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Teenage ITP

In between the concerns of adult and childhood ITP lie the teenage sufferer. Emerging from early youth, many teenagers are anxious to establish a certain independence and experience has shown that modern teenagers need a booklet about ITP specifically devoted to their own culture.
"ITP 'n Stuff" tackles the question and answer format differently to the other Q/A booklets published by the ITP Support Association. Although serious in content, it deals with contemporary issues in a light-hearted and humorous manner, without being patronising or moralistic. The questions include the problems of acne, body piercing, periods, school/university, holidays, work and pregnancy.
This ITP Support Association publication is available on free of charge to parents registered on the ITP Support Association mailing list.

Examples of reader's teenage ITP questions answered by Professor Sir John Lilleyman in recent editions of 'The Platelet' Q. How quickly do platelets get destroyed? My teenage daughter seems to feel tired and headachy before symptoms appear. Does this mean the platelets are being destroyed by the antibodies and the body system slowly goes down, or is it an overnight/couple of hours process? If ITP then goes into remission, how long does it take for the body to bring the platelet level back to normal from a count of under ten ? A. Auto destruction of platelets in itself is unlikely to cause fatigue and headaches, so the time scale of your daughter's symptoms probably does not relate directly to the rate of platelet disappearance. Platelets can disappear over 24-48 hours and reappear just as quickly if the cause of their consumption comes and goes with equal and parallel rapidity. In chronic ITP the ups & downs may be a little less spectacular, reflecting the tug of war between platelet production and destruction which is often finely balanced.

Q. My son is really upset about being banned from rugby because of ITP -so much so that we are considering letting him take part and deal with any knocks or injuries as they happen. We will be worried sick, but it is also very difficult to watch him being so miserable. Can you advise us please?
A. This is a very tricky situation. I assume your son has a platelet count permanently below 20 and shows the odd bruise, etc. If so, the likelihood is that if he plays rugby he will get covered in bruises, some of which will be painful, and he will make up his own mind that it is not worth the discomfort. Boys will be boys, though, and I agree that if he is having a miserable life through restricted activity, my general inclination is to slacken the lead and let him explore his own horizons, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary. I cannot be more specific without knowing more details of the case, and decisions of this type have to be focused very much on one individual. You need to discuss all the options with your consultant.

Q. My teenage daughter has had ITP for a year and is not coping very well with the disruption to her school and social life. She has now become very depressed and lacks energy which is such a change from how she used to be. Do you think this is caused by the disease itself or by her failure to adapt to the altered lifestyle, and what can we do to help her?
A. It is unlikely that ITP itself can cause lack of energy and depression and it is more probable that your daughter is simply fed up with her predicament. It is hard enough to be a normal teenager without having extra medical problems to cope with. Is your daughter’s ITP so severe that it makes her miss school and social activities, or is there an element of excess caution? If the former, have all the reasonable treatments been tried and if the latter, why not just relax and let life proceed?

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