Getting back to sixth/seventh-grade biology let's understand what platelets are. So what are platelets? Whenever we scratch or cut ourselves, we start bleeding. After a few minutes, we see the blood drying and forming a crusty texture and over the exposed skin. This is done in order to stop the cut from bleeding out more and more blood. This process of clotting in order to stop bleeding is carried out by colorless cell-like structures called platelets. So, Platelets are nothing but cell fragments that form clots to stop bleeding. Platelets are also known as Thrombocytes.
Platelet Disorders
Platelet count refers to the number of platelets in your bloodstream per microliter of blood. A normal human has an average platelet count of 150,000-200,000. For a woman, it is around 157,000-371,000, while that for men is 135,000-317,000 per microliter of blood. Platelets only live in the body for around 10 days. So our bone marrow constantly creates millions of platelets per day. If you have a high platelet count or a low platelet count than the average range then it could indicate an underlying medical condition or a side effect of an ongoing medical condition.
Other than the number of platelets, there are other dysfunctions in platelets too, where there is the correct number of platelets in circulation but they do not work properly.
Any platelet disorder has a very common set of symptoms. They are:
Bruising with minor trauma
Bleeding from the mouth, nose, or digestive system
Excessive bleeding after injury or surgery
Causes of Platelet disorders
Platelet disorders are most generally a result of genetic disorders or mutations. Human beings have about 30,000 to 40,000 different genes each having its particular function to make us who we are. But there are infections that can cause this. For example, dengue is a viral infection causing the patient to have a low platelet count. Let us read and understand the few common platelet disorders.
Thrombocytopenia (Low Platelet Count)
If you have thrombocytopenia, then it indicates that you don’t have enough platelets in your blood. Platelets help your body by preventing excessive bleeding by creating blood clots. For most people, it’s not a big problem. A count lower than 10,000 per microliter is known as severe thrombocytopenia. If one has a severe form, they can bleed spontaneously in the eyes, gums, or bladder. They can also bleed too much when injured.
Thrombocytosis (High Platelet Count)
It is a disorder when the body has too many platelets in the body. When your platelet count is 450,000 per microliter of blood or higher, the condition is known as thrombocytosis. It usually occurs due to a reaction to infection. But there are cases where it happens due to bone marrow disorder, where there is no such infection involved.
Bernard Soulier disease
It is a type of macrothrombocytopenia, where the size of the platelets gets as large as red and white blood cells. The platelets that are present are missing a protein on their surface that helps them stick together. This leads to difficulty in blood clotting. It is a very rare condition and is transferred due to general mutation over time.
Glanzmann's thrombasthenia
This is a condition of platelets where they do not function properly. They are present in a normal count and in normal size but they do not function properly due to the lack of protein on its o=surface that prevents the platelets from sticking to each other and the surface. It is a very rare inherited condition affecting certain ethnic groups.
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