# What is this purple splodge? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244 "2007-03-02T00:15:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cryptoderk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cryptoderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoderk)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/1 "2007-03-02T00:15:34Z")
If you look at the photo in this article ([BBC NEWS | Health | Key differences in addicts brains](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6408923.stm)), you can see there’s a purple splodge where the junkie is going to put the needle. What’s the purpose of that? ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/2 "2007-03-02T00:19:50Z")
Linky no worky. ---
**Author:** ![Cryptoderk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Cryptoderk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cryptoderk)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/3 "2007-03-02T00:21:08Z")
Here is the source for the message without a fucked link: If you look at the photo in this article ([BBC NEWS | Health | Key differences in addicts brains](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6408923.stm)) , you can see there’s a purple splodge where the junkie is going to put the needle. What’s the purpose of that? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/4 "2007-03-02T00:27:42Z")
Looks like a big ol’ bruise. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/5 "2007-03-02T00:28:38Z")
WAG - People get squeamish with reality so the reality bits are fogged out. It’s similar to watching a movie where people are killed in horrendous ways and the audience wants more, but show a reality news clip of someone meeting a violent death and there’s hell to pay. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/6 "2007-03-02T01:17:27Z")
[QUOTE=gotpasswords] Looks like a big ol’ bruise. [/QUOTE] Except the fingernails on his needle hand are purple too. It could be someone got a little carried away adjusting the colors on this image. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/7 "2007-03-02T04:31:22Z")
Looks like the shooting up is being done in a medical institution. My guess is that it’s something along the lines of an iodine swab to keep the injection area clean…which is why it’s on the person’s fingers as well. If not…I say bruise. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/8 "2007-03-02T04:40:15Z")
Those purple lines on his arms are tracks in training. They look like bruises, but they are sclerosed veins. His fingers look like he’s chronicly oxygen deprived. They’re cyanotic, and [clubbed](http://www.dermnet.com/thumbnailIndex.cfm?moduleID=13&moduleGroupID=183&groupIndex=0&numcols=0). ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/9 "2007-03-02T04:52:07Z")
I could be bruising, but there’s probably a contribution from cellulitis, too. If he had the tourniquet on for a while (blocking venous drainage to get the veins to ‘pop’), the skin will look a bit pale but inflamed areas get brawny. My money is on cellulitis +/- bruising with strange color correction. As for the nails - could be polish, or [splinter hemorrhages](http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://162.129.70.33/images/scan_013.jpg&imgrefurl=http://dermatlas.med.jhmi.edu/derm/display.cfm%3FImageID%3D85&h=215&w=302&sz=11&hl=en&start=8&tbnid=Z15nw8P6HcPdhM:&tbnh=83&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dsplinter%2Bhemorrhage%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN) from endocarditis. Or some other condition that one might find in a late-stage IV drug abuser - frostbite, dirt, or old blood, to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/10 "2007-03-02T17:06:22Z")
Looks like poorly done make up. Could they have been using a stand-in for the junkie pic? ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2007, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-this-purple-splodge/394244/11 "2007-03-02T19:10:13Z")
[QUOTE=vetbridge] Looks like poorly done make up. Could they have been using a stand-in for the junkie pic? [/QUOTE] That would be my guess. The way he’s holding the needle looks like he’s posing, and the purple on his fingers might be from dipping them into eye shadow and rubbing it on his arm.