Elderly aunts bruised hand

[vegas888]

My aunt is in a care home, I visited her today and saw a massive bruise on her hand. I asked what had happened to one of the staff and she said she didn’t know but would get someone to call me.
I know elderly people bruise more easily but this looks horrendous.

That's a nasty looking bruise. I had thought maybe she could have gotten a bruise if she had to be helped out of bed/chair and a care assistant was holding her hands. But I doubt that would cause such an extensive bruise. The poor thing - hope you get to the bottom of it.

Has she knocked her hand against bed rails? Does she pull on a bed lever or grab rail? It looks as if the above may happened and I wonder about a fracture? Her hand looks so fragile. What do the staff think?

That looks like a doctor should see it and maybe xray it. Is it both sides,by her thumb looks very bruised and is that A swollen vein.

The lady I saw today didn’t know anything about it and just said she’d get someone to call me. Are bruises not logged down at all? I feel so sorry for aunt, she’s been such an independent woman all her life, it’s awful to see her this way.

Has she got dementia?

I ask as occasionally people with dementia can become violent and lash out it could be that she's hit it off the bed rail/wall/hoist etc. It doesn't look like she's been grabbed though too big for that. Certainly concerning however hope she is ok x

Aunt can’t communicate properly now and she has mild dementia so can’t get any info from her, maybe she has had a blood test as others have suggested, I just didn’t think the bruise from that would spread up her arm like it has.

Old people can bruise easily. Their bruises can look huge. If she’s mobile she might well have just knocked it on a chest of drawers or table.
Speak to the manager.

Any unexplained bruising or injury should be documented and assessed. I would call her gp and the home manager and ask for a visit.

Does she often bump into things? I've bumped my hands on bedside tables, dressers and such and ended up with huge bruises on the back of my hand.

Perhaps the care home can't explain it if it's something she's done when getting out of bed or moving around. A bit like when toddlers have little knocks, except old people bruise easier.

@DogsSausages

That looks like a doctor should see it and maybe xray it. Is it both sides,by her thumb looks very bruised and is that A swollen vein.

You can't see her thumb, apart from the tip of it?

She doesn’t have the strength to even move herself an inch in her chair, she is very weak and frail. She cannot lift her arms so very much doubt that would be the cause, plus aunt has never shown even the slightest bit of annoyance let alone any form of aggression.

That is concerning and if they really should have noticed it before you had to inform them. If she was my patient I would have ordered an X Ray, it looks like she has trapped it.

Aunt has zero mobility so no possibility of a fall.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to reply, it’s very much appreciated. I will call the care home in the morning.

People are bruising more after jabs, Astra Zeneca in particular. A friend of mine had bruising all down one leg.

I am going to go against the flow here and say it doesn't look out of the ordinary. I spent many years looking after older people in hospital and in their homes and some of the bruises i saw looked horrific but in fact were....well normal sounds awful...nothing to worry about. That yellow green colouring looks as though the bruise is not brand new and is dissipating as it should. She looks to have rheumatoid arthritis too (deformed hands, called ulnar drift) If you are generally happy with the home and she is happy there then I wouldn't take...again how to word it...emergency action. Its not really possible to log bruises, although falls and accidents should be logged, but its possible she did that in bed by sleeping with her hand in an awkward position or knocking herself as she moved. Is she visited regularly by a district nurse or GP? I'd be much more concerned about a bruised face or painful ribs. I am a retired Occupational Therapist and I can't give professional advice any more because I am no longer registered but I can speak generally from my experience. Do you have a POA for her? Does anyone else in the family visit?

Looks like she’s banged the back of her hand against something - the wall, side of the bed, cupboard etc.

My gran used to have awful bruises and it would be from the lightest brush. My mum is the same (my dad is pretty bad too) and they aren't in a home, they just bruise easily.
If I ask how they did it they never seem to know.

Looks like she has had a blood test to me. Bruise looks reasonably old as well. As many others have said, older people can bruise very easily.
I would be amazed if she wasn't on any medications and didn't have any health condition as you state OP. Are you sure you have that right? Many people are on blood thinners which can lead to being vulnerable to bruising.
How does she transfer from bed to chair etc? Hoist?
Could she have bashed her hand on a bed rail?
If you are generally happy with the care provided I don't think I would be overly concerned.

Yes she has zero health conditions and never has. She’s always been single, worked for the same company until she retired. She never smoked, rarely drank and ate an extremely healthy diet. She always refused to see doctors unless absolutely necessary. Never took the winter flu jab or any form of medication and the only reason she went to a carehome was because she lost her strength to do everyday things she needed to do.

@vegas888

Yes she has zero health conditions and never has. She’s always been single, worked for the same company until she retired. She never smoked, rarely drank and ate an extremely healthy diet. She always refused to see doctors unless absolutely necessary. Never took the winter flu jab or any form of medication and the only reason she went to a carehome was because she lost her strength to do everyday things she needed to do.

but she has got rheumatoid arthritis. I'd definitely call that a health condition

Unless they secure her into a chair she could slip/fall out.

@nzborn

Unless they secure her into a chair she could slip/fall out.

falls would have to be documented....also safety restraints, especially for people with Alzheimers need a very special assessment and permission

How do they move your aunt about? Is it possibly they have trapped her hand somehow during a transfer? It looks to me like it's maybe been trapped??

Yes she has zero health conditions and never has

She has dementia, very limited mobility and arthritis. Those seem like pretty serious health conditions to me.

A blood test or similar seems quite likely - the home wouldn't necessarily tell you if it didn't reveal any problems. I recently had a needle in the back of my hand and the bleeding it caused under the skin caused fairly spectacular bruising.