A bad knock on your arm or leg can develop into purple bruise that lasts a few days. Some people regularly develop black and blue marks on various parts of the body at the slightest blow and these marks can sometimes linger for weeks.

Bruises from simple knocks are normal: it's just accumulated blood under unbroken skin where blood vessels have been damaged. This kind of bruising is simple to deal with: just apply cold (an ice pack or cold water) as soon as possible to the affected area. The application of 'cold' will constrict the blood vessels, allowing less leakage to the surrounding tissue. Although bruising is still likely to occur, the discolouration and pain will be less.

Body & Mind Shop offer the following products to help.