Why does it bleed when I scratch my body?

Normally, bleeding spots will appear when the body is scratched lightly. There are many reasons for this phenomenon. The most common ones are poor coagulation mechanism. In addition, if the platelet count is relatively low, it will also cause this phenomenon. Blood tests should be conducted in time to rule out blood diseases. In addition, the cause of decreased platelet production is often related to hereditary thrombocytopenia and excessive platelet destruction or loss, which is both hereditary and acquired.

Why does it bleed when I scratch my body?

1. Decreased platelet production

① Hereditary thrombocytopenia such as radial ischemia with thrombocytopenia, congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia, thrombopoietin deficiency, bone marrow infiltrative diseases (congenital leukemia, malignant histiocytosis) and neonatal rubella, etc. ② Acquired thrombocytopenia, aplastic anemia, simple megakaryocytic aplastic thrombocytopenia, tumor cell infiltration of bone marrow, myelosclerosis, physical effects (such as radiation), chemical factors (such as drugs), cyclical thrombocytopenia, bacterial infection, nutritional deficiency, drinking and hemolysis, etc.

2. Excessive platelet destruction or consumption

Another reason is that we consume too much, resulting in insufficient supply, so the platelet count will decrease. Let’s take a look at the specific reasons. ① Congenital includes non-immune diseases, such as hemolytic disease of the newborn, thrombocytopenia of premature infants, neonatal infection, etc.; immune diseases, such as neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia, neonatal essential thrombocytopenia, neonatal drug-induced thrombocytopenia, etc. ② Acquired non-immune diseases, such as viral infections (influenza, rubella, hemorrhagic fever), bacterial infections (sepsis, subacute bacterial endocarditis), protozoan infections (toxoplasmosis), thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, hemolytic uremic syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulation, pregnancy, etc. can all cause it; immune diseases, such as drug-induced immune thrombocytopenia, post-transfusion purpura, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

3. Abnormal platelet distribution or excessive platelet retention in the spleen Splenomegaly caused by cirrhosis, schistosomiasis, splenic lymphoma, cavernous sinus hemangioma, myelofibrosis, etc. leads to excessive platelet retention in the spleen, causing peripheral blood thrombocytopenia.

The most common thrombocytopenia disease is thrombocytopenic purpura, which is characterized by a significant decrease in platelets, accompanied by purpura of the skin and mucous membranes. In severe cases, there may be bleeding in other parts of the body such as nose bleeding, gingival bleeding, excessive menstrual flow in women or severe hematemesis, hemoptysis, blood in the stool, hematuria and other symptoms. Intracranial hemorrhage is the fatal cause of this disease.