[Magdalen] Ravages of Time.

[Cantor03 at aol.com]

Now with the summer heat and the wearing of short sleeves,
the increasingly appalling "senile purpura" is quite visible.
 
These are secondary to subcutaneous bleeding from old, weakened
blood vessels related to aging and excessive sun exposure.  They
consist of the purplish non-blanching areas, most frequently seen  over
the forearms and the backs of the hands.  They resolve after a  week
or two, but in my case are just replaced by new areas.
 
This is, I think, a combination of being susceptible due to age, and
the playfulness of four (count 'em FOUR) dogs.
 
Despite being one of the commonest skin problems I saw during
practice years, I can scarcely believe how beat up my forearms
now are.
 
Patients would persist in asking me what to do about the lesions.
Other than avoiding obvious trauma (raspberry brambles, trimming
the thornapple trees, etc.) I would tell them to "turn the clock  back."
 
I'm now having to eat those words.
 
When my older brother, Jim, and I went over to Winchester for the
900th Anniversary in the 1970's, many of the events were scheduled  out
on the close next to the north edge of the nave.  We had never seen  such
a display of flowered dresses and hats on the ladies of riper years.
I realized these dresses were all long-sleeved in order to cover the  senile
purpura.
 
I'll bet the Queen doesn't appear in sleeveless dresses much these  days!
 
 
David Strang.