Start by thinking through the patient's daily activities, looking for any that might put him at risk for injury. Then discuss ways he can take precautions to prevent bleeding:
- Assign someone else to do the cutting and chopping in the kitchen.
- Always wear gloves while gardening and also while working with tools. (If he likes to do minor repairs around the house, see if you can talk him into letting someone else handle the hammer for now.)
- Avoid activities that could lead to injury, such as bicycling.
- Allow someone else to cut toenails and fingernails, especially if neuropathy is affecting his hand coordination.
- Wear shoes or slippers at all times for foot protection.
- Don't use razors (use an electric shaver instead).
- Use a soft-bristle toothbrush.
- Don't use dental floss.
- Encourage him to rinse his mouth after meals with an alcohol-free mouthwash or baking soda solution (2 teaspoons baking soda to 8 ounces water).
- Make sure dentures fit properly.
- Use lip balm to prevent his lips from becoming dry and cracking.
- For a woman who still has periods, use sanitary pads rather than tampons during menstruation.
My platelet level recently dropped very low as a side effect from chemotherapy. This is the first time in my five months of chemo. So this article was very helpful to to me on how to manage the problem. Thank you!
My platalet count is now 75,000, it has been going down every time I take a blood test, I DO NOT HAVE INTERNAL BLEEDING NOR HAVE I EVER HAD CANCER. I did have prostate cancer in Nov 1992 and opperated on complete removal of prostate. My reading PSA IS O.1 EVER SINCE Nov 1992.. My Red Blood Cells is in a normal range, same with hgb, hct, mymcv is on the high side a little. My iron levels is normal. Question; What medicatioin is available for treatrment. If a person has a normal spleen can it entrap platalets. What about infusion into the bone marrow. Is their a blood available to see just where the platalets is going?
I NEED A REMEDY FOR LOW PLATELETS.WHAT TYPE OF MEDS. SHOULD I TAKE.PREDISONE IS NOT ANSWER. IN THE PAST ,PROCRIT,RETUXIN. DANASOL,CELLCEPT.
Hugs SALTMAN