should platelet counts be high?
A high platelet count can be caused by cancer, infections, anemia, and inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. A high platelet count can lead to excessive, dangerous blood clotting if left untreated. The medical term for a high platelet count is thrombocytosis, a condition in which bone marrow cells produce too many platelets. Thrombocytosis can be either reactive or essential. Reactive thrombocytosis means that a high platelet count is a reaction to inflammation, infection, injury, anemia, or cancer, and essential thrombocytosis indicates that genetic conditions or hormone imbalances are causing irregular platelet formation.