CoCo Chanel
Posted : 1/25/2007 2:46:06 PM
how's the patient doing?
i actually have itp myself....chronic for the past 7 years or so now....and if it's anything like the human's..i'll share my story
the red spots are peticheia's, which are hemoragging under the skin.
when the platelets are low, the blood will ooze out into any opening it can.... including the skin.
if he said the bone marrow is working to compensate for the "lost" of platelet, then he's ruling out illnesses such as luekemia.
the I in itp stands for idiopathic, cause unknown... ie. dont know why the body is doing it...just is doing it.
usually what is suspected in patients w/ itp is the platelet goes into the spleen and doesnt come out.
steroids is giving to weaken the immune system because in patients w/ ITP, the body produces antibodies that sees the platelets as foreign objects and simply destroys them in the spleen...so with a weaken immune system....your bodies cant fight off infections and germs well...such as your platelets.
there is no cure for ITP. (years later, my ITP is linked with lupus, as i got diagnosed with lupus years after ITP)
the biggest link to low platelets is stress. when the body stresses, the immune system tries to kick in....kicking out the good stuff too.
sometimes it's scary when the bleeding doesnt stop, but it's not too life threatening! (unless the meds dont kick in....speaking from someone who spent 2 whole weeks in the icu cause NOTHING worked)
just keep an eye out for any bleeding that wont stop, including under the skin (red blotches) and go to the vet right away!
majority of the time, meds will kick right in!
good luck!