ITP Kids: ITP Information for Kids

Why would you treat ITP?

• The main reason to treat ITP is to decrease bleeding symptoms and/or to improve your quality of life.
• Platelet counts lower than 10,000 may increase the risk of bleeding.
• Therapy temporarily raises the platelet count to minimize the bleeding risk.

How is ITP treated?

There are a variety of treatment options for ITP. Treatment may include:

• Observation only (regular monitoring of platelet counts and watching for bleeding symptoms)
• stopping medications that are thought to cause ITP
• treating infections

Other treatments also may be considered, including:

• Steroids (usually prednisone)
• WinRho
• IVIG
• 6-mercaptopurine infusions

These medications help to trick the body's response so that it does not destroy the platelets. Physicians may also suggest other drug therapies that show promise for ITP.

In some instances a splenectomy (removal of the spleen) may be recommended.

How long does it take to treat ITP?

• Platelet counts may go up and down for many months.
• Childhood ITP usually resolves itself within 6 months.
• Some patients do not resolve within this period of time and continue with Chronic ITP.
• Some patients may also require several courses of treatment before the ITP resolves at a later time.

Playing sports is an important part of having fun and living your life. Having ITP should interfere as little as possible. Just keep in mind smart play such as wearing helmets, elbow pads, wrist guards and knee pads or any other protective equipment that is recommended for the sports you wish to play and try to avoid injury.

What sports can I play with ITP?
The following is a list of sports you can play or should avoid based on your platelet count. Just remember to have fun and be safe.
DISCLAIMER: There are no formal national guidelines for sports and activities with ITP. We've modeled these suggestions on those used by the National Hemophilia Foundation for other types of bleeding disorders.

Sports and outdoor activities can be pretty easily divided into three groups.

1. Sports that are safe for anyone, even with a bleeding disease. Walking, swimming, tennis are examples.
2. Everything else: basketball, soccer, baseball are examples.
3. Sports that are potentially dangerous for anyone, even without a bleeding disease. Hang gliding, tackle football, ski racing, wrestling are examples. For many patients, an important choice is whether it would be better to avoid some riskier contact sports, or to be treated to raise the platelet count in order to play. This question doesn't have a single best answer. It is important to consider this choice with your hematologist. The answer for one child may be quite different from the next. Always check with your hematologist if your platelet count is on the low end of any of these parameters for any serious sports playing. Normal platelet counts are >150,000/mm3. As long as your platelet count is over 75,000, it is usually safe to play most sports, just be sure to protect yourself as any athlete would.

If your platelet count falls below 75,000, it is best if you do NOT...

• play ice hockey with checking, field hockey (because of the sticks), or street hockey
• box
• dive competitively
• go hang-gliding
• play tackle football
• play rugby
• play lacrosse
• ride a motorcycle
• play racquetball (because of potential eye injury from racquets in close quarters)
• go rock climbing
• wrestle

If your platelet count is less than 75,000 but greater than 30,000 to 50,000, it is usually okay to...

• play baseball (just not catcher; wear a helmet on the bases)
• play basketball
• go bowling
• dive in the pool (just no high dives or competitions)
• practice gymnastics
• go horseback riding
• go ice skating (wear a helmet if you're unsteady!)
• practice karate, Kung Fu or Tae Kwon Do (no kicks to the head!)
• go mountain biking (wearing a helmet of course)
• go river rafting
• go roller blading or roller skating (with protective equipment)
• go running
• go rowing
• go skateboarding (with protective equipment)
• go cross country or downhill skiing or snowboarding (be sure to wear a helmet) Ski racing demands a higher platelet count.
• play soccer
• play tennis
• compete in track and field events
• play volleyball
• go water skiing
• practice weight lifting

Most people with ITP can...

• go water skiing
• practice weight lifting
• go for a bike ride (with a helmet of course)
• go fishing
• play frisbee
• play golf
• go for a hike
• practice Tai Chi or Karate
• go for a walk
• go swimming
• go jogging

... anytime!

• Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s: ITP diagnosis, research, and more
• The ITP Society
• National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
• ITP Support Association
• Platelet Disorder and Support Association
• Adult Chronic Immune Thrombocytopenia Purpura
• Registry (UK)

ITP Staff at Dana-Farber/Boston Children's

• Ellis J. Neufeld, MD, PhD, Director
• Rachael Grace, MD
• Kristy McMillan, Registered Nurse
• Travis Brown, Research Coordinator

Contact information
Boston Children's Hospital
Hematology Clinical Research
Fegan 7, Room 717
300 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

• Email: Kristy McMillan
• Phone: (617) 355-2901
• Fax: (617) 730-0018

The information on this website, including linked resources, should not be taken as medical advice, which can only be given to you by your personal health care professional. Specific treatment plans for any patient with ITP should be arranged after consultation with a physician experienced in this disorder for any given age group.

By its nature, the web has two kinds of bias in medical issues.

• First, the web tends to have a bias of reports toward more severe cases because mild cases are under-represented: satisfied families whose child had a mild bout of self-limited illness are unlikely to post their stories on the internet.
• Second, the web is more likely to have highly opinionated sources rather than balanced opinions. We hope that our site and the other sites listed here try to avoid these common problems.