Platelets are very tiny blood cells that have a key role in blood clotting. Platelets come together to form plug-like structures that block the flow of bleeding upon injury. When circulating platelet levels become low, a condition known as...
Low platelets may result from a number of factors, but often this condition occurs in cancer patients from radiation and chemotherapy treatments. Most commonly known as thrombocytopenia, low platelet levels compromise your body's ability to...
Platelets -- sticky, disk-shaped cells produced in the bone marrow -- help form blood clots if you injure yourself or if you're bleeding internally. Many disorders can cause low platelet levels. Eating certain foods will not raise your platelet...
Thrombocytopenia, or low platelet levels, and an elevation in liver enzymes signify a possible complication in both liver function and your blood's ability to clot. Separately, both conditions vary in severity from mild to severe, and in extreme...
Heparin is a blood-thinning drug available as an injection; heparin is often used to prevent clotting in blood vessels for patients in the hospital before being switched to oral blood-thinning medications. Heparin in low doses is also used to...
An abnormally high number of platelets in pregnancy is far less common than low platelet levels. High platelet levels are either essential, or primary, meaning that an excess of platelets are being made in the bone marrow. Reactive, or secondary,...
Typhus is a disease in which either the Rickettsia typhi or Rickettsia prowazekii infects your body. The lice and fleas found in flying squirrels spread the Rickettsia typhi bacteria while Rickettsia prowazekii is commonly found in elderly...
Some bruises are more painful than others, but the treatment is relatively simple. The most common way to treat a bruise is to apply an ice pack and pressure directly to the bruised area. This pressure, combined with ice, minimizes the blood...
Deconamine SR is a medication used to manage the manifestations of allergies and the common cold. According to Drugs.com, Deconamine is a combination of the medications pseudoephedrine and chlorpheniramine. Pseudoephedrine is a decongestant...
Rheumatoid arthritis refers to a joint inflammatory disease that typically affects the tiny joints in the feet and hands. Rheumatoid arthritis can also affect the entire body with fevers and fatigue, according to the Mayo Clinic. Specific symptoms...
Acute promyelocytic leukemia, or APL, occurs most often in children and adults over age 40, according to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. The disease develops when white blood cells called promyelocytes proliferate abnormally. Acute...
Ixabepilone is a chemotherapeutic drug used in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Ixabepilone is sold under the brand name Ixempra. This drug is often administered in combination with another drug, capecitabine, to treat aggressive breast...
Carbidopa levodopa (Sinemet) is a combination medication used most commonly in the treatment of Parkinson's disease. Sinemet is also prescribed for Parkinson-like complications resulting from carbon monoxide or manganese intoxication. The majority...
Erlotinib is a chemotherapy medication used to treat non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. According to Drugs.com, it slows the growth of cancer cells and prevents its metastasis (spread). The National Library of Medicine states that...
In Chinese cupping treatment, a practitioner places cups on the skin and creates vacuum in them by using change in temperature or by removing air. It is often used alongside other treatments, such as acupressure and massage. Modern cupping...
Leg cramps, painful contractions of the lower leg muscles and feet, often wake sufferers from a sound sleep. Leg cramps occur more frequently in older people and pregnant women. Nocturnal leg cramps, leg cramps that occur during the night, often...
Platelets are smaller than red or white blood cells and are important because they help the blood clot. Platelet levels which are too high or too low may indicate mild to serious illness. According to The Nutrition Almanac, vitamin C, or absorbic...
Melphalan is a chemotherapeutic drug used to treat certain forms of cancer, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma. This medication is part of a class of drugs called alkylating agents, which work by preventing the replication...
Purpura is a non-contagious skin rash resulting from inflamed blood vessels in the skin. There are two types of purpura which can be found in anyone, from infants to adults. Both disorders are usually not life-threatening and normally disappear...
Seroquel (quetiapine) is a medication used to manage such psychotic mental conditions as schizophrenia (a condition in which you develop abnormal thoughts and perceptions) and bipolar disorder (a condition in which you suffer mood swings)....
Lescol (fluvostatin) is a statin medication used to reduce your cholesterol levels by blocking its production. Cholesterol is a fatty and waxy substance that can clog your blood vessels and lead to a myocardial infarction (heart attack) and stroke...
Meningitis refers to a bacterial or viral infection of the central nervous system (brain and spinal cord). Specifically, meningitis affects the membranes and fluid (cerebrospinal fluid) that cover the brain and spinal cord. The Mayo Clinic says...
A low platelet count, technically known as thrombocytopenia, occurs when the blood loses platelets faster than the bone marrow replaces them. The condition develops from many different underlying causes, and sometimes, no cause can be found. The...
People with cancers such as leukemia or lymphoma often benefit from stem cell transplants. Stem cells that develop into blood cells are removed and transfused into the person with cancer to replace cells destroyed by chemotherapy or radiation....
Ironically, chemotherapy can cause constipation or diarrhea. Constipation can occur when patients are inactive, consume inadequate fluid amounts or become dehydrated due to vomiting. Increase your water and fiber intake, and ask the doctor if a...
Thrombocytopenia is the second-most common type of blood disorder in pregnancy, according to Capt. Jeffrey Levy, a doctor of osteopathic medicine at DeWitt Army Community Hospital, in a 2002 Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine...
An antibody refers to a type of protein made in the body to defend the body against infection. This may be a bacterial, fungal or parasitic infection. Sometimes, these antibodies can go on overdrive and lead to an autoimmune disease in which they...
A normal level of platelets is necessary for efficient blood clotting to stop bleeding. A low platelet count--a condition called thrombocytopenia--can lead to increased bleeding. Diet can help in some cases of low platelets, particularly with a...
Coenzyme Q10, also called CoQ10 or ubiquinone, is biological molecule that is found in all of your cells. Your body uses CoQ10 in the maintenance of cell membrane integrity and as a factor necessary for energy production, according to an April...
