Diagnosed With ITP. Taking Prednisalone And Dapsone. Will Smoking And Drinking Alcohol Affect My Condition?
Question: Hi, I am an ITP patient and my condition was diagnosed in 2009.
I have taken Prednisalone, Dapsone, Dexamethasone, Rituximab, IVIG and i have also undergone Spleenectomy in 2012 DEC.
My platelet counts were stable for six months and now from past three months there has been low platelet count.
I am still on steroids and tapering it. I was admitted in hospital last week for 8 days as i had developed some infection.
I wanted to know if Smoking and Drinking alcohol effects my condition.
Brief Answer:
Unlikely that smoking and alcohol affects ITP
Detailed Answer:
Hi
Thanks for your query.
ITP is not affected by smoking or alcohol. But these are not good habits anyway and can cause other health problems. Also, because of the immunosuppressives you are getting (cyclosporin and prednisolone), you are more prone to infection. That appears to be the case now. Smoking may exacerbate this.
I feel that you should totally abstain from smoking and restrict alcohol to occasional intake only.
Hope I have answered your query. I will be available to answer further followup queries, if any.
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar