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DH is has been on xaralto for abouot 7 months. He is 80 and has had a tendency to bruise and bleed easily for years - like a dog scratch will create a bruise or scrap a bit of skin off. Seems that he has VERY thin skin.
Now that he's on blood thinners, the cuts and scrapes are very frequent and take a long time to stop bleeding. Never profuse bleeding, but it can go on for several days. The bleeding restarts when he takes of the bandage/bandaid. I had to replace out sheet for white ones because of the blood stains - again, not profuse puddles, just some spots the size of a tic-tac to maybe a half-dollar.
Anybody found any solutions to this when he gets a cut or a scrape?
My late husband was on blood thinners - used a powder product to stop the bleeding (from either Rite Aid or CVS, don't recall, our Rite Aid stores are all gone) - then use an antibiotic ointment on a non-stick bandage.
Anyone ever find anything that would actually protect his skin while working in the garden, playing with the dogs, going to a neighbor's home who has a large dog that jumps?
Anyone ever find anything that would actually protect his skin while working in the garden, playing with the dogs, going to a neighbor's home who has a large dog that jumps?
Yes. I find the roller is more convenient than a regular styptic pencil.
My forearms got so torn up working on the rose bushes (which predated my taking blood thinners) that I wear these when I'm working on them or anything that will scratch me:
DH is has been on xaralto for abouot 7 months. He is 80 and has had a tendency to bruise and bleed easily for years - like a dog scratch will create a bruise or scrap a bit of skin off. Seems that he has VERY thin skin.
Now that he's on blood thinners, the cuts and scrapes are very frequent and take a long time to stop bleeding. Never profuse bleeding, but it can go on for several days. The bleeding restarts when he takes of the bandage/bandaid. I had to replace out sheet for white ones because of the blood stains - again, not profuse puddles, just some spots the size of a tic-tac to maybe a half-dollar.
Anybody found any solutions to this when he gets a cut or a scrape?
-I take Eliquis, which I think has somewhat less of a tendency (or so I have heard) to cause the type of bleeding from cuts and scrapes that you're describing- not that Eliquis will not do so as well.
I do my best to avoid cutting myself, but sometimes it happens anyway. My main problem seems to be bleeding from sites where they take blood for lab testing. I find for those, as well as the cuts I sometimes get anyway, putting pressure on the cut for maybe 5-10 minutes is enough to stop the bleeding and oozing later on (for me anyway). I generally do that, and keep a pressure bandage on for a few hours and that works for me.
But I don't think I have the thin fragile skin you as you describe for your husband, I can see where that could be a serious problem. Heck, I've seen older people-say as they get into their 80's and 90's, have skin that looks and acts like paper, tearing with even minor trauma- bleeding even when they aren't on a blood thinner. I can only imagine combining this tendency with a blood thinner could make it that much worse.
Two things I might suggest ( and you've gotten good ideas from other posters, it looks like). They both involve taking up this problem with your husband's prescribing doctor. There might be options to switch to another blood thinner that might have less of a tendency to cause so much bleeding- for instance, to Eliquis. The other option might be to consider a lesser dosage of the bloodthinner. Eliquis, for instance, is usually taken in doses of 5 mg twice a day,( at least for stroke prevention in Afib, which is why I take it) but it comes in 2.5 mg tablets as well, and I've read that recommendations have been made for people over the age of 80 to take those lower dosages. I'm not as familiar with the Xarelto, but I know it also comes in tablets of various dosages, and perhaps the same recommendation could be made for a smaller dose to be taken by an individual ( especially if you're having issues with the medication) your husband's age to take a smaller dose.
Anyone ever find anything that would actually protect his skin while working in the garden, playing with the dogs, going to a neighbor's home who has a large dog that jumps?
It happens. More of an inconvenience than a problem though. Make sure he is not on multiple blood thinning drugs unless the doctor has said so though (thinking primarily low dose aspirin could be a factor).
Yes. I find the roller is more convenient than a regular styptic pencil.
My forearms got so torn up working on the rose bushes (which predated my taking blood thinners) that I wear these when I'm working on them or anything that will scratch me:
It happens. More of an inconvenience than a problem though.
Agree. I've been taking Eliquis for about 3 years after SVT triggered a coronary thrombosis. Of course, when I first started the medication, I was all ramped up and worried I'd bleed to death after nicking a finger chopping veggies. It never happened, so my anxiety eased off. It's just a new normal. You can adjust not only physically but mentally. I haven't noticed overly concerning bleeding from minor injuries though I do bruise a bit easier than I did before. I also don't have that papery delicate senior skin yet. I don't really take any new or special precautions to avoid cuts or scrapes, just what I've always done throughout an outdoor career (wearing gloves, protective shirts, pants and shoes while doing rough work, using sharp tools or handling sharp materials carefully).
Last edited by Parnassia; 08-18-2023 at 05:32 PM..
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