The Hematology Society of Taiwan and a group of people with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) yesterday held a walking event in Taipei to raise public awareness about the disorder characterized by low blood platelet counts.
Citing experiences of people with the condition, the society said that a woman experienced abnormally heavy bleeding during menstruation and had to frequently go the restroom at her workplace, which her supervisor mistook as slacking off.
Some women in a similar situation even wear adult diapers, it said.
Photo courtesy of the ITP Patient Association
People with the condition get bruised easily even without having been hurt, which has led to other people mistaking them for victims of domestic violence, the society said.
Society chairman Chou Wen-chien (周文堅), a physician at National Taiwan University Hospital’s Hematology and Oncology Division, said that ITP is an autoimmune bleeding disorder that can be characterized by having many red or purple bruise-like rashes (purpura) on the skin, and a low blood platelets count.
“ITP can suddenly burst into a person’s life,” he said, adding that people can develop the condition at any age, but it is more common among young women.
Many people become perplexed when they are diagnosed with the disease, he said.
A normal blood platelet count is about 150,000 to 400,000 per microliter, and ITP can be defined as having a level below that range, but serious bleeding, such as fatal intracranial hemorrhage, can occur if platelet count drops below 20,000 per microliter, Chou added.
Taipei Municipal Wanfang Hospital Hematology and Oncology Division physician Chiou Tzeon-jye (邱宗傑) said that when blood platelet count drops below 20,000 per microliter, spontaneous bleeding might occur, such as having a nosebleed after sneezing or experiencing intracranial hemorrhage after straining to have a bowel movement.
Medicines covered by the National Health Insurance System can be used for ITP treatment, but there are certain conditions for prescribing them, Chiou said, adding that thrombopoietin receptor agonists have also been used in the past few years.
Chiou said that people should seek medical attention as soon as possible if they have red or purple bruises on their skin, or frequently experience nosebleeds, bleeding gums, abnormal menstrual bleeding or gastrointestinal bleeding.
ITP Patient Association chairperson Chen Chia-mei (陳佳美) said that people with the disorder also often experience social or work-related problems due to their condition, so they organized the walking event encourage patients to be brave and join in outdoor events with other people.
SUICIDE MOTIVE PROBED: The 50-year-old woman had a boyfriend in Taiwan and police entering her apartment found no signs of forced entry, but they did find charcoal Taipei police yesterday found a Spanish woman dead in her COVID-19 quarantine accommodations, although the cause of death is yet to be determined. The 50-year-old entered Taiwan on Oct. 2 and was due to leave quarantine today, police said. After officials failed to contact her yesterday morning, officers were dispatched to the apartment on Chengdu Road in Wanhua District (萬華) at 4pm, they said. Officers wearing full protective gear entered the apartment, where they found charcoal, but no signs of forced entry, they added. Police said they were investigating a possible motive for suicide, as there was no note at the scene. The woman had
FEW REMAIN: Conservationists tried to stop the demolition, but to no avail, and the owner cannot be fined, as the structure was not listed as a historical building One of the few remaining Japanese colonial-era granaries in Taiwan was dismantled by its owner on Friday, prompting outrage from conservationists. The granary, which was at No. 16, Lane 11, Hangzhou S Rd Sec 1 in Taipei, belonged to Taiwan Takushoku Corp during the colonial era, conservationist Chang Wan-lin (張琬琳) said, adding that she and others had been collecting information to reapply to have the building protected as a historical structure. During the colonial era, the granary served the area from Monga (艋舺) to what is now Songshan District (松山) in the north, she said. “Back then the eastern part
TROUBLEMAKER: The missiles, capable of striking up to 2,000km away, would likely be used to deter other nations from coming to Taiwan’s aid, a legislator said The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has reportedly deployed advanced hypersonic missiles along China’s southeast coast, which Taiwan’s missile defense system might have difficulty intercepting, an analyst said yesterday. Citing an unnamed military source, the South China Morning Post said that the missile bases on the coasts of China’s Fujian and Zhejiang provinces have been upgraded and are stocked with DF-17 missiles, equipped with hypersonic glide vehicles. “The DF-17 hypersonic missile will gradually replace the old DF-11s and DF-15s that were deployed in the southeast region for decades,” said the source, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. “The
SEEING THE POSITIVE: A majority of respondents in Taiwan said that they favored Trump because they think Taiwan-US ties would improve with him Among eight Asia-Pacific countries and regions, only Taiwan prefers US President Donald Trump over his challenger, former US vice president Joe Biden, in the upcoming US presidential election, a survey released on Thursday showed. According to the poll published by UK-based market research firm YouGov, 42 percent of Taiwanese favor Trump in the Nov. 3 election, while 30 percent back Biden and 28 percent have no opinion. In contrast, respondents in Malaysia favor Biden over Trump 62 percent to 9 percent, and in Singapore by 66 percent to 12 percent, the survey showed. Biden also led Trump in Australia (60 percent to 21
RSS