What is ITP?
A lot of people may not know what IPT blood disorder is. Before we tackle its causes, symptoms, management and treatments, let us first define what ITP is. ITP is short for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpur. Idiopathic means the cause of the disorder is unknown while thrombocytopenic deals with the number of platelets in the blood which in this case is less than the normal needed amount in humans. The last word, purpur means excessive bruising.
According to statistics, four in every 100,000 adults and children suffer from this type of blood disorder. People who have ITP blood disorder have low platelet count on their blood cells which makes it hard to control even the tiniest or the simplest bleeding. Platelet also helps in healing of bruises and wounds.
There are two types of ITP: one type that affects children from 2-4 years old. The other type is the type that affects young women (mostly) but is can also affect anybody. It has been established that ITP is neither hereditary or contagious.
Causes
As its name suggests, the cause of ITP is still unknown up to now. But studies show that people with this type of blood disorder have a very different antibody function. In normal situations, our antibodies protect us from bacteria and viruses. Antibodies are our line of defence against illnesses. Not in this case. In fact the antibodies in this case attack the body's own blood platelets. What's causing the antibodies to do this is the unknown part.
Other studies show that it might have been triggered from childhood upon contracting a viral infection (i.e. chicken pox). Experts believe that when the body prepares to attack the viral infection, it also produces antibodies that do not only destroy the virus but the platelets as well.
Symptoms
What are the things you should look out for in order to know if you have ITP or not? Let's take a look at some of the most common and most vivid symptoms of ITP.
One very common symptom of ITP is a person bruised easily. Aside from bruises, people with ITP bleed easily and sometimes excessively. You will also see little red patches on the skin called Petechiae. These are small bleeding under the immediate surface of the skin. Petechiae can be commonly seen on the lower part of the legs. Other symptoms include blood in urine and stool. In women, they suffer from extremely heavy menstrual flow. Other people also experience nose and gum bleeding very often. Simple wounds and bruises take a long time to heal for ITP patients.
Cure and Management
There are a number of treatments that can be done with ITP patients. Children who are ITP patients generally do not need any long-term treatments. They improve and heal as they grow provided their bleeding and bruising are not excessive. Some doctors may require children to take some prednisone to be taken orally or immune globulin intravenously.
It is different however in with adults.
Drugs, etc. - Taking of prednisone and immuno globulin are also part of the treatment. Steroids help increase the platelet count of an ITP patient. But it should only be given in short period of time. But once the dosage of steroid stops the platelet count could drop as well. Immuno globulins on the other hand are antibodies that reduce or prevent the attack on the platelets.
Spleen Removal - If the case is very severe then it could be recommended that the spleen of the patient be removed. One of the functions of the spleen is to produce antibodies therefore by removing the spleen, the production of antibodies will be less. Unfortunately the long-term effect of this is the person will be more prone to viral and bacterial infections.
ITP can be very dangerous if left untreated and undiagnosed. However, there are now a number of treatments available that could help a patient in managing this type of blood disorder. If your child is diagnosed with ITP, information and visits to the doctor will ease your mind and keep you from worrying.
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ITP blood disorder is a condition where the platelet count is lower than normal. Stay up to date on ITP blood disorder alerts, advancement and general blood disorder news and visit itpblooddisorder.com now.
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