Contents:
- Medical Video: 5 Common signs of Dengue Fever
- What causes platelets to go down?
- 1. Platelets are not produced in sufficient quantities
- 2. The body destroys its own platelets
- 3. Thrombocytes are held in the spleen
Medical Video: 5 Common signs of Dengue Fever
If you have ever experienced dengue fever, one symptom that often becomes a sign of this disease is a decrease in platelet count. Yes, dengue is one of the many things that cause platelets to drop which you can experience. Then what other causes can decrease platelets?
What causes platelets to go down?
The condition of platelets down in medical language is known as thrombocytopenia. A person who has thrombocytopenia, usually has platelets in his body no more than 150 thousand / microliter.
In the body of a healthy person, the normal platelet count is between 150 thousand and 450 thousand per microliter. Platelets produced in the bone marrow play an important role in the blood clotting process, so people who experience thrombocytopenia are very susceptible to bleeding.
In general, the causes of platelets go down are:
- Platelets are not produced in sufficient amounts by the bone marrow.
- Bone marrow produces platelets with an appropriate amount, but due to a condition the platelets are destroyed by the body.
- Platelets are retained in the swollen spleen, causing blood to lack platelets.
The combination of the above conditions can also cause thrombocytopenia to occur. But usually each of the conditions mentioned earlier is caused by a disruption of bodily functions or certain diseases.
1. Platelets are not produced in sufficient quantities
Bone marrow is a part of the body that consists of stem cells, namely cells that play a role in producing red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. When the stem cell is damaged, the blood cells produced are also damaged. This can be caused by several conditions, namely:
- Cancer, such as cancer of the blood and lymphoma whose cancer cells can damage bone marrow cells. Besides cancer treatment can also destroy stem cells.
- Aplastic anemia. This aplastic anemiais a rare and serious blood cell disorder.
- Exposure to toxic chemicals such as pesticides, arsenic, and benzene can slow platelet production.
- Use of various medicines, for example diuretic drugs can interfere with platelet production in the body.
- Viral infection, such as chickenpox, mumps, rubella, HIV / AIDS is a type of virus that can cause decreased platelet production.
2. The body destroys its own platelets
Although it has been produced in normal and sufficient quantities, sometimes the body can destroy platelets in the blood resulting in a decrease in platelet levels. Some of the causes of platelets down in this case are:
- Autoimmune disease, where the immune system attacks normal body cells, including stem cells. Examples of autoimmune diseases that can cause platelets to go down, namely rheumatism and systemic lupus erythematosus.
- Drugs, can make the body become 'confused' and eventually destroy normal cells. examples of drugs that have this ability are quinine, sulfa-containing antibiotics, and several other antibiotics (Dilantin, vancomycin, and fampin).
- Infection, bacteria and viruses that infect and develop in the body can be the cause of thrombocytopenia.
- Pregnancy. Although only 5% of women may experience thrombocytopenia caused by pregnancy. The cause of this condition is still not known with certainty.
3. Thrombocytes are held in the spleen
Under normal circumstances, one third of the total platelets will be accommodated in the spleen. Swelling of the spleen will result in more platelets being held in it. Meanwhile, the swollen spleen is caused by several medical conditions such as cirrhosis or liver cancer.
