Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP)

For a lay person:

Immune thrombocytopenia is a condition in which the immune system destroys platelets, the blood cells that help clotting. It causes easy bruising, small red spots on the skin and bleeding.

For a trained medical person:

Isolated thrombocytopenia from antibody-mediated platelet destruction and impaired production. Treatment depends on bleeding and platelet count: corticosteroids, IVIG, thrombopoietin receptor agonists, rituximab or splenectomy.

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Heat toxins depressed within the constructive; Yin deficiency, fire effulgence; Spleen Qi Deficiency; Blood Stasis; Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency; Liver Fire Blazing. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get emergency care for heavy bleeding or a severe headache. Blood-moving herbs can worsen bleeding.