Thrombocytopenia Causes Low Blood Platelet Heavy Bleeding Symptoms, Thrombocytopenia Treatment

Thrombocytopenia describes a condition for low platelet cell count in your blood.   This is a health concern because of its heavy internal or skin surface bleeding outcome.

Platelets, aka thrombocytes, are bone marrow produced sticky cells designed to stop bleeding.  They travel around in your blood, clotting together at blood vessel damage sites.  Severe thrombocytopenia can cause life threatening heavy bleeding anywhere.

Bleeding causes the main symptom of thrombocytopenia, which may materialize suddenly or over time.

Skin related bleeding is usually the first locational sign for low blood platelet count, showing up as:

A bleeding issue can also gush into view as heavy menstrual flow.

Heavy bleeding into your intestines or brain can be fatal. Signs and symptoms for this issue include:

A number of factors can cause potentially heavy bleeding low platelet count.  Generally, thrombocytopenia is caused by:

  • your body destroys them or uses them up
  • your spleen is holding onto too many platelets
  • your bone marrow doesn’t make enough platelets

For the cause involving bone marrow production, the decrease is because of stem cell damage or some factor slowing your bone marrows production.  Some conditions or circumstances that can create these type of scenarios are:

If you are suffering from AIDS, thrombocytopenia often develops.

In some cases, your own immune system destroys your platelets for some mysterious reason.  This self destruction is technically referred to as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.  Other causes for circulating platelet destruction may be due to:

Too much blood clotting can also be a cause for your platelet decrease.

Because about a third of all platelets are warehoused in your spleen, its enlargement can be a cause for holding back blood platelet release. Resulting in not enough being distributed into your blood’s circulation.

An enlarged spleen is often due to severe liver disease, commonly cirrhosis or cancer.

Treatment for thrombocytopenia depends on cause and severity of your heavy bleeding symptoms. Ofttimes blood platelet count increases after underlying cause is treated.  And if your condition is assessed mild, you may not even need any special form of treatment.

If your condition is severe, treatments may include:

  • immunoglobulin
  • steroids ~ prednisone
  • splenectomy ~ most often used for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura
  • blood or platelet transfusions ~ reserved for active or high risk heavy bleeding

Steps you can take to help prevent low blood platelet count bleeding complications are:

Get with your health care professional whenever your can’t stop the bleeding, bruising for no apparent reason or petechiae is in development.

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