Some infections can be life threatening.
What is considered low for white blood cell count.
A low white blood cell count leukopenia is a decrease in disease fighting cells leukocytes in your blood.
Some people who are otherwise healthy have white cell counts that are lower.
Symptoms of low white blood cell count.
If there s no clear reason for a low white blood cell count your doctor will probably want to do the test again or do a differential or diff along with the cbc.
Wbcs which are produced in the bone marrow are an important part of your immune system and your body s natural weapon to fight off bacteria viruses and other germs.
The definition of low white blood cell count varies from one medical practice to another.
The complete blood count includes the white blood count which is an estimate of how many white blood cells there are in your blood.
A low white blood cell count in adults is less than 4 000 cells per microliter of blood.
A low white blood cell wbc count is a decreased number of white blood cells leukocytes in the blood.
The white blood count is very important because these cells have a key role in defending your body against infection.
For children that threshold varies with age.
White blood cell creation and release in the blood are triggered and stimulated during infection.
A low white blood cell count puts you at increased risk of infection.
Low white blood cell count.
For example african americans tend to have lower white blood cell counts than caucasians.
This can lead to a low white blood cell count and this reduction can reach problematic levels if the destruction occurs faster than replenishment.
White blood cells are created inside the bone marrow the spongy tissue inside bones.
A low wbc count is referred to medically as leukopenia.
There is an estimate as to what is a typical white blood cell count and what is too high or too low.
A high wbc count is one sign that there is an infection inflammatory disease or an inflammatory process taking place somewhere in the body.
In addition what would be considered a low white blood cell count for some people may be a normal finding for others.
In general for adults a count lower than 4 000 white blood cells per microliter of blood is considered a low white blood cell count.
Given that it is a symptom in and of itself leukopenia can be accompanied by a myriad of other signs depending on what the underlying cause is.
It s also not uncommon for young caucasian women to have white blood cell counts that fall slightly below the normal reference ranges.
A low white blood cell count is often a side effect of drugs particularly chemotherapy drugs.
