so I switched to acetaminophen. She told me what is really the best thing to do with pain relievers is switch them out (as long as they are all ok for you to take), since they all effect your body differently. Good luck with it all!