What is Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP)?

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, or immune thrombocytopenic purpura, is the condition of having low blood platelet counts. This can prevent blood from clotting, which may lead to severe, uncontrollable bleeding. Symptoms include getting bruised easily, bleeding under the skin causing red or purple spots, nosebleeds, bleeding in the gums, or urinating blood.

Broken into its parts, thrombocytopenia means having a low platelet count, idiopathic means that it has no known cause, and purpura describes the purple skin color caused from bleeding under the skin.

ITP can be acute, where it starts suddenly and improves spontaneously, or it can be chronic, where it comes on more slowly and lasts years. Acute ITP usually occurs in children after fighting a viral illness and often doesn’t return. Chronic ITP occurs more in adults and may not need treatment if platelet counts are not too low. While the cause is unknown, it seems that the immune system starts attacking blood platelets and destroys them. Antibodies erroneously coat the blood platelets, which signal the spleen to remove platelets from the body.

If your platelet count is below 20,000 you will probably need treatment. Between 20,000 and 50,000 treatment is considered on a case by case basis. And above 50,000 typically doesn’t require treatment.

Have you ever had acute or chronic ITP? If so, how have you treated it? Please share your experiences!