Blood Health
Platelet Count
What This Marker Tells Us
Measures the number of cell fragments responsible for blood clotting in your circulation, essential for stopping bleeding from injuries while avoiding inappropriate clot formation.
Why It Matters
Low platelet counts (thrombocytopenia) increase bleeding risk, potentially causing easy bruising, nosebleeds, bleeding gums, prolonged bleeding from cuts, or in severe cases, dangerous internal bleeding. High platelet counts (thrombocytosis) increase clotting risk, potentially causing blood clots in veins or arteries leading to stroke, heart attack, or pulmonary embolism. Platelet counts can change with bone marrow disorders, immune destruction, infections, medications, inflammation, iron deficiency, and malignancies. Mild changes are often reactive (responding to another condition) rather than primary platelet disorders, but significant abnormalities require investigation to prevent serious bleeding or clotting complications.
How to Interpret Your Trends
Normal platelet count is approximately 150,000-400,000 cells/μL. Mild thrombocytopenia (100,000-150,000 cells/μL) rarely causes symptoms but warrants monitoring. Moderate thrombocytopenia (50,000-100,000 cells/μL) may cause easy bruising and bleeding with trauma. Severe thrombocytopenia (below 50,000 cells/μL) carries significant bleeding risk requiring urgent evaluation and treatment. Platelet counts below 20,000 cells/μL carry risk of spontaneous bleeding. Mild thrombocytosis (400,000-600,000 cells/μL) is often reactive to inflammation, infection, iron deficiency, or recent bleeding. Marked thrombocytosis (above 600,000 cells/μL) may indicate essential thrombocythemia or other myeloproliferative disorders requiring hematologic evaluation.
What Influences This Marker
Platelet count decreases with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), viral infections, medication side effects (numerous drugs), chemotherapy, radiation, bone marrow disorders (leukemia, aplastic anemia), liver disease with splenomegaly, vitamin B12 deficiency, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and alcohol excess. Platelet count increases with iron deficiency, inflammation, infection, malignancy, recent bleeding or surgery, post-splenectomy, essential thrombocythemia, and other myeloproliferative disorders. Strenuous exercise can temporarily elevate platelet count. Reactive thrombocytosis (secondary to another condition) is much more common than primary platelet disorders.
How Your Team Uses It
Your coach addresses modifiable factors affecting platelet count, particularly iron status through dietary optimization when platelets are reactive to iron deficiency, and anti-inflammatory nutrition patterns when inflammation is driving elevated platelets.
Related Signals We Also Review
MPV, complete blood count, ferritin, hs-CRP, peripheral blood smear, and bleeding/clotting history for comprehensive platelet function assessment.