Ointments for bruises and other injuries not only eliminate pain, but also counteract inflammatory processes. They also dilate blood vessels, warm the tissue and promote its nutrition. Therefore, the therapeutic effect occurs within the first 30-40 minutes after application. The most popular drugs for adults and children are discussed below
Ointment for bruises with an analgesic effect: “Diclofenac”
The active substance diclofenac is included in a number of analogue drugs:
- "Voltaren";
- "Diclofenac"
- "Ortofen".
These are common anti-inflammatory drugs belonging to the non-steroidal group. For use by adults and children over 6 years of age. Apply to the skin 1 to 4 times a day. Has a local anesthetic effect.
Side effects are rare. They may be associated with dermatitis, erythema, and attacks of bronchial asthma. Use during pregnancy is permissible only in the first and second trimesters. Moreover, a preliminary consultation with a doctor is required. You can buy all diclofenac-based ointments without a prescription.
Prognosis for recovery
The prognosis for a bruised knee joint is favorable - mild to moderate injuries without complications can be completely cured within 14 days in 100% of cases.
Severe bruises are more difficult to treat and take longer (up to a month or more). They are often combined with other injuries (fractures, cracks, cartilage detachment, meniscal tears).
In 90% of cases, severe injuries occur with complications (hemorrhage into the joint capsule). Therefore, in the future, serious damage can lead to arthrosis.
What to apply to a severe bruise: “Viprosal”
This medicine contains the venom of a common viper and auxiliary components - turpentine, camphor and silicylic acid, which provide additional heating of the affected area.
The product serves as an analgesic, inhibits inflammatory processes, and also improves tissue nutrition by dilating blood vessels. You can buy the product without a prescription and can be taken by adults and children over 12 years old.
Side effects include allergic reactions, including itching and swelling. It is worth remembering that Viprosal cannot be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding. It is important to avoid contact of poison with mucous membranes, including eyes, and damaged areas of skin (wounds, abrasions, ulcers).
Drugs with venotonic action
It is advisable to apply a venotonic ointment to the site of the injury as soon as possible, preferably immediately after the injury. This will prevent bruising, swelling and redness. Such drugs are available in the form of gels, ointments and creams that have a pronounced antithrombotic effect.
Venotonics contain active anticoagulant substances that effectively thin the blood, preventing the formation of blood clots in the bruised area of the joint. Medicines activate lymph outflow, being considered a good prevention of varicose veins.
Effective venotonics include:
- Heparin;
- Lyoton 1000;
- Troxerutin;
- Troxevasin;
- Hepatrombin;
- Lavenum.
The main active substances in these drugs are heparin and troxerutin. The first normalizes plasma coagulability and activates blood circulation. The second has a broader pharmacological effect. It not only prevents the formation of blood clots, but also strengthens the walls of blood vessels, preventing their permeability and fragility. Troxerutin is used as a prophylaxis for varicose veins.
Ointment for bruises and injuries: “Apizartron”
"Apizartron" contains bee venom and auxiliary components. It has a pronounced analgesic effect, helps with sprains and bruises. Used to warm up muscles, including during sports activities. Stimulates blood circulation, eliminates symptoms of neuritis and sciatica, as well as rheumatic joint pathologies.
You can buy the ointment at the pharmacy without presenting a prescription. It can be used by both adults and children over 12 years of age (over 6 - with caution). It is not allowed to use during any trimester of pregnancy and during breastfeeding.
If you have an individual intolerance to bee venom, a number of allergic reactions may occur, including redness, swelling, itching and rash. In these cases, it is necessary to replace the drug.
Buy a good ointment for bruises: “Finalgon”
The drug "Finalgon" contains 2 active ingredients at once - nicoboxil and nonivamide. Therefore, it is considered one of the best remedies for relieving pain and counteracting inflammatory processes. Causes a local irritation reaction and quickly relieves pain in the affected areas.
It is used for the symptomatic treatment of various pathologies - lumbago, arthritis, bursitis, acute low back pain, sciatica, arthralgia, for the treatment of the consequences of sports injuries and myalgia associated with increased physical activity. Also used to warm up muscles before starting a workout.
You can buy the product in a pharmacy even without a doctor’s prescription at a price of 450 rubles per 35 g package. It is worth remembering the possible side effects associated with shortness of breath, burning, paresthesia, cough, and allergic reactions. It is also important to understand that the gel should not be used by children under 17 years of age inclusive. Pregnant and breastfeeding women can use the ointment, but only if absolutely necessary and in consultation with a doctor.
Treatment of mild bruises of the knee joint with folk remedies
It is worth understanding that a knee bruise is a closed injury, when soft tissues are damaged, but the structures of the joint itself are not affected. Such injuries are more often encountered by people involved in sports (football, hockey, equestrian sports, running), various training sessions, but such injuries also occur in everyday life.
Causes of bruised knee joint
The causes of bruises may be:
- Accidental falls on the knee, which quite often cause a bruise. And the impact force that occurred during the fall, and what the surface was, determines what the consequences will be. Bruises can also be caused by careless movements and jumping.
- Road traffic accidents, natural disasters, industrial accidents. They are characterized by a significant degree of damage to various organs and tissues.
- An impact in the area of the knee joint on some object, a hard surface, which can be observed in sports, as well as in ordinary everyday life. Often such a bruise is isolated. People who suffer from arthritis, arthrosis and other diseases associated with the musculoskeletal system are more often susceptible to such injury.
This problem has no age restrictions.
Bruised knee joint - possible symptoms
No matter how complex the problem, regardless of the cause of the injury, one cannot ignore such an injury. Every person needs to know and understand the symptoms of a knee injury. So, manifestations that may bother you:
- Pain in or near the knee joint. It appears when bending/extending the leg, is short-lived, or does not go away for a long time, as a result of which the patient cannot fully step on the leg.
- Change in skin color. Due to damage to the blood vessels, the skin turns blue, a bruise forms underneath, or turns red with inflammation and swelling.
- Joint blockade is a sharp restriction of knee mobility, severe pain when the meniscus or articular muscle is damaged.
- Change in gait. After a joint is bruised, clicking or crunching noises may occur when moving.
- Edema and swelling of the knee can occur due to the accumulation of excess fluid in the area of injury.
- Numbness (pinched nerve endings) can occur with fractures and dislocations.
First aid for a knee injury
An important necessity is timely emergency assistance for a bruise, because it will protect the victim from various complications in the future. So, the rules for providing emergency medical care for a bruise:
- It is necessary to apply something cold to the injury site, this helps prevent the formation of swelling and inflammation, and dulls the pain.
- Bandage the bruised area tightly; for this it is better to use an elastic bandage; if you don’t have one, you can use a piece of clothing. Bandaging the injured area reduces pain from severe bruising and reduces the load on the leg.
- To reduce swelling, you need to raise your leg above hip level by placing a small bolster or pillow under your shin and knee.
- For pain relief, apply a special ointment or gel for the joints; if the pain is severe, take painkillers.
The steps described above will help relieve inflammation, reduce pain, and reduce bruising under the skin.
Folk remedies for treating mild knee bruises
Treatment with folk remedies will help speed up the tissue healing process and reduce pain. To do this, it is recommended to make various compresses and prepare ointments. So, a few simple recipes of traditional medicine:
- Grind the wormwood herb to make 2 tablespoons. spoons, then pour a glass of vodka. The mixture is infused for a week and applied as a compress. You can also take fresh wormwood herb, chop or knead it with your hands, and then apply it to the sore spot. Replace the grass every time it starts to dry out.
- A fresh leaf of burdock or plantain, or a leaf of cabbage, is rinsed in cold water. Then beat it a little so that the leaf releases the juice. Then it is replaced with a fresh one. It is recommended to treat the bruise in the described way until the condition improves.
- Mix honey with aloe pulp in equal proportions. Place the resulting mixture on a linen napkin and apply to the damaged area for three hours. It is necessary to treat the knee with a compress until pain and swelling are eliminated. You can also take an aloe leaf and rinse it before use. Then cut lengthwise and in half. Next, lubricate the sore spot with the juice of the leaf. This procedure can be carried out a couple of times a day. There is no need to cover the bruise with anything.
- Compress with raw potato mixture. 1 medium raw potato is grated, excess liquid is slightly squeezed out. The resulting mass is placed in gauze or a bandage and tied (you should get a bag of potato mass). Apply to the bruise every day for 1.5–2 hours until symptoms disappear completely (the potato mass can be used from the first day after the bruise).
A bruised knee joint is a fairly common injury, because no one is immune from falling or unexpected, accidental blows.
Remember, no matter how well folk remedies help, sometimes it is still a good idea to go to the hospital to check your condition. After all, only a qualified doctor will be able to make an accurate diagnosis and give recommendations for proper treatment, based on the individual characteristics of a particular patient and his case. And if after treatment at home you still experience swelling and pain, you should definitely consult a specialist and not risk your health. Author: K.M.N., Academician of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences M.A. Bobyr
Ointment for bruises and hematomas: “Capsicam”
The composition of Kapsicam ointment includes several active ingredients, including nonivamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, turpentine, camphor. The ointment warms up the affected area well, prevents the development of inflammatory processes, and gives a quick analgesic effect. Dilates blood vessels, saturates tissues with blood, which leads to rapid recovery. The cessation of pain is observed within 3-6 hours, and the first results are noticeable after 30 minutes.
You can buy the ointment at a pharmacy without presenting a doctor's prescription. It can only be used by adults; it is prohibited for children. Also, Capsicam should not be used by pregnant and lactating women. It is important to remember about possible side effects associated with allergic manifestations (including itching, swelling).
Since the components of the drug have a warming effect, they lead to an increase in the temperature of the affected area by 2-3 degrees, which is normal. In this case, you should avoid getting the product on mucous membranes, including eyes, and wounds.
Treating bruises at home
Mild and moderate uncomplicated bruises can be treated independently, without medical assistance.
Minor bruises
The first aid technique for mild bruises changes slightly.
Since bleeding from small capillaries (they are damaged by minor injuries) stops within 10–20 minutes, a tight bandage to compress damaged vessels is not needed.
Algorithm for providing assistance:
- On the first day, ensure relative rest of the limb (limit even everyday movements, strong loads such as running and jumping are excluded), apply a cold compress (for 2–5 hours, depending on the size of the bruise).
- Apply anti-inflammatory, analgesic local drugs (Diclofenac-gel), absorbable ointments (Troxerutin, Heparin) or combined agents (Dolobene) to the area of injury.
- On day 3, start using irritating local drugs (Apizartron, Gevkamen) or warming compresses (vodka, alcohol) to speed up tissue healing.
Use local irritants until the bruise and other signs of injury completely disappear: Menovasin, Badyaga forte, Apizartron.
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Moderate bruises
Help for moderate bruises at home is provided according to the standard scheme (use of a tight bandage, complete immobilization of the limb), but with some nuances:
- Apply a tight bandage immediately to stop bleeding (which, if large vessels are damaged, continues for up to a day). Then apply the bandage only when there is a load (for example, if the victim needs to get up or go somewhere), be sure to remove it at rest.
- Start using decongestant ointments (Troxerutin) on the first day after injury (together with anti-inflammatory drugs with NSAIDs).
- Use heparin-containing local medications (Heparin ointment) every other day (they reduce blood clotting, so immediately after an injury they can increase the hematoma).
Click on photo to enlarge
On days 3–5, start applying warming, locally irritating ointments (Apisatron, Dr. Theiss Arnica, Levomenthol) to the area of the hematoma (in addition to local remedies with NSAIDs) and use them until the bruise resolves.
If by the end of the first week the pain does not subside but becomes stronger, you should consult a traumatologist to rule out other joint injuries.