My brother has had bruises around his neck, elbows, wrists, arms and back for several days. The doctor has taken blood to investigate it further, but his conclusion was that my brother’s platelets are no longer clotting. We are seriously concerned. Can this be dangerous and is there a way to cure this because according to the doctor these would all be internal bleeding. My brother is also epileptic. I hope you can give us an answer, thanks in advance.
Answer
Dear Sandra,
Bleeding tendency due to a platelet problem can occur in 2 ways: either there are too few platelets or there are enough platelets, but they do not work properly. Whether this is serious depends on a number of factors that are not present in your story: how old is your brother, is this the first time he has experienced something like this, is there a family history of a tendency to bleed, does your brother take medication that may can cause, has he recently had an infectious disease, how is the rest of the blood tests (red blood cells, white blood cells), etc. Only when you know the cause of the platelet problem can you say something about the seriousness and do you also know whether there are a treatment exists. Some of these problems resolve spontaneously (e.g. temporary drop in platelet count after infection), others are a manifestation of an underlying problem that may be serious. For the time being, all you can do is wait for the results, after which your GP will refer your brother if necessary.
Answered by
prof. dr. Koenraad Smets
Newborns.
http://www.ugent.be
.