What can I do to strengthen or toughen my skin? (Not a metaphor, actual skin).

Have you had your blood sugar checked lately?
I assume you washed it and disinfected the scrape before you went to bed.

Diabetes and PAD are the two most common causes.
Unless you picked up some bacteria when you scraped your leg.

Crèmes with Vitamine E seem to increase the process of healing of little wounds.
But that is of course after you had already bumped/damaged your skin.
Also don’t know how old you are I found that since I am aging, the process of healing of wounds and scrapes tends to take more and more time and they leave more scars than before.

Keep in mind also that she has very very fair very thin skin. Just sayin’. My marshmallow girl… Nice Nordic legacy…

Ah, darling, it comes with age.

Vitamin C helps stregnthen capillaries. When capillary walls are weak it can mean easier bruising. Also, a dificiency in vitamin K can cause more bruising. C is found in citrus, and K can be found in leafy dark green vegetables. I would also recommend taking a daily vitamin with iron if you don’t already.

I also agree that diabetes should be considered if you are having trouble healing. Have you been very thristy lately?

I think of you as being rather young? If you are under 40 I would not chalk it up to age.

Oh, I have very very thin skin, very very fair, and I do not bruise easily, and I heal quickly. I don’t think it is a skin issue. Although, as I think about it, sun exposure will toughen your skin. It causes other sorts of damage too of course.

If your tongue and lips are pale pink or lighter you are probably iron dificient. If your are very pale you are likely vitamin D dificient. Not really related, but thought I would mention it.

I will second @JLeslie Make sure you’re getting enough Vitamin C, at least the RDA.

I seem to remember a comment or two about you drinking also. I am not making any assumptions about your alcohol intake, in fact I might be mixing you up with someone else, but If you drink regulary, daily, alcohol can lead to easier bruising also.

I’m dark skinned and have always bruised easily. It was worse when I was your age. Maybe get your iron and/or blood sugar levels checked but I doubt it’s anything major. Just watch where you’re going a little more. :)

@Adirondackwannabe : I’m afraid she’s inherited the “can’t be bothered to look where I’m going” gene… ;-)

@JilltheTooth My girl has it too. I can’t believe the size of stuff she runs into. I see a nail in the grass. She can’t see a cement block.

Eyes to the skies, @Adirondackwannabe , eyes to the skies. It’s a philosophical thing. And a painful one…

Thanks for all the answers everyone! I’ve always been an easy bruiser, but they are usually smaller bruises that might not even be very visible just a little lump and some tenderness but now, like I said, I am getting huge bruises and scratches to accompany them. It’s just so weird!

@JLeslie: I am 22 and I drink about as much as your average 22-year-old so I don’t think it’s that. The amount of alcohol I’ve been consuming lately hasn’t fluctuated all that much. I suppose the biggest difference is instead of having a few drinks a couple times a week, the past few weeks, I have gotten drunk once a week and had, at most, one beer during the rest of the week. It’s probably a good idea to cut down on my alcohol consumption anyway, so I will try and let you know how things go.

@Adirondackwannabe: I have always walked into to stuff. Every coffee table is exactly at knee height and I have a tendency to be unable to clear the corners. :P I’m not sure how I can stop that, though, since I’ve been doing stupid stuff like that my whole life… Seriously, if I didn’t run into stuff so much, I could have gone to Yale, but I have destroyed too many brain cells. :P

@KatawaGrey Try walking in the woods. I grew up hunting a lot and always tried to move through the woods as silently as possible.I got very good at picking up things on the ground that would make noise. I don’t advocate hunting now, but it might help someone that runs into stuff.

@KatawaGrey Do you take aspirin? Or, taking some sort of new medication? Aspirin like alcohol thins the blood.

I, too, bruise easily and always have. Mine is not due to alcohol or aspirin intake, or age. My doctor’s (more than one) have said thin, pale skin is just inherited.

This is kind of gross, but some boxers toughen up their facial skin with salt water.