What Could Cause Your White Blood Cells To Be Low – Stem cells in the bone marrow are responsible for producing white blood cells. The bone marrow then stores about 80-90% of the white blood cells.

When an infection or inflammatory condition occurs, the body releases white blood cells to help fight the infection.

What Could Cause Your White Blood Cells To Be Low

Health professionals have identified three main categories of white blood cells: granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes. The following sections discuss these in more detail.

White Blood Cells: Function, Ranges, Types, And More

Granulocytes are white blood cells that have small granules that contain proteins. There are three types of granulocytic cells:

Monocytes are white blood cells that make up about 2-8% of the total number of white blood cells in the body. These are present when the body fights against chronic infections.

According to an article in American Family Physician, the normal ranges (per cubic millimeter) of white blood cells based on age are:

If a person’s body produces more white blood cells than it should, doctors call this leukocytosis.

Liam’s White Blood Cells Comic 8 1 Storyboard By 36155ee1

If a person’s body produces fewer white blood cells than it should, doctors call this leukopenia.

Doctors can continuously monitor white blood cells to determine whether the body is developing an immune response to an infection.

During a physical exam, a doctor may perform a white blood cell (WBC) count using a blood test. They may order a WBC to test for, or rule out, other conditions that may affect your white blood cells.

Although a blood sample is the most common approach to testing white blood cells, a doctor may also test other body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid, for the presence of white blood cells.

Leukopenia: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment And Cost

Below are conditions that can affect the number of white blood cells a person has in their body.

This is an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system destroys healthy cells, including red and white blood cells.

The amount of white blood cells called CD4 T cells. When a person’s T cell count drops below

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. Leukemia occurs when white blood cells are produced too quickly and are unable to fight infections.

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Whether or not a person needs to change their white blood cell count will depend on the diagnosis.

If they have a medical condition that affects the number of white blood cells in their body, they should talk to a doctor about white blood cell count goals, depending on their current treatment plan.

A person can lower their white blood cell count by taking medications such as hydroxyurea or by undergoing leukapheresis, which is a procedure that uses a machine to filter the blood.

If a person’s white blood cell count is low due to cancer treatments such as chemotherapy, a doctor may recommend avoiding foods that contain the bacteria. This can help prevent infections.

Tuesday Q And A: Numerous Conditions Can Lead To Low White Blood Cell Count

A person may also receive colony-stimulating factors. These can help prevent infection and increase the number of white blood cells in the body.

White blood cells are an important part of the body’s immune system response. There are different types of white blood cells, and each has a specific function in the body.

Certain conditions can affect the number of white blood cells in the body, causing them to be too high or too low.

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ANSWER: Many diseases and conditions can lead to a low white blood cell count. It’s hard to say what the specific cause might be in your niece’s situation without more information. It is unlikely that the low number is related to her migraines and other symptoms. It would be wise to get another blood test to see if the problem persists. Her doctor can then decide if she should be evaluated further.

Blood has a number of components. In addition to white blood cells, which fight infection, red blood cells carry oxygen and platelets help blood clot. Bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside bones, makes blood cells.

There are several types of white blood cells. Neutrophils fight fungal and bacterial infections. Lymphocytes protect the body from viral infections. Monocytes help remove dead or damaged tissue and regulate the body’s immune response. Eosinophils are white blood cells that fight disease. Basophils play a role in wound healing, infections and allergic reactions.

One of the most common causes of a low white blood cell count is a viral infection. These infections can sometimes temporarily disrupt the bone marrow’s production of blood cells, so the number of blood cells drops. The numbers usually return as the body recovers from the infection. For most people, there is no long-term effect from this temporary drop in blood cells.

White Blood Cells (human Anatomy): Picture, Functions, Diseases, And Treatments

Some medications can also lead to a low white blood cell count because they can destroy white blood cells or damage the bone marrow. For example, taking antibiotics can sometimes cause an abnormal drop in neutrophils, a condition known as neutropenia. With that in mind, it would be helpful to have your niece’s doctor review any medications she is taking to see if they may be causing changes in her blood cell count.

A number of other conditions and disorders can also lead to neutropenia. For an overview of this condition and more details about how it is diagnosed and treated, you can watch a Mayo Clinic video.

The list of other possible causes for a person’s white blood cell count to drop is long. Autoimmune disorders, congenital disorders that affect how the bone marrow works, disorders of the spleen, certain infectious diseases, cancer, and parasitic diseases, among others, can lead to a low white blood cell count.

A good next step for your niece would be to have a complete blood count done. This test measures components in the blood. The specific type of white blood cells that this test shows are low in your niece, as well as the results of measurements of other blood components can help shed light on what may be causing the low.

Red Blood Cells: Function And Structure

The other symptoms you mention—headache, vision loss, and vomiting—should also be addressed with a physical exam, a review of your granddaughter’s family and medical history, and any additional tests her doctor recommends. Even if these symptoms are not related to a decrease in the number of white blood cells, it is important to investigate and identify their underlying cause. – Carola Arndt, M.D., Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

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High White Blood Cell Count? What You Should Know

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