Uncommon Infant and Newborn Problems—Platelet Disorders

Also called: Thrombocyte disorders

Platelets are little pieces of blood cells. Platelets help wounds heal and prevent bleeding by forming blood clots. Your bone marrow makes platelets. Problems can result from having too few or too many platelets, or from platelets that do not work properly.

If your blood has a low number of platelets, it is called thrombocytopenia. This can put you at risk for mild to serious bleeding. If your blood has too many platelets, you may have a higher risk of blood clots. With other platelet disorders, the platelets do not work as they should. For example, in von Willebrand Disease, the platelets cannot stick together or cannot attach to blood vessel walls. This can cause excessive bleeding.

Treatment of platelet disorders depends on the cause.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Bleeding time (Medical Encyclopedia)
Congenital platelet function defects (Medical Encyclopedia)
Glanzmann disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) (Medical Encyclopedia)
Partial thromboplastin time (PTT) (Medical Encyclopedia)
Platelet aggregation test (Medical Encyclopedia)
Primary thrombocythemia (Medical Encyclopedia)
Purpura (Medical Encyclopedia)
Thrombocytopenia (Medical Encyclopedia)
Thromobocytopenia – drug-induced (Medical Encyclopedia)

It can be scary when your baby is sick, especially when it is not an everyday problem like a cold or a fever. You may not know whether the problem is serious or how to treat it. If you have concerns about your baby’s health, call your health care provider right away.

Learning information about your baby’s condition can help ease your worry. Do not be afraid to ask questions about your baby’s care. By working together with your health care provider, you make sure that your baby gets the best care possible.