After chemotherapy, platelets "drop sharply"? 4 ways to help you replenish them

Chemotherapy is a chemical drug treatment that blocks the proliferation and metastasis of cancer cells and eliminates cancer cells. It is an important treatment for systemic cancer. During the treatment process, chemotherapy drugs will inevitably damage the normal cells of the human body and cause many serious drug side effects. The blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. These components of blood are all derived from the rapid division of stem cells in the human bone marrow. In the process of blocking and eliminating cancer cells, chemotherapy drugs will also have a significant inhibitory effect on stem cells, causing their activity to decrease, making it impossible to replenish the platelets in the blood in time, causing a temporary decrease in platelets. When the drugs in the body are gradually metabolized, the activity of stem cells in the bone marrow will gradually recover, and the number of platelets will slowly reach normal levels. However, the time and degree of recovery will vary depending on the constitution of different people.

Some people mistakenly believe that thrombocytopenia is a sign of cancer cells invading the blood and bone marrow. In fact, after cancer cells destroy stem cells, they will cause a simultaneous decrease in red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets, and they will not be able to return to normal levels. At the same time, bone pain, fractures, anemia, and other phenomena will also occur. Thrombocytopenia caused by chemotherapy drugs does not cause a simultaneous decrease in the three types of cells. Therefore, there is an essential difference between the two.

Thrombocytopenia is one of the common complications of chemotherapy, and related to it is leukocytopenia, both of which are blood count decreases caused by bone marrow suppression. When the platelet count is too low, it can cause internal bleeding, and in severe cases, it may lead to death. Proper treatment of thrombocytopenia is of great significance to treatment and is conducive to the completion of chemotherapy and the physical recovery of cancer patients.

1. Platelet transfusion

Platelet transfusion is a direct way to deal with thrombocytopenia. When the platelet count is too low, platelet transfusion can be performed. However, it should be noted that this method will also cause a lot of immune reactions, making the transfusion ineffective, so it must not be abused. It can also be combined with some related drug treatments.

2. Pay attention to diet and balanced nutrition

If you have thrombocytopenia, you must control your diet, stay away from raw, cold and greasy food, and choose more fresh vegetables and fruits. You can eat blood-enriching ingredients appropriately. If gastrointestinal bleeding occurs, you need to fast.

3. Avoid injuries

Platelets have the important functions of hemostasis and wound healing. Because chemotherapy drugs can cause thrombocytopenia, patients should be careful to avoid bumps and bleeding, as recovery is difficult.

4. Pay attention to rest and avoid strenuous exercise

Thrombocytopenia can cause bleeding symptoms and even endanger the patient's life in severe cases. Therefore, patients should avoid strenuous exercise and maintain good rest to prevent severe bleeding or prevent chemotherapy from proceeding further, delaying treatment.