“What does a low white blood cell count mean?”
My son had a blood test done because he was feeling fatigued and tired, and his blood test came back with a low number of white blood cells. This does make sense because he gets sick so easily, but it's very concerning regardless. We have an appointment with pediatrician to discuss the results soon, but I can't wait. What does a low blood cell count mean?
3 Answers
Hematologist(BloodSpecialist)Lowwhitebloodcells
The causes of low white blood cells are cancer treatment, antipsychotic medication, medicine of an overactive thyroid, leukemias, infections (HIV, Hepatitis), autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis). Low white blood cell means that you son immune system is depressed and unable to combat infection. Also, low white blood cells means that maybe the bone marrow is not producing in off neutrophils or another WBC lineage.
A bone marrow is where the stem cells produce the lineage of cells in blood and in the body. under the lineage of the white blood cells are white blood cells. The following are the different WBCs.
WBC = white blood cells: most of the time indicates that you are fighting infection or inflammation. Normal range is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter (4.5 to 11.0 x 109/L). There are three major classifications of WBCs. The main purpose oof WBCs, are to recognize intruders.
1. Monocytes – They have the longer lifespan than other WBCs. They help to break down bacteria.
2. Lymphocytes – They create antibodies to fight against bacteria, viruses, and other invaders to the body.
3. Granulocytes – They kill and digest bacteria, fungi, and many other things. Neutrophils, 4. Eosinophils and Basophils are a subset of granulocytes. Basophils are mainly responsible for allergens. Eosinophils are responsible for parasitic infections.
The WBCs are the defenders of our body. Also, he would like to see if there are immature versus mature ratio of cells produced. Immature cells in the blood stream become non-functional and would not help combating any infection. Thank you.
A bone marrow is where the stem cells produce the lineage of cells in blood and in the body. under the lineage of the white blood cells are white blood cells. The following are the different WBCs.
WBC = white blood cells: most of the time indicates that you are fighting infection or inflammation. Normal range is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter (4.5 to 11.0 x 109/L). There are three major classifications of WBCs. The main purpose oof WBCs, are to recognize intruders.
1. Monocytes – They have the longer lifespan than other WBCs. They help to break down bacteria.
2. Lymphocytes – They create antibodies to fight against bacteria, viruses, and other invaders to the body.
3. Granulocytes – They kill and digest bacteria, fungi, and many other things. Neutrophils, 4. Eosinophils and Basophils are a subset of granulocytes. Basophils are mainly responsible for allergens. Eosinophils are responsible for parasitic infections.
The WBCs are the defenders of our body. Also, he would like to see if there are immature versus mature ratio of cells produced. Immature cells in the blood stream become non-functional and would not help combating any infection. Thank you.
The white blood cells consist mainly of two components, Lymphocytes, and granulocytes. Either component may be below the acceptable range, or both components can be lowered. The simplest and commonest cause is usually infection, particularly a viral infection (quite common in children) or less likely bacterial infection. There can be other underlying causes too. The pediatrician will often be able to recognize the underlying cause and sometimes may order some tests to confirm or rule out a particular cause. The pediatrician may also decide to refer his patient to a hematologist for further evaluation if an underlying cause is not apparent.
Lots of things, from the bone marrow not being able to produce them, to a rip roaring infection, or a medicine that wipes the marrow out. A pediatric hematologist/oncologist would be able to isolate the exact cause in your case.
Good luck.
RB Thomas, MD
Good luck.
RB Thomas, MD
