Hi Roseann-I'd be ha

Answer 1

Hi Roseann-I'd be happy to help you with this. Platelets are part of your body's way of clotting blood and preventing bleeding. When platelets are low, your body cannot stop bleeding as effectively, which may lead to bruising, oozing from mucous membranes (for example, the gums, nose or anus), or even more severe bleeding. The lower the platelets, the higher the risk for serious bleeding.The normal range for platelets is generally considered to be between 150,000-400,000 platelets per microliter of blood. Technically, thrombocytopenia (low platelets) is diagnosed when levels fall below 150,000/microliter. However, levels slightly outside the normal range do not necessarily indicate disease. While your husband's platelet count is slightly low, it in fact may be nothing to worry about, and certainly there is no risk for serious bleeding at that level-in fact, he may not even have any symptoms at all. That being said, the platelet level should be monitored and, if persistently low, further investigation may be necessary. Anything that reduces the production of platelets or consumes/destroys them will cause thrombocytopenia. Platelets can also get trapped in a large spleen, which can occur for a variety of reasons. Medications, alcohol use, liver disease, autoimmune disease (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or ITP), vitamin deficiency, bone marrow disease, and kidney disease are considerations that the hematologist will make. A laboratory error is always possible as well, so a repeat platelet level will be necessary to confirm the number. Your husband likely underwent some bloodwork that will give additional information about the quality and character of his platelets and other blood cells (like red and white blood cells) as well as the basic functioning of his major internal organs like the liver and kidneys. A peripheral blood smear will be done, in which the blood is closely examined under a microscope.