Q: My platelet count is on the lower side (1.29). The doctor prescribed me NVM-M12 tablets. Is this medicine safe? Will it increase my platelet count?

A:NVM-M12 is a multivitamin preparation that has no role whatsoever. It is important to repeat the platelet count at an interval of a few months to see if the counts pick up. In case they continue to be low, you would need to be investigated for it. Platelets may be low due to the following reasons:

• Increased destruction (immunologic – infections, drugs) or utilisation (disseminated intra-vascular coagulation; abnormal vasculature as seen in haemolytic uraemic syndrome & thrombotic thrombocytopaenic purpura)
• Decreased production (leukaemia, aplastic anaemia, megaloblastic anaemia, drugs, infections
• Sequestration in the spleen (cirrhosis of liver)