What are platelets? What is considered a low platelet level for someone with What is hemoglobin and why do people with acute myeloid leukemia experience low levels?? How would I feel if my platelet count is low?

What are platelets? What is considered a low platelet level for someone with AML? Platelets are the cells that your bone marrow makes that clot the blood, and that is their main job and function. And they're cells that your bone marrow is constantly producing again and again over and over and over. The sort of lower level of what we consider to be the normal threshold for platelets is 150,000. Realistically, people don't have problems with bleeding in most cases unless the platelets are considerably lower than that. So usually less than 50,000 and maybe even less than 20,000. So people with AML that are getting treatment and have fairly low platelet counts that don't have real clinical consequences. And if the platelet counts are low enough that somebody should be worried about a bleeding complication, that's when we get platelet transfusions. How will I feel if my platelet count is low? Most people don't feel any different when their platelet count is low. It's not like red blood cells where they feel tired or fatigued. The symptoms, the signs of a low platelet count could be a rash, a very distinctive rash where there's little speckled dots on the extremities. You call it a piticole rash or of course any problems with bleeding. Nose bleeds, blood from the mouth or sputum, blood in the stool or urine. Those would all be concerning or the consequences of a low platelet count. What are the risks of having a low platelet count? The main risks of low platelets would be bleeding. So there is a risk when the platelet count gets below a certain level, a person can have a spontaneous bleeding event or when the platelets are lower than normal, they can have extra bruising or maybe easier to bleed with bumps and things like that that ordinarily wouldn't cause any problems. What precautions should someone with a low platelet count take? Depending on how low the platelets are, there's different levels of precaution but being careful about falls, making sure that you're steady on your feet. A fall, especially hitting your head with a low platelet count can be pretty significant. There aren't any other real precautions in terms of where you should go and what you should do for the most part. How can I increase my platelet count? There's no real way to kind of induce your body to increase the platelet count. When a patient with leukemia goes into a remission, often their bone marrow will just make more platelets but there's nothing you can eat or not eat or do or not do that would stimulate the platelets. Platelet transfusions are the most reliable way to address this. How long does a platelet transfusion take? Platelet transfusions usually take, you know, they're pretty quick, you know, 20-30 minutes for the infusion itself. There'll be some time before where, you know, people have to get their blood typed and screened and things like that that's built in but the infusion itself for platelets is fairly quick.