It never fails. Every time! I end up with a bruise right before a beach vacation! It's happened so many times that I have my own how to heal a bruise faster regimen. First, let's talk about what a bruise actually is. A bruise is an injury to the skin due to some sort of impact. The impact breaks small blood vessels in the skin. Blood from the small blood vessels collects near the surface of the skin resulting in dark discoloration. In my case, running into the arm of a chair was the impact that caused my latest bruise. The bruised area can have a firm swollen lump the feels sore or it may be flat and sore. A bruise can take 2 to 4 weeks to heal and changes many colors as the blood is reabsorbed by the body. For example, the initial injury usually starts out red and then turns blue as the leaked blood loses it's oxygen. Then, the bruise turns dark purple as the red blood cells break down. The red blood cells release hemoglobin which breaks down to biliverdin ...