Low platelet count

1. What is the most common cause of low platelet count?

If you've got thrombocytopenia, you don’t have enough platelets in your blood. Platelets help your grume, which stops bleeding.
For most people, it’s not an enormous problem. But if you've got a severe form, you'll bleed spontaneously in your eyes, gums, or bladder or bleed an excessive amount when you’re injured.

A healthy person usually features a platelet count of 150,000 to 400,000. You’ve got thrombocytopenia if your number falls under 150,000.
If you're wondering what the long name mode is, here's how it breaks down: "Thrombocytes" are your platelets, and "penia" mode you do not have enough of something. Put those terms together, and you bring "thrombocytopenia."

Causes

Thrombocytopenia has many causes. One among the foremost common source of low platelets may be a condition called immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). You’ll hear it called by its old name, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. Although doctors do not know what source primary ITP, they know that it happens when your system -- your body's main defense against disease -- doesn't work right. Your antibodies, which are alleged to attack infections, instead mistakenly destroy your platelets.
Thrombocytopenia can run in families, but you'll also catch on from many medical conditions. Treating the medical situation may improve ITP.

Secondary ITP happens when ITP is linked to a different condition, such as:

• Viral infection (including chickenpox, parvovirus, hepatitis C, Epstein-Barr, and HIV)
• Systemic LE (SLE)
• Chronic leukemia (CLL)
• Drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia
• Sepsis, a severe bacterial disease in your blood
• Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), a bacteria which will sleep in your gastrointestinal system
• Medicines Linked to ITP

Some medicines can expand your risk of ITP, such as:

• Convinced drugs for heart problems, seizures, and infections
• Heparin, a blood thinner won’t to prevent blood clots
• Work together with your doctor to work out if a drug is causing your platelet count to drop. They’ll be ready to adjust your dose or change your medication.
• Other Treatments Linked to ITP
• Heart bypass surgery

Radiation treatment on your bone marrow
Symptoms

Usually, thrombocytopenia has no symptoms. But once you do have them, they will include:

• Bleeding, most frequently from the gums or nose. Women with thrombocytopenia may have heavier or longer duration or breakthrough bleeding. You’ll also see blood in your pee or poop.
• Red, flat spots on your skin, about the dimensions of a pinhead. You see these totally on your legs and feet, and that they may appear in clumps. Your doctor may call them petechiae.
• Blotches and bruises. You would possibly have large areas of bleeding under the skin that do not turn white once you continue them. You furthermore may see what appears as if the bruises you get from a bump or being hit. They might be blue or purple and alter to yellow or green over time. These are caused from the within, by the sudden leaking from tiny blood vessels. The medical name for these is purpura.

2. What happens if platelets are low?

Blood is formed from several sorts of cells. These cells float during a liquid called plasma. The kinds of blood cells are:

• red blood cells
• white blood cells
• platelets, or thrombocytes

When your skin is injured or broken, platelets clump together and form clots to prevent the bleeding. Once you don’t have enough platelets in your blood, your body can’t form clots.
A low platelet count can also be called thrombocytopenia. This condition can range from mild to severe, counting on its underlying cause.
For some, the symptoms can include severe bleeding and are possibly fatal if they’re not conducting. People might not experience any symptoms.
Typically, a coffee platelet count is that the result of a medical accustom, like leukemia, or certain medications. Treatment usually addresses the condition generates by thrombocytopenia.
Whether or not you practice symptoms depends on your platelet count.

Mild cases, like when a coffee platelet count is caused by pregnancy, usually don’t cause any symptoms. More severe cases may cause uncontrollable bleeding, which needs immediate medical attention.

If you've got a coffee platelet count, you'll experience:

• red, purple, or brown bruises, which are called purpura
• a rash with small red or purple dots called petechiae
• nosebleeds
• bleeding gums
• bleeding from wounds that last for a protracted period or doesn’t stop on its own
• heavy menstrual bleeding
• bleeding from the rectum
• blood in your stool
• blood in your urine

In more serious cases, you'll bleed internally. Symptoms of internal bleeding include:

• blood within the urine
• blood within the stool
• bloody or very dark vomit

Talk to your doctor instantly if you experience any signs of internal bleeding.

Rarely, this condition may cause bleeding in your brain. If you've got a coffee platelet count and knowledge headaches or any neurological problems, tell your doctor directly.
Your bone marrow is that the spongy tissue inside the bone. It’s where all the segments of blood, including platelets, are produced. If your bone marrow isn’t producing enough platelets, you’ll have a coffee platelet count. The source of low platelet production include:

• aplastic anemia
• vitamin B-12 deficiency
• folate deficiency
• iron deficiency
• viral infections, including HIV, Epstein-Barr, and chickenpox
• exposure to chemotherapy, radiation, or toxic chemicals
• consuming an excessive amount of alcohol
• cirrhosis
• leukemia
• myelodysplasia