When President Donald Trump showed up at a White House news conference on Tuesday wearing what seemed to be makeup over a patch on the back of his hand, the public was left perplexed.
Trump’s crew might have been keen to hide a raised circular region of skin, which the makeup seemed to be covering. Medical professionals analysed camera evidence and provided the Daily Mail with their analysis, but they did not treat or evaluate him.
“More likely than not, he has some bruising on his hand and they are trying to hide it,” Dr Boback Berookhim, a New York-based urologist and men’s sexual health specialist, told the Daily Mail.
“It could be from a blood draw, an insect bite or potentially from hitting his hand against something.”
A little histamine reaction to the needle’s micro-trauma is what causes that little elevated bump after a blood draw. This reaction usually goes away in a few hours, but in older persons, because their blood vessels are inherently thinner and stiffer, it might cause more significant bruising.
“President Trump is a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed in a statement to the Daily Mail.
“His commitment is unwavering and he proves that every single day.”
Though, Dr Neal Patel, a primary care physician in Orange County, California, said, “Shaking too many hands is a little bit a stretch. President Trump has had something like this in the past, and from my experience and my patients, I would put that lower on the list of possibilities.”
Since assuming office in January, the president has made appearances nearly every month with similar scrapes and bruises on his hand. One of these bruises from last month also looked like it was covered with makeup on his hands.
Skin fragility is particularly significant for Trump, who is the second-oldest commander-in-chief in US history at 79, according to a previous observation made by internist Dr. Stuart Fischer of New York City.
The deep purple blotches that frequently follow minor bumps or common medical procedures are more likely to emerge on skin that is at that age.
Dr. Patel went on to say that bruises following a straightforward blood draw are much more prevalent in seniors and would be completely expected in someone Trump’s age.
According to Dr. Patel, some of his patients barely manage to touch their skin with a water bottle without getting a mark.
Because ageing skin loses collagen and insulating fat, blood vessels are more vulnerable to even small pressures.
These delicate capillaries leak blood just below the surface when force forces them up against bones. The distinctive purple splotches can appear even after normal touch for someone with vascular fragility or thinning skin.
“It could be a simple routine physical,” Dr Berookhim noted. “Perhaps he is on medications that need monitoring; maybe he was having some complaint and they wanted to look further.”
Dr. Patel went on to say that this alone could account for the possible injection’s location, which was on the back of the hand rather than in the elbow’s crook.
“If he’s a hard stick – so it’s hard to get blood from a vein in his arm – the hand is a great option,” he said.
“f his veins are dehydrated, we’d also consider doing it on the hand. The veins get flattened in a sense and it’s harder to get the vein.”
During his April physical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, when he was subjected to a battery of tests, including a cognitive evaluation, Trump declared that he “did well.”
The examination, which lasted almost five hours, was performed by Trump’s new doctor, Dr. Sean Barbabella.
Trump’s health assessments have always been positive, and in 2018 he reportedly received a perfect score on a cognitive test.
However, there are still concerns over his weight (244 pounds at his most recent physical) and sporadic apparent hand injuries, which aides have frequently ascribed to forceful handshakes.
