• Question: why do bruises go purple,blue&yellow?

    Asked by hughgreer007 to clairemarieroberts, Faye, Martin, Mus, Pete on 24 Apr 2012.
    • Photo: Pete Etchells

      Pete Etchells answered on 24 Apr 2012:


      I’m not really an expert in this area, but I think it’s to do with how bruises heal. Bruises are basically collections of blood under the skin, and when they start to heal, the blood breaks down into different substances which have different colours – so a bruise might start of reddish or blue/purple depending on your skin tone, then turn greenish, and yellow as it gets better.

      Hope that answers your question!

    • Photo: Faye Didymus

      Faye Didymus answered on 24 Apr 2012:


      What a good question! Like Pete, I’m not an expert in bruises but it’s to do with a collection of blood under the skin. A bruise is a sign of healing so if you bang your knee and it starts to heal it’s shows that your body is sending blood with lots of oxygen and things to where you’re hurt to help the damaged area to heal. It goes all different colours when the blood is working it’s magic to make the area better!

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