What Causes Too Many White Blood Cells – Medical Review by Suzanne Falck, M.D., FACP – By Lori Smith, MSN, BSN, WHNP-BC – Updated January 3, 2023

White blood cells help fight infection and are essential for health and well-being. Changes in the levels of white blood cells can occur during infections, during pregnancy and with some cancers.

What Causes Too Many White Blood Cells

A high number of white blood cells can indicate that the immune system is working to destroy an infection.

Basophils: Function & Ranges

It can also be a sign of physical or emotional stress. People with certain blood cancers may also have a high white blood cell count.

A low white blood cell count may signal that an injury or condition is destroying the body’s cells too quickly, or that the body is producing too few of them.

White blood cells make up about 1% of all blood cells, and are essential for regular function in the immune system. White blood cells are also known as leukocytes.

The bone marrow continuously produces white blood cells. They are stored in the blood and lymphatic systems until they are needed to fight an infection or disease in the body.

B Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

There are normally between 4,500 and 11,000 white blood cells in each microliter of blood, although it can vary according to sex, age and race.

When needed, monocytes travel to other organs, such as the spleen, liver, lungs and bone marrow, where they transform into a cell called a macrophage.

A macrophage is responsible for many functions, including the removal of dead or damaged tissue, the destruction of cancer cells, and the regulation of the immune response.

An increase in white blood cells is known as leukocytosis. It usually occurs in response to the following conditions:

Lymphocytic Colitis: Symptoms & Treatment Options

Certain respiratory conditions, such as whooping cough or tuberculosis, can cause white blood cell levels to rise.

In some cases, all white blood cells are affected. However, some people have a specific disease in which only one type of white blood cell is affected.

If the levels of a particular type of white blood cell increase, this may be due to a specific trigger:

There is, on occasion, no identifiable cause for the increase in white blood cells. This is known as idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome. It can lead to serious complications, such as damage to the heart, lungs, liver, skin and nervous system.

How To Increase White Blood Cells During Chemotherapy

The levels of white blood cells increase significantly during pregnancy due to the physical stress that the body suffers during this time. Levels begin to rise in the first trimester and continue to rise in the third trimester.

White blood cells in each microliter of blood. This is in response to physical stress and work trauma.

If the levels of white blood cells are lower than usual, this may be a sign that the person has reduced immune activity.

A lack of white blood cells is why people with conditions or medications that suppress the immune system have an increased risk of infection.

Med Surg: Immune Lab Values

These develop when too many immature blood cells are produced, leading to an imbalance. Myeloproliferative disorders are rare conditions that may or may not be malignant.

The exact effects of a high white blood cell count depend on the condition or factor that causes it.

After noticing each symptom, a doctor can use a blood test to evaluate the white blood cell count, and more tests and examinations will often be necessary to identify the exact cause of the problem.

A high number of white blood cells can indicate many things, such as the immune system is working to destroy an infection, a sign of physical or emotional stress, or particular types of cancer.

Granulocytosis: What Is It, Causes, Treatments, And More

Pregnancy also leads to high white blood cell counts, as levels tend to rise from the first trimester to the third. The levels of white blood cells will also increase in the hours after work, due to the severe stress that the body undergoes.

Meanwhile, a low white blood cell count may signal that an injury or condition is destroying the body’s cells faster. It could also mean that the body produces too little of them.

While the symptoms will depend on the cause of the high blood sugar count, fluctuations in the blood sugar count may not cause symptoms.

Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and is based only on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions and medical journals and associations. We avoid using third-party referrals. We link to primary sources – including studies, scientific references and statistics – in each article and also in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. You can learn more about how to ensure that our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.During pregnancy, your blood volume increases by up to 50%. With a decrease in hemoglobin levels and hematocrit i XU percentage of red blood cells (RBC) in the blood (especially in the last trimester), the platelet count also decreases slightly. However, white blood cells (WBC) in the blood increase after pregnancy, called leukocytosis.

Types Of White Blood Cells And Their Functions

Leukocytes or WBC are classified as agranulocytes (lymphocytes and monocytes) and granulocytes (eosinophils, neutrophils and basophils), which make up the body’s immune system and fight against infection (1).

Read this post to learn about the causes of high WBC count in pregnancy and the complications associated with this condition.

After pregnancy, there is a gradual increase in the normal WBC count (leukocytosis), with a slight shift towards an increased percentage of neutrophils.

Leukocytosis begins in the first trimester, continues throughout pregnancy, peaks during childbirth, and usually normalizes after four weeks (1) (2).

Under The Microscope: Blood

XA condition of pregnancy characterized by the onset of high blood pressure, protein in the urine and water retention, and gestational diabetes mellitus.

(GDM) (3) (4). Therefore, the leukocyte count should be correctly interpreted and correlated during your prenatal visits and postnatal care (1).

During pregnancy, white blood cells are often examined to look for signs of infection or inflammation in the body. WBC levels increase from eight to forty weeks into the gestational period. As seen in the chart below, they peak around the 32nd week and begin to decline (12).

Even in a healthy pregnancy, it is normal for a woman’s WBC count to increase, especially towards the end of pregnancy. However, if this elevation is accompanied by any signs of infection or other medical conditions, it probably warrants further testing and evaluation.

Symptoms Of Blood Cancer In Woman

Specific causes of high WBC counts include bacterial or viral infections, leukemia, rheumatoid arthritis, tuberculosis, certain medications (such as epinephrine).

XA hormone is also a neurotransmitter responsible for the body’s fight or flight response or corticosteroids), severe allergic reactions, and even severe stress. Any bacterial or viral infection in the body can result in an elevation of a person’s white blood cell count.”

However, due to the physiological stress caused by pregnancy, you may have a higher WBC count even in normal pregnancy. Therefore, the maternal WBC count cannot be a primary screening technique for the detection of serious pregnancy complications (5). Conversely, an increased WBC count in your urine sample indicates a urinary tract infection (UTI) (6).

Recalling the events during a visit to the emergency room (due to suspected blood in the urine) during pregnancy, a mother of twins says: “The doctor came to inform me of my elevated WBC (white blood cells ) and yes indeed. , blood in my urine. I ended up being diagnosed with a minor bladder infection causing the blood in the urine. Preggo friendly antibiotics would do the trick to clear it up (i). “

Multiple Myeloma: Symptoms, What It Is, Prognosis & Treatment

XA complex system of glands and organs that produce hormones, metabolic processes and the genital system undergo many changes to nourish the developing fetus and prepare the body for labor and childbirth. As your pregnancy progresses, this physiological and emotional stress increases your leukocyte count as leukocytes accept stimulatory impulses (7).

During a healthy pregnancy, leukocytosis is usually called an increased percentage of neutrophils in the blood. However, there are several types of WBC, and elevated levels of other WBCs can imply different diagnoses (1) (8).

The increase in WBC count is mainly due to an increase in neutrophils and lymphocytes (1).

Studies have shown that the number of lymphocytes decreases during the first and second trimester and increases during the third trimester (1).

How Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Affects The Body

Routine blood tests during pregnancy, such as a complete blood count (CBC), usually measure the white blood cell count. Your doctor can perform diagnostic tests for hemoglobin, WBC and platelet count at almost every prenatal care visit to look for conditions that can complicate pregnancy (6).

A high white blood cell count may not present symptoms during pregnancy. However, symptoms of a high WBC count in people who are not pregnant usually include (9)

If you detect any of these symptoms during pregnancy, contact your doctor, because it may be a sign of infection or underlying medical complications.

While leukocytosis is common during pregnancy, it could also result from an underlying problem that typical prenatal WBC tests cannot detect, necessitating extra screening. In the first trimester, higher levels of platelets and WBC counts are linked to a higher risk of miscarriage, thus highlighting the importance of monitoring these markers for possible pregnancy complications (5) (10) .

Polycythemia: What Is It, How It Differs From Polycythemia Vera, And More

A high number of WBC during pregnancy, also known as leukocytosis, is induced by the physiological stress of pregnancy. A moderate

What disease causes too many white blood cells, what causes too much white blood cells, what causes too many white blood cells in the body, too many white blood cells, what causes too much red blood cells, too many blood cells, what disease causes too many red blood cells, what causes too many red blood cells, causes of too many red blood cells, what happens when you have too many white blood cells, causes of too many white blood cells, too many red blood cells causes