Why does the #PutAFingerDown trend on TikTok always seems to end with the most insane stories being shared? If you haven’t heard of the trend it usually starts with someone saying “put a finger down if you…” before sharing their wild story that most normal people would never be able to relate to.
In today’s example, TikTok user @alaric.d.gurley made use of the trend and shared his own crazy story. It starts out with him driving to pick his sister up from school before his nose starts gushing blood. And from his description, it sounds like it was a real fountain of blood, the Niagara Falls of nosebleeds if you will.
After getting his sister to drive, they decide to go to the hospital where Alaric finds out what’s causing his nosebleed.
First of all, seven hours is a long time to wait, especially if your nose is bleeding non-stop. I’m surprised he didn’t bleed out! Secondly, the escalation of events in this story is insane, with one viewer quipping, “All of a sudden my car trouble isn’t that bad.” Anyway, the doctors reveal that Alaric has no platelets in his blood, like zero, nada, zilch. It was so bad that he had to be transferred to another hospital as the doctors didn’t possess the capability to deal with the issue.
You don’t need to be an expert biologist to figure out that zero platelets aren’t good news, Hopkinsmedical.org describes platelets as “cells that circulate within our blood and bind together when they recognize damaged blood vessels.” They help form a blood clot, which means that when a blood vessel bursts these cells will stop the bleeding. Obviously, if someone had none in their blood it would be very hard for their body to stop the flow of blood. It explains why, when Alaric’s nose started bleeding it just continued to get worse.
There can be many reasons for a low platelet count, but one of the scariest prospects is blood cancer, which Alaric shared the doctors are checking for, despite him only being 20. Obviously, that’s the worst-case scenario and it’s good that the doctors are checking just in case, but there are plenty of other possible explanations. According to the Mayo Clinic, infections or certain types of anemia can cause low platelet counts known as thrombocytopenia. Regardless, it’s still scary news for the young man.
An update on Alaric’s health
Alaric posted several update videos documenting his recovery as his platelet count slowly increased – thankfully the doctors also confirmed that it was not cancer.
It’s uncertain what caused the problem in the first place, but this low platelet count could be a lifelong affliction for Alaric who has continued to document his day-to-day progress in getting better and talking about his symptoms. Plenty of commenters have pointed out that there’s a possibility that Alaric’s braces prompted the sudden nosebleed as apparently, it’s possible to develop thrombocytopenia from the metal in the braces. But he did confirm that he asked the doctors about that possibility, but they weren’t able to confirm the cause.
Well, while the unfathomable cause of the bleeding remains a concerning factor, it is a relief to know that Alaric is getting the medical attention he needs.