Blood work:
A complete guide for monitoring HIV

May 2007     View PDF     En español

Platelet count

Platelets are a part of the blood that helps it to clot. They travel to the site of an injury where they “stick” and help develop a clot or scab to stop the bleeding. A normal count is 150,000–440,000. A low count can be caused by HIV infection or by some drugs.

Although a platelet count below 150,000 is considered low, most people are not at risk of uncontrolled bleeding with counts of 50,000 or even lower. However, because platelets are necessary for blood clotting, the chance of major bleeding rises as the platelet count drops. If your platelet count is very low (in the 10,000 range) and/or you have symptoms related to thrombocytopenia, your doctor may want to change your treatment, or may teach you special ways to prevent bleeding.