Is bleeding when brushing teeth leukemia?

Written by Li Bao Hua
Dentistry
Updated on September 05, 2024
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Bleeding during brushing is not necessarily leukemia; it could also be due to gingivitis or periodontitis. Bleeding can occur around the teeth where there are irritants like soft plaque or dental plaque. These irritants chronically stimulate the gingival tissues, causing them to be in a congested state. A stimulus, such as brushing, can then lead to bleeding of the gums. This condition is a common early sign of gingivitis or periodontitis. After dental cleaning to remove these irritants, followed by rinsing and medicating the area around the gums, the condition of gingivitis can be improved. Therefore, if bleeding during brushing can be improved through dental cleaning and medication, it indicates that the bleeding is simply caused by gingivitis or periodontitis, and not leukemia.

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Symptoms of Acute Leukemia

The common symptoms of acute leukemia include four main categories: infection, anemia, bleeding, and tumor infiltration. Symptoms of infection manifest as fever, cough, expectoration, chest pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, skin infections, and perianal infections. Anemia is characterized by dizziness, fatigue, poor appetite, and decreased endurance. Symptoms of reduced platelets mainly involve bleeding, which can manifest as bleeding of the skin and mucous membranes, organ bleeding, and even cerebral hemorrhage. Tumor infiltration can manifest as gingival hyperplasia and skin rashes among other swellings.

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Is leukemia treatment free?

Leukemia is a type of malignant tumor originating from hematopoietic stem cells and progenitor cells in the myeloid hematopoietic system. Leukemia cells differentiate and organize at the early stages of different myeloid developments, exhibiting the morphological and immunophenotypic characteristics of myeloid development. The incidence of acute myeloid leukemia in the population is 2-4/100,000, with the median age of onset being sixty-four to seventy years, making it a disease of the elderly. The incidence increases with age, accounting for 70% of acute leukemias, and representing 55%-70% of infant, 17%-20% of childhood, and 80%-90% of adult acute leukemias. Regarding the medical insurance situation in China, some leukemia conditions are eligible for major illness assistance. All leukemia treatments can be reimbursed at a certain ratio under the national health insurance, although there is no free treatment for leukemia at present, unless one participates in relevant clinical trials, which could offer some compensation, and certain treatment drugs are provided free of charge.

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Is sternal pain leukemia?

There are many causes of chest pain, and it is not necessarily only leukemia. For young people or children, sometimes injuries such as those from car accidents, sleeping on the stomach, or accidentally bumping into chair backs or table corners can cause sternal pain. However, persistent sternal pain in children should be carefully examined for the possibility of blood disorders. Of course, this can be ruled out through chest CT scans, or, if necessary, a small sternal biopsy under local anesthesia to check for leukemia. But for adults, there are many other possible causes of chest pain, such as gastrointestinal ulcers, stomach ulcers, and duodenal ulcers which can radiate to the surrounding area of the sternum causing pain. Additionally, some anatomical organs behind the sternum such as heart diseases, coronary artery disease, and angina can also cause sternal pain. Thymomas, thymus cancer, an enlarged thyroid, and lymphoma can all lead to sternal pain. Other malignant tumors, like lung cancer, if involving the sternum can also cause this pain. Therefore, not all cases of sternal pain are definitely due to leukemia.

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How to test for leukemia?

Patients with leukemia should first undergo a routine blood test. Some leukemia patients' routine blood tests may indicate leukemia, such as when white blood cell counts are abnormally high, exceeding 50*10^9/L, and can even reach more than 100*10^9/L, which highly suggests leukemia. At this point, bone marrow biopsy, bone marrow immunotyping, and chromosome tests are needed to further clarify the type of leukemia. In addition, risk stratification in leukemia patients is also necessary through genetic mutations and chromosome analysis.

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How is leukemia diagnosed?

When a routine blood test suggests the possibility of leukemia, further diagnostic tests such as bone marrow aspiration, biopsy, and immunophenotyping are required to confirm the diagnosis. Leukemia can be divided into acute leukemia and chronic leukemia. Acute leukemia includes acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Acute myeloid leukemia is further categorized into eight types, from M0 to M7. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is divided into three subtypes: L1 to L3. Chronic leukemia can be divided into chronic myeloid leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia.