How to Treat ITP

Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is a blood-clotting disorder that causes profuse and prolonged bleeding. People with ITP have inadequate levels of blood-clotting cells, called platelets, which protect the body from excessive blood loss. ITP causes easy bruising, spontaneous nose or gum bleeding, pinpoint-sized red or purple spots on the skin, unusually heavy menstrual periods or the presence of blood in the urine or stools. For most adults, ITP is a chronic disease requiring medication maintenance or surgery; but for children who develope ITP after a viral infection, or for people whose platelet levels aren't too low, treatment usually isn't necessary.

Instructions

• 1

  Use a corticosteroid (under the direction of your doctor), such as Prednisone, to increase your platelet count. Corticosteroids bring platelet counts to a safe level by decreasing the activity of your immune system.

• 2

  Talk to your doctor about receiving intravenous immune globulin (IVIG) to quickly increase your blood count. IVIG medication is given intravenously and lasts for about two weeks.

• 3

  Ask your doctor about Nplate and Promacta to treat ITP. These medications help the bone marrow produce more platelets, resulting in less bruising and bleeding.

• 4

  Consider surgery for severe cases of ITP that are unresponsive to corticosteroids. Splenectomy (removal of the spleen) eliminates the main source of platelet destruction in the body, returning platelet counts to a normal level.