Symptoms

The main symptoms of ITP are bruising and bleeding, which can include:1

  • Spontaneous bruising (purpura): purplish areas on skin or mucous membranes
  • Petechiae: pinpoint red spots on the skin (typically the legs) that often occur in groups and may look like a rash
  • Bleeding that is hard to stop
  • Bleeding from gums
  • Nosebleeds
  • Heavy menstrual bleeding in women (menorrhagia)
  • Blood in the urine
  • Blood in the stool

Bleeding into the brain, a complication of ITP, is rare, but can be life threatening if it occurs. The risk of intracranial bleeding is greatest in:

  • the elderly
  • patients with a history of bleeding
  • patients who don’t respond to therapy
  • patients with platelet counts that fall below 10,000/mm3 to 20,000/mm3. 2
  1. National Institutes of Health. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Diseases and Conditions Index. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura? Available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Itp/ITP_ 
    SignsAndSymptoms.html    . Accessed September 14, 2007.
  2. Cines, D., Bussel, J. How to Treat ITP, Blood. 2005; 7(106): 2244-2251.