So I've been wondering lately if there's any way to help heal bruises faster.

The reason I ask is this: when donating plasma, they only use your arms, and you can't donate if there's still bruising at the puncture site. Not even if it's just yellow. I'm sure there's plenty of reasons for this, not least of all CYA for the donation clinic.

And of course, I'm not able to donate today because, you guessed it, I've still got a bruise. (It sucks, I would have gotten $30 today, but going next week, I'll be back down to $20.)

I've surfed around a bit. I'm seeing stuff about overloading on vitamins C, E, and A, but the numbers they list don't even sound like your body absorbs that much. I've seen stuff about applying St. John's Wart (which just sounds odd, I thought that was an herbal aid for depression) and I've seen stuff about applying vitamin K bruise creams (which I don't even know if that'd work). I've seen stuff about icing, alternating icing with heat, and using an Arnica gel... all of which I thought applied more to swelling and the like.

I've even had someone recommend running a fine toothed comb over the bruise to spread out things so it'd heal faster. Which on the one hand amuses me, and I'd love to find out if that actually works and how they tested it. But on the other, I can't do that to a healing puncture site.

So does anyone know anything solid and have experience with it? I'm already taking a daily multivitamin and I should be getting iron tablets soon-ish...

Alright, not really, and I totally ripped the reference from cyphersushi.

What I actually did was donate plasma. Finally. Which is to say the first time I went my iron was too low.

This time, my pulse was too high. But that's mainly because when I got there, the proof of address I brought with me was outside the date restrictions (and it would've helped if someone TOLD me about those yes?) so I had to run home and get a new one and run back. Did I mention it's 100 outside today?

But yeah. I actually donated today. The process is simple, straight forward, and I was weirded out much less than I expected. Which is to say, as long as I didn't look at the tube attached to my arm, I was fine.

Of course, when they ran the saline in at the end, I had to look. The transition from blood to saline solution sort of looks like kool aid...

What's awesome is that they do their payments (cos yeah, you're donating, but they pay you for your time) by debit card. Not that there's not all kinds of restrictions on it. But still. It's nice.

So that's my adventure for the weekend.

Which really, considering some people I know and love :looks sideways at amara_m, darling_lisa, and canadiangoddess: are in Portland this weekend? I'd like to trade up please ;)