  |
Idiopathic Thrombocytopenia (ITP) Maternal/Pediatric/Adult
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a bleeding disorder in which the blood does not clot as it should. The bleeding is due to a low number of platelets (PLATE-lets), blood cells that help the blood clot and stop bleeding. People with ITP often have purple bruises that appear on the skin. The bruises mean that bleeding has occurred in small blood vessels under the skin.
The words idiopathic, thrombocytopenic, and purpura mean:
- Idiopathic (id-ee-o-PATH-ick) means that the cause of the disease or disorder is not known.
- Thrombocytopenic (throm-bo-cy-toe-PEE-nick) means there is a lower-than-normal number of platelets in the blood.
- Purpura (PURR-purr-ah) are purple bruises where bleeding occurs just under the skin. Purple areas may also appear on the mucus membranes (for example, in the mouth). A person with ITP also may have bleeding that looks like tiny red or purple dots on the skin. These dots, often seen on the lower legs, are called petechiae (peh-TEE-kee-ay). Petechiae may look like a kind of rash.
With ITP:
- People may have nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums when they have dental work done, or other bleeding that is hard to stop.
Women may have heavy menstrual bleeding.
- Symptomatic bleeding in the brain is very rare but can be life threatening if it occurs.
ITP is largely an autoimmune disease. The decrease in platelets occurs because the immune system attacks and destroys the body's own platelets, for an unknown reason. Normally, your immune system helps your body fight off infections and diseases. But when the immune system mistakenly attacks some part of a person's own body, this is called an autoimmune disease. Because ""idiopathic"" means ""of unknown cause,"" a better name for most cases of ITP is immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
Related Links
Definition of Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura
http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=24151
Encyclopedia of Children's Health Article
http://www.healthofchildren.com/I-K/Idiopathic-Thrombocytopenia-Purpura.html
What is ITP?
http://familydoctor.org/113.xml
Hematologic Diseases Information
http://www.hematologic.niddk.nih.gov/pubs/itp/itp.htm
WebMD
http://www.webmd.com/hul/anemia/nord258.htm
Learn more about:
|
|
|
 |
|
|
