DIC is caused by another medical condition that makes the body’s normal blood clotting process become overactive. The condition progresses through two stages. In the early stages, overactive clotting leads to blood clots throughout the blood vessels. The clots can reduce or block blood flow, damaging organs. As DIC progresses, the overactive clotting uses up platelets and clotting factors, which are protein that help with normal blood clotting. Without these platelets and clotting factors, DIC can cause bleeding just beneath the skin, in the nose or mouth, or deep inside the body.