Platelets Platelet Count (PLT)
The tiny fragments that plug a cut and stop the bleeding.
Also printed asPLT · Thrombocyte Count
What it measures
The cell fragments that plug a bleeding vessel and start a clot.
Too few and you bruise and bleed; too many and clotting risk rises. They also climb with iron deficiency and inflammation.
Why it matters for how long you stay well
A count sitting high without an obvious cause travels with inflammation and iron shortage, and both are worth explaining rather than watching drift for years.
How it shows up in daily life
A low count can show as easy bruising, gums that bleed when you brush, or cuts that take longer to stop.
High and low readings
When it reads high
Inflammation, iron deficiency, or recovery after bleeding.
When it reads low
Fewer clotting cells; dengue season and several common medicines do this.
What moves it
Daily life
- iron stores, since low iron raises the count
- infection and inflammation
- alcohol, which lowers it
- recent blood loss
Medicines known to shift it
- antibiotics (can lower it)
Listed so a result can be read in context. It is not advice to start, stop or change any medicine; that decision belongs with your physician.
Read it with
Markers that move this one, or that this one moves. One number read alone can mislead.
- Platelet volume shareKnown mechanism
As this rises, Platelet volume share rises with it
Plateletcrit is the space your platelets take up in the blood. So it follows the platelet count, and adds very little of its own.
Common questions
What does Platelet Count measure?
The cell fragments that plug a bleeding vessel and start a clot. Too few and you bruise and bleed; too many and clotting risk rises. They also climb with iron deficiency and inflammation.
What does a high Platelets result usually mean?
Inflammation, iron deficiency, or recovery after bleeding.
What does a low Platelets result usually mean?
Fewer clotting cells; dengue season and several common medicines do this.
What is the usual reference range for Platelets?
A broad adult reference band is 150–410 K/µL. Labs differ, so read your result against the band printed on your own report.
Educational only, not a diagnosis. A single number means little without your history and the rest of your panel, so discuss your own results with your physician.
Typical adult reference band
- Adults
- 150–410 K/µL
Labs differ. The band printed on your own report is the one that applies to your result.
Reported in K/µL, 10³/µL, cells/mm³
Ageing relevance
2/5
Relevant to the ageing of one organ, or to disease screening.
Worth knowing
They are not whole cells at all, but pieces broken off much larger cells in your bone marrow.
Have a report with this marker on it? Read it in context.
Upload it to Oraia, our health-intelligence tool, for a plain-language read of your markers that a Genoryx doctor can review.
Your biological age is a number you can measure.
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