Hello,
A friend of mine recently told me her brother had purplish splotches come up on his feet and he started bleeding from sockets where teeth had been in his mouth.She said the Platelets in his blood were nil..What Disease is this or what causes this?

Thanks,
Jasmine

My daughter had the same thing. She was diagnosed with ITP which is an autoimmune disease that is sometimes brought on after you have had a virus. All they have to do is a blood test to check the platelet level.

Originally posted by jasmine30:
Hello,
A friend of mine recently told me her brother had purplish splotches come up on his feet and he started bleeding from sockets where teeth had been in his mouth.She said the Platelets in his blood were nil..What Disease is this or what causes this?

Thanks,
Jasmine

It could be TTP Thrombocytopenic purpura did he need to be hospitalized? need transfusions?

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It could be TTP Thrombocytopenia.
Was he transfused and Apherised?
I have this disorder which is more severe than ITP.

I had ITP,with a Splenectomy to control it.

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Lynne

Originally posted by kodyboy:
It could be TTP Thrombocytopenia.
Was he transfused and Apherised?
I have this disorder which is more severe than ITP.

Hello,

My sister-in-law has recently passed away. She was only 43 years old and had TTP. The Autopsy results came back negative for heart attack, stroke, blood clot, embolism, anuerism (spelling?) We are still waiting for toxicology reports but the coroners are fairly sure that they will be negative. Other than this blood disorder, she was healthy - not overweight, exercised. Her doctor treating her for TTP didn't seemed overly concerned when she heard of her death. We are all very frustrated. I know she passed out recently and was anemic. Everything I've looked up on the internet about TTP (although very serious)seemed to say that your life expectancy is that of the average person. Anyway, don't mean to alarm you, her doesn't seem to be related to her blood disorder, they are thinking it is possible that an arythmia/short circuit in the electrical system could have been the cause. Could you please tell me about your TTP, symptoms and treatment and what meds you are on? Thanks, Nancy

TTP, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpora is a disorder that affects the platelets, clotting factor, and in the later stages kidneys and other organs. It can cause disorientation, as not enough blood is getting to the brain, as well as other failure to other organs. That is the worst case scenario, however. Steroids is often subscribed, and plasma exchange (Plasma pheresis) to exchange the good with the bad. More often then not this method works. In the more rare mishap, however, chemotherapy (usually vincristine) is administered to kill the anit-bodies that is disrupting the natural blood flow in the first place and begin anew. This often can take up to several doses. TTP is both a 'freak' accident as well as it could be genetic. Inherited. There is no known exact cure for TTP, and it often happens for no real reason whatsoever. It occurs more in women then men, (again, merely a statistic) and usually with women who are overweight. Often, in repeat occurences, the spleen is removed, as that's a key point in this kind of disorder.

Now. On to what I think. Before I was rushed to the hospital in late stages of TTP, I had noticed blood blisters, for lack of a better term, on the inside of my mouth, my tongue, along my chest. That is called petechiae. Sort of like mini-bruises that happen for no real reason whatsoever. One of the first symptoms of a blood disorder of this magnitude. Bruising, randomly, with the smallest of touches, nose bleeds, weakness, disorientation, difficulty talking or forming sentences, and finally pain in the abdomen, are all symptoms of this disease. If I experience one (I've had one relapse since leaving the hospital) I go straight to my doctor. This is a deadly disease and must be taken very seriously. They begin Plasma exchange, no matter how small the symptom, and if the patient isn't diagnosed with TTP, better safe then sorry.

I hope this helped some.

Taryn