Purpura (patient information)

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Purpura

Overview

What are the causes?

Diagnosis

Diseases with similar symptoms

When to seek urgent medical care?

Treatment options

Where to find medical care for Purpura?

Purpura On the Web

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

Images of Purpura

Videos on Purpura

on Purpura

CDC on Purpura

Purpura in the news

on Purpura

Directions to Hospitals Treating Purpura

Risk calculators and risk factors for Purpura

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan, M.B.B.S.; Ogheneochuko Ajari, MB.BS, MS [2]

Overview

Purpura is purple-colored spots and patches that occur on the skin, organs, and in mucus membranes, including the lining of the mouth.

What causes Purpura?

  • Nonthrombocytopenic purpuras may be due to:
  • Thrombocytopenic purpura may be due to:

Diagnosis

  • Your doctor will examine your skin and ask you questions about your medical history and symptoms, including:
  • Is this the first time you have had such spots?
  • When did they develop?
  • What color are they?
  • Do they look like bruises?
  • What medications do you take?
  • What other medical problems have you had?
  • Does anyone in your family have similar spots?
  • What other symptoms do you have?

Diseases with similar symptoms

  • Purpura occurs when small blood vessels under the skin leak.
  • When purpura spots are very small, they are called petechiae. Large purpura are called ecchymoses.
  • Platelets help the blood clot. A person with purpura may have normal platelet counts (nonthrombocytopenic purpuras) or decreased platelet counts (thrombocytopenic purpuras).

When to seek urgent medical care?

Call your doctor for an appointment if you have signs of purpura.

Treatment options

Acute Pharmacotherapies

  • Infections:

Chronic Pharmacotherapies

  • Autoimmune diseases:

Where to find medical care for Purpura?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Purpura

Sources

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003232.htm

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