My sister would like to take fish oil capsules for heart health, but every time she starts taking them she gets what looks like bruises on her arms (maybe legs too? I don’t remember). She says she doesn’t mind them too much as long as this is not a sign that she’s hurting herself somehow. I tried Googling, but couldn’t find anything.
ETA - oops, I was a doofus. I don’t think fish oil is high in Vitamin E.
According to WebMD, fish oil can keep your blood from clotting. A slight bump may cause a large area of skin to appear bruised. She might want to talk it over with her doctor before taking it as a supplement.
Everything is not healthy for everybody. I tried taking fish oil caps years ago. I never really noticed any bruising or health symptoms. Then one day I got a minor cut on the arm and blood was spurting all over the yard. It took way longer to stop bleeding profusely than I expected or thought wise. If that bleeding were internal, say in the brain, maybe I’d be dead or drooling. So now I don’t take regular fish oil. I take fish orally !
Hmm. While the concern that the bleeding may be an issue has been around for a long time, the current expert consensus is
But that does not mean it is not a concern for some people. Is she on any other meds or supplements? Maybe there is some synergistic effect. Alternatively I’d begin to wonder about Von Willebrand disease.
No, not on any other meds. She’s tried a few prescription meds over the years for anxiety, but she’s not on anything now.
I take a fish oil but during the fall/winter i take Cod liver Oil gelcaps every day.
I also take a generic for Norvasc and a 81mg aspirin.
Late in Nov. I gave blood like I have for over 30 years and reported all the stated things and 3 days later i am bruised from mid Biceps almost to my wrist and I mean purple! I did check in at the blood bank just to inform them, but I am sure its the 81mg aspirin. I have cut that back to 1 every other day.
The part that I was most surprised with is my arm ached for over 2 weeks.It was like I had been hit hard! Not interested in going through that any time soon!
I’d wonder if there was an underlying blood clotting disorder (like DSeid mentioned) that the fish oil only contributes to (or seems to).
Might be good to have that checked out.
This happened to my father. He was taking fish oil, eating a can of sardines a day, and also taking some medication. I think mayube he was also taking aspirin. He thought the black and blue marks were caused by the medication, but when he stopped eating the sardines, he was fine. He didn’t have any disorder, he was just taking too much stuff that thinned his blood.
To explain more - Von Willebrand disease is a clotting disorder that typically shows up with bleeding difficulty during or after elective surgeries, easy bruising, or as heavy menses caused by a deficiency or dysfunction of the protein termed von Willebrand factor (vWF). vWF helps platelets stick to injured blood vessel walls and helps a clotting factor (factor 8) work. Many people who have it are unaware of it. It will get much much worse (clinically apparent) when other aspects of clotting or platelet function are disrupted, such as by the use of aspirin and avoidance of those products is strongly advised for people with the condition. Fish oil does many of the same things to platelet function and clotting as aspirin. Knowing that you have such a condition is important in order to have adequate pretreatment before elective surgical and some dental procedures. It usually can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.
No idea if this applies to the op’s sister (and of course I am not giving specific medical advice!) but without question mentioning it to her doctor is a good idea.