Medical Conditions That Could Lower Platelet Count

The platelet count of a healthy person would range from 150,000 to 450,000 per microliter. If your platelet count goes lower than 150,000, you could have thrombocytopenia. You could experience excessive bleeding on the nose and gums, fatigue, prolonged bleeding of cuts, as well as bruising in different parts of your body. Low platelet count can be caused by some certain medical issues. If you are experiencing any of the following, you might want to check out this take on how to get your platelet count back to normal and talk to your doctor about it. Medical conditions that can cause low platelet count:


Bacterial Infections


In Blood Bacteria can contaminate the blood and would damage the different blood cells, affecting how they develop and function. When you have an infection in the blood, you would need to get immediate medical attention. Consult your doctor about medication or treatment you can take to address the issue.


Dengue Fever


The dengue virus is carried by mosquitoes and is transmitted in the blood when bitten by these pesky bugs. Once you have dengue fever, you would immediately experience a drop in your platelet count. In many cases, doctors are able to identify dengue fever by performing CBC on the patients. Other symptoms of dengue fever include very high body temperatures, skin rashes, headache and pain on the joints and muscles in different parts of the body. Patients with dengue fever should be isolated and treated immediately to prevent the spreading the virus.




Asthma patients, especially children, would experience some symptoms of thrombocytopenia, too. Studies have shown that low platelet count is observed in younger people with allergies and asthma because of the inflammation that is induced by cytokines.




This is another disease that is carried by mosquitoes. The symptoms of malaria are similar to the symptoms of patients with dengue fever. However, severe cases of malaria can cause coma, yellow skin, seizures and even death. Patients who have malaria also have alarming low platelet count.




This kind of disease, especially aplastic anemia, is mostly hereditary. But, in some cases, it could be caused by radiation, immune-related diseases, infection and even exposure to certain chemicals. Aplastic anemia is when the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow get damaged. Because of this, the productions of blood cells get negatively affected as well.




Specific types of cancer strike certain parts of the body that are responsible for the production, development, and activation of blood cells. These cancers can cause the platelet counts to drop drastically. Aside from this, the treatment that patients undergo like chemotherapy can lower the damage of platelets and also make the platelet level go down.




When pregnant women do not take care of themselves and not take proper nutrition, there is a tendency that their platelet count would drop. That is why, it is important for them to follow a balanced diet consisting of fresh fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins K, A, B12 and folate.

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