Low platelet count in the blood: causes, symptoms, treatment

Platelets are colorless cells contained in the blood of each person and are directly involved in the process of blood coagulation. It is these cells that affect the viscosity of the blood, its excessive fluid or density. The optimal amount of platelets in a healthy person is from 150 to 400 thousand per milliliter of blood. An increase in the number of colorless cells in the blood is called thrombocytosis. This pathology can occur against anemia (anemia), liver cirrhosis, chronic pancreatitis, myeloleukemia, acute infectious disease.

A low level of platelets in the blood is called thrombocytopenia. This disease often causes profuse menstrual bleeding in women arising without apparent cause of nosebleeds, the appearance of bruising and small bruises on the body. A significant decrease in platelets (up to 30 thousand per milliliter of blood) can cause cerebral hemorrhage, that is, a stroke, often resulting in a fatal outcome.

What are the main causes of thrombocytopenia? Most often, such a disease develops against the background of such infections as:

• Herpes is an infectious skin disease located in the area of the lips, nose and genitals;
• Hepatitis - the collective name of diseases associated with infection of the liver, its inflammation and increase in size;
• Acute respiratory disease - respiratory infection;
• Influenza - a disease of the respiratory system associated with the ingestion of an influenza virus into the human body;
• Mononucleosis - a disease that is viral in nature and transmitted through the saliva of a sick person;
• Human immunodeficiency virus is an incurable disease associated with the presence in the body of a sick person of a virus that damages the cells of its immune system.

A low level of blood platelets in the blood can indicate the presence of such a rare congenital pathology as Gaucher disease, associated with inadequate activity of the human enzyme glucocerebrosidase, which manifests itself in the form of bone deformity and disruption of the normal activity of the liver, lungs, spleen, kidneys or brain.

Very often thrombocytopenia does not occur for a long period of time. To note the low level of platelets in the blood can be on the following grounds:

• Abundant, long-lasting menstruation in women. When severe bleeding occurs, you should contact a gynecologist who will determine the cause of this pathology or will prescribe a survey from another specialist. The monthly excessive loss of blood is fraught with the development of anemia.
• Hematomas appearing on different parts of the body even with a slight bruise.
• Impossibility to stop blood in case of accidental cut.
• Frequent occurrence of nasal bleeding.

No one is immune from the development of thrombocytopenia, because we are all more or less susceptible to infectious diseases. As a preventive of this pathology, one can work on strengthening immunity. But what to do in the event that an accurate diagnosis has already been made?

Thrombocytopenia can be detected during the laboratory examination of the patient's blood. If a low level of platelets is detected at the initial stage of the disease, you can cope with it yourself without resorting to taking medication. Elevated levels of platelets contribute to eating foods high in vitamins A and C. These include: carrots, spinach, potatoes, dogrose, parsley, fish oil, peanuts, Bulgarian pepper, almonds.

At an excessively low level of platelets in the blood, for example, when there is HIV infection in the human body, treatment with gamma globulin, prednisolone, anti-D globulin is indicated. Very rarely in the case of thrombocytopenia in immunodeficient patients, removal of the spleen, an organ that helps to destroy platelets in the blood of a person with the presence of specific autoantibodies, is practiced.