In the majority of cases, you will not need to treat a shin bruise. The body is generally able to heal the wound itself with no outside help, and since bruises are closed wounds, there are no special cleaning or bandaging requirements. If the bruise is accompanied by swelling or open wounds, you should keep the area clean and use ice packs to bring down swelling. You can also take an over the counter pain medication to alleviate any painful symptoms you may be having.

As long as your shin bruise is not abnormally large and begins to fade after a couple of days, there is generally no required treatment. If your bruise or bruises do not fade, become worse, or you notice that your shins are bruising easier and more severely than normal, you should seek the advice of a health care professional. There are many potential causes for a non-healing bruise, and some of them may be potentially serious without early treatment.

If the shin bruise is accompanied by swelling, make sure to keep the area elevated to bring the swelling down, and keep a cold compress or ice on the swollen section to alleviate pain and get rid of puffiness. Once the swelling is gone, examine the area to be sure there are no open areas of skin. If there are, clean them thoroughly with an antiseptic solution and cover them daily with clean dressing. Severe wounds should be treated by a doctor.

Normal coloring for a shin bruise may range from blue or purple to yellow or pale brown. Most bruises start out more blue or purple in color and gradually fade to yellow shades. Bruises which seem abnormally colored, such as red or orange, may still be normal but should be evaluated by a professional.

If you notice a shin bruise that did not come as the result of any injury, or the severity of the bruise seems severe in proportion to the injury sustained, this may be the sign of an underlying condition. Blood tests may be performed to rule out the possibility of certain blood disorders or cancers. Oftentimes, you will have injured yourself and not realized it or hit the area in a way to make bruising appear worse than it is. That said, if another condition is to blame, an early diagnosis and treatment are the best chances of a full recovery.