What Is The Normal Level Of Platelets In Children

The hemogram (that is, the result of a blood test) is a fundamental diagnostic tool in both children and adults, allowing us to detect many disorders that might otherwise go completely unnoticed.

For this reason, and although any form of diagnosis or interpretation must be carried out in any case by a doctor, it can be useful to know the information that its different sections give us, including the platelet count.

What is the platelet count? What value is normal in children?
Platelets are the cells that allow blood to clot when an injury occurs, closing the bleeding. The count, therefore, is nothing other than the concentration of these cells in the blood.

In children, as in adults, the values ​​considered normal are those that range between 150,000 and 400,000 per microliter , sometimes also expressed per liter (they would be 150 to 400 x 10⁹).

An amount above these limits is called thrombocytosis. The causes can be very varied, and include iron deficiency, having undergone certain infections, recent trauma or surgery, cancer, certain medications, proliferative neoplasia or removal of the spleen.

Regardless of the complications derived from the underlying cause, thrombocytosis itself carries the risk of clot formation (which can lead to serious health problems) or, paradoxically, excessive bleeding.

Conversely, too low an amount is called thrombocytopenia and can be caused by certain treatments or by autoimmune disorders. Thrombocytopenia increases the risk of excessive bleeding or difficulty stopping bleeding.

As we have already pointed out, it can be positive to know the meaning of the different data provided by the blood count to guide us on possible disorders and to know the functioning of our own health and that of our children, but it is important not to jump to conclusions and leave everything In the event that it is the doctor who makes the diagnosis and prescribes the corresponding treatment.