Effective treatment for low platelets

A low platelet, also known as Thrombocytopenia is a hematologic disorder in which the platelet count in the blood lowers than the normal, causing more risk of bleeding. Platelets are colourless blood cells that repair tissue damage and help in blood coagulation, which prevents bleeding. A normal platelet count is around 150,000 to 450,000 platelets per microliter of circulating blood and below 150,000 platelets is considered to be low. This condition can range from mild to severe, depending on its underlying causes. Severe and prolonged bleeding is the primary symptom in some people with counts below 5000 per microliter and can sometimes prove to be fatal if not treated well. The Low platelet treatment depends on the causative factor and severity of the condition of the patient.

Causes of this condition

The average lifespan of circulating platelets in 8 to 9 days after which they are replaced by new ones by the bone marrow and thereby making the platelet counts normal. But in people having low platelets, the production of platelets is either less, or a faster destruction of platelets take place, which keeps counts abnormally low.

The possible causes of a low platelet count are described as follows:-

• Enlarged Spleen
  The spleen functions to fight infections and purify the blood, so diseases that cause an enlarged spleen result in trapping of excessive platelets inside while the body tries to attack bacteria or a virus.
• Infection
  Generally, low platelet count arises due to certain infections which are viral in nature. Some common viruses cause temporary thrombocytopenia but some viruses like hepatitis, HIV, etc. can cause long-term damage. It can also occur due to infections arising from bacteria, mycoplasma and malaria and so on.
• Drug-induced thrombocytopenia
  Many cases of low platelet arise due to use of some recently introduced drugs during medical treatment. These include antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs or frequent use of painkillers such as aspirin and ibuprofen.
• Alcohol
  Alcohol is considered to be the lifestyle factor causing low platelet count. Excessive consumption of alcohol usually slows down the formation of new platelets resulting in mild to moderate thrombocytopenia.
• Pregnancy
  Studies show that around 5% of women suffer from low platelets in blood at some point in time during their pregnancy period, termed as gestational thrombocytopenia. It is mild and vanishes after the birth of the baby.
• Medical Conditions
  Patients who are already suffering from chronic lymphatic Leukaemia and Lymphoma may have low platelet count as these diseases cause damage to the bone marrow and destroy blood stem cells. Stem cells may also be hampered due to certain cancer treatments such as chemotherapy.
• Immune-mediated thrombocytopenic purpura
  The Immune-mediated thrombocytopenic purpura, commonly referred as ITP is an ailment in which antibodies develop against platelets. This invasion of antibodies to normal cells produces in low platelet count levels in patients experiencing ITP, thereby leading to immune-mediated thrombocytopenia.

Low platelet treatment
The low platelet treatment varies in terms of symptoms and on how severely a person’s platelet count has fallen. When the platelet count is not very low and does not show any symptoms, then it does not require any low platelet treatment. For people with severely low platelet counts, the low platelet treatment is required.

Medical low platelet treatments

• Treatment of the underlying cause
  In some cases, by carefully monitoring the causes and symptoms and meeting the doctor periodically, low platelet count can be treated. For example, if a person has heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, then the doctor will directly stop the person from taking heparin.
• Platelet transfusions
  During severe cases such as frequent bleeding, the doctor usually replaces the lost blood with transfusions of packed red blood cells or platelets.
• Splenectomy
  If any other medical treatments do not help, then doctors advice getting a surgery done for removing the spleen, termed as Splenectomy. Estimates show that more than half of the patients retain normal platelet count after surgery.
• Medication
  If the cause of low platelet is immune system dysfunction, then doctors prescribe certain drugs to stimulate the platelet count. Corticosteroids are given to the patients to increase platelet production rate. To raise platelets level in the bone marrow, Lithium Carbonate or folate may also be supplied to the patients.

Lifestyle and home remedies for low platelet treatment
The lifestyle and home remedies that can help in raising the platelet count in blood and also in preventing any complications from arising are as follows:-

• Avoid activities that could cause injury.
• Decrease or eliminate intake of alcohol.
• Use caution with over-the-counter medications. 
• Take supplements of Vitamin B12 and improve diet.
• Reduce exposure to toxic chemicals.

Proper medication, regular practice of home remedies, and applying some lifestyle changes in the everyday routine can lead to lesser chances of occurrence of low platelets.