Posts by Paul Baker16

Maria Fisher46 said:Sir,

I happened to miss your initial post.

First off—setting your specific situation aside—thrombocytopenia can absolutely crop up during or immediately following viral illnesses. Some of the viruses known to cause a drop in platelet counts include: EBV, CMV (both of which trigger infectious mononucleosis, among other things), parvovirus B 19, varicella zoster virus, rubella, mumps, hepatitis B and C, HIV, and so on.

Now, back to your case. As I mentioned, if I saw those results, I wouldn't immediately start lecturing a patient about HIV or hepatitis. I likely wouldn't even dwell on the finding itself; I might just suggest re-testing in a little while simply to monitor the platelet trend, and leave it at that.

Thanks for the explanation. Honestly, I’m spiraling because I was mutual masturbating with a girl, and now every possible diagnosis is running through my head. Since your answers are so professional, can I ask one more thing? Is it possible to catch something like HIV if there wasn't actual sexual intercourse—just finger penetration—but the person didn't wash their hands afterward? Like, if the vaginal secretions dried on the fingers, and then a few minutes later those same hands touched food and were used to eat? There were no cuts on my fingers. Also, could you get infected by putting a condom on using fingers that have vaginal secretion on them? And finally, is it possible to be training hard (twice a day) and working night shifts without feeling any symptoms of an infection? I know this isn't really what this forum is for, but I have no one else to ask. Thanks.🙂

Thanks. I’m 31. No bruising, no bleeding issues—nothing unusual except for a weird week about two months ago when my nose bled spontaneously twice. It hasn't happened since. I have no idea what my previous levels were, but right now my platelet count is 148 and my MPV is up at 11.1. Everything else seems fine. My CBC shows WBC at 8.9, lymphocytes at 40.4, ESR at 5, and my AST, ALT, and GGT are all perfect. I get my checkups at least once every year and a half, so if there was anything major, my doctors would have caught it. Could a drop in platelets be linked to a viral infection?

Quick question. My platelet count came back at 148, while the lab range is 150–400. Why the dip? Everything else looks perfect—my blood work is solid, even my triglycerides are sitting at a low 0.53. It’s just the platelets. Now I’m spiraling down an internet rabbit hole, terrified. Does a low count link back to infections like HIV or even leukemia? I don't know. For context, I’ve been training like a maniac for the last three and a half months—two sessions a day, three times a week, then three days of single sessions, all on a pretty intense rotation with one rest day. Also, I had two random nosebleeds about two months ago. Could that be related? Is this drop actually a sign of something serious? Thanks.