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Very Itchy Skin. Unexplained Bruises On Skin. What Is This?
Question: My daughter, 19 years old, keeps getting unexplained bruises on her legs and now there is one on the side of her butt and her skin is very itchy. What could this be?
Hello.
Thank you for submitting your question. your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some good information and recommendations regarding what is going on.
There are a number of disorders which could cause this type of bruising. The one which comes to mind would be something called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. This is a disorder of platelets which can cause spontaneous bruising. I think it is very important that she proceed to her doctors office for a blood test to check her platelet count. If this is what is going on she can be given medication which can suppress her immune system and help increase the platelet count. Typically patients will take some steroid medication for a period of time until this disorder resolves.
There are some other disorders which can cause a platelet count to become low in addition to causing the hemoglobin to be low. In this case this is something which needs to be evaluated and treated very quickly. I strongly urge you to see her doctor or go to the emergency department for evaluation. I think this is something which cannot wait until next week or anytime beyond that.
In the absence of being able to look at her blood under the microscope I am somewhat limited in predicting what exactly is going on. This is one of the reasons why I would like her to be evaluated with some blood tests.
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert
Thank you for submitting your question. your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some good information and recommendations regarding what is going on.
There are a number of disorders which could cause this type of bruising. The one which comes to mind would be something called idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura. This is a disorder of platelets which can cause spontaneous bruising. I think it is very important that she proceed to her doctors office for a blood test to check her platelet count. If this is what is going on she can be given medication which can suppress her immune system and help increase the platelet count. Typically patients will take some steroid medication for a period of time until this disorder resolves.
There are some other disorders which can cause a platelet count to become low in addition to causing the hemoglobin to be low. In this case this is something which needs to be evaluated and treated very quickly. I strongly urge you to see her doctor or go to the emergency department for evaluation. I think this is something which cannot wait until next week or anytime beyond that.
In the absence of being able to look at her blood under the microscope I am somewhat limited in predicting what exactly is going on. This is one of the reasons why I would like her to be evaluated with some blood tests.
I thank you again for submitting your question. I hope you found my response to be helpful and informative. If you have any additional concerns I would be happy to address them.
Sincerely,
Dr. Robert
Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
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