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My 95 year old mother with dementia wakes up with small patches of purple splotches on the sides of her face and neck. I have researched it and the only explanation is “picking” or “pinching” the skin on neck and face in her sleep. Could it be a nervous disorder? Most elderly people get these splotches when they bump their arms. The spots eventually fade but she does it again and again. They look like dark flat blood blisters. I don’t know how to stop her from doing this to herself and she says she doesn’t know how they happen. I tried putting the nighttime gloves on that keep her hands from going to sleep but she pulls the gloves off. Every day she looks like she’s been in a fight. Anyone have a clue what can be done? She does take anxiety meds.
Charlotte

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My mom gets them on her arms at times. She is on blood thinners. Her doctor told me it is superficial and not to worry.
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My mom now gets the same type bruising you describe, but on her arms. She 'picks' at her cheeks a little so they now have small rough areas or scabs and has no recollection of it-she does it very absent-mindedly when I see her do it. I heard this wasn't unusual with AD. Maybe her doctor can adjust her meds a little?
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What does her medical care specialist think?
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Chalar Jun 2021
They don’t have a clue.
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Your description doesn't sound right for purpura, in my experience the bruising is more diffuse, although if she is on blood thinners as MJ1929 mentioned that could be the difference.
Is she a side sleeper? I wonder if it is possible these marks are from her pillow/pillow case, or from tucking her hand up as she sleeps, especially if she wears a ring.
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Chalar Jun 2021
She does not wear jewelry and her nails are short. She does take blood thinner though and it could be caused by her tucking her pillow in under her head.
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Did she have Covid? My mother had it in January, and she breaks out in bruises and blood blisters constantly now. They took her off all her blood thinners, but it's still happening.

Her hospice nurse says she's only seen this happen with three people, and all had Covid. In my mom's case, she was completely asymptomatic except for this bruising/blistering thing after she recovered.
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Chalar Jun 2021
No Covid. She’s had both vaccines.
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Do they fade ? My son had henlock Schoen purpura as a child . From a strep infection they determined… the blood vessels burst under the skin from gravity weight. See a dr
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Chalar Jun 2021
They do fade after about a week.
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