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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
LUCKY DATE: The man picked the 10th ‘Super Red Envelope’ in a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10 A man who recently broke up with his girlfriend won a NT$1 million (US$32,929) prize in the “NT$20 million Super Red Envelope” lottery after picking a card based on the date of their breakup, Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The man, in his 20s, bought the 10th ticket at a lottery store in Taoyuan’s Jhongli District (中壢), because he broke up with his girlfriend on Jan. 10, the store owner told the lottery company. The “Super Red Envelope” lottery was a limited offering by the company during the Lunar New Year holiday, which ended yesterday. The cards, which cost NT$2,000 each, came with
TOURISM BOOST: The transportation system could help attract more visitors to the area, as the line is to connect multiple cultural sites, a city councilor said Residents in New Taipei City’s Ankeng District (安坑) said the local light rail system might have a positive influence, but raised questions about its practicality. The Ankeng light rail system, which is to commence operations after the Lunar New Year holiday, would cut travel time for commuters from Ankeng to downtown Taipei or New Taipei City by 15 to 20 minutes, the city government said. According to the initial plan, there would be one train every 15 minutes during peak time and additional interval trains would run between the densely populated Ankang Station (安康) and Shisizhang Station (十 四張). To encourage people to
CHAMPION TREES: The team used light detection and ranging imaging to locate the tree, and found that it measured a height of 84.1m and had a girth of 8.5m A team committed to finding the tallest trees in the nation yesterday said that an 84.1m tall Taiwania cryptomerioides tree had been named the tallest tree in Taiwan and East Asia. The Taiwan Champion Trees, a team consisting of researchers from the Council of Agriculture’s Taiwan Forestry Research Institute and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU), in June last year used light detection and ranging (LiDAR) imaging to find the giant tree, numbered 55214, upstream of the Daan River (大安溪). A 20-member expedition team led by Rebecca Hsu (徐嘉君), an assistant researcher at the Taiwan Forestry Research Institute, set out to find the
RSS