Causes of a High White Blood Cell Count
When you have blood work done at your doctor's office, you may be told that you have a high white blood cell count.
Many people are unsure of what exactly this means, and are unaware of the different roles that the blood cells play in your body.
The red blood cells in your body are responsible for transporting oxygen through your blood and through the different organs within your body, including your brain.
However, the white blood cells or leukocytes play a much different role and when they are high in count; it can be a cause for concern.
Leukocytes work to perform a few different factions within the body.
The main role of these cells is to fight off infections when they enter the body, so many times when your white blood cell count is up, your body is working hard to fight off some type of infection that is present.
The higher the blood cell count is, the worse the infection is.
Sometimes you may have signs of an infection and are already taking antibiotics for the infection, while other times you may feel perfectly fine and your doctor will need to determine what is causing your white blood cell count to be up.
There are a variety of different illnesses that can cause your white blood cell count to go up.
Sometimes a simple infection in the body, such as a cold, can cause your leukocytes count to go up.
With a regular cold, the leukocytes are generally powerful enough to eliminate the cold from your body, and then the count will go back to normal.
When you have another type of infection, such as a sinus infection, you'll need to take antibiotics in order to help remove the infection from your body.
When antibiotics are taken for an infection, the white blood cell count should go back down to normal once you have finished your course of medication.
After the doctor has prescribed you medication for your illness, they will generally perform another blood test to see if the leukocytes count is back down.
If your leukocytes count is still up, then other options need to be explored and the real cause of the high count needs to be determined.
At times a more serious issue can be causing your leukocytes count to be high.
These issues include, but are not limited to; sexually transmitted diseases, different types of cancer or a disease within the body.
Leukemia is one type of cancer that is often first discovered through the presence of high leukocytes.
Certain diseases, such as a disease within the blood marrow is also commonly found when your leukocytes stays high, even after you have taken an antibiotic.
When you are working with your doctor, it's important that you tell them about all of the different medications or supplements you are taking, as some can cause your white blood cell count to go up when there isn't any type of problem going on.
Many people are unsure of what exactly this means, and are unaware of the different roles that the blood cells play in your body.
The red blood cells in your body are responsible for transporting oxygen through your blood and through the different organs within your body, including your brain.
However, the white blood cells or leukocytes play a much different role and when they are high in count; it can be a cause for concern.
Leukocytes work to perform a few different factions within the body.
The main role of these cells is to fight off infections when they enter the body, so many times when your white blood cell count is up, your body is working hard to fight off some type of infection that is present.
The higher the blood cell count is, the worse the infection is.
Sometimes you may have signs of an infection and are already taking antibiotics for the infection, while other times you may feel perfectly fine and your doctor will need to determine what is causing your white blood cell count to be up.
There are a variety of different illnesses that can cause your white blood cell count to go up.
Sometimes a simple infection in the body, such as a cold, can cause your leukocytes count to go up.
With a regular cold, the leukocytes are generally powerful enough to eliminate the cold from your body, and then the count will go back to normal.
When you have another type of infection, such as a sinus infection, you'll need to take antibiotics in order to help remove the infection from your body.
When antibiotics are taken for an infection, the white blood cell count should go back down to normal once you have finished your course of medication.
After the doctor has prescribed you medication for your illness, they will generally perform another blood test to see if the leukocytes count is back down.
If your leukocytes count is still up, then other options need to be explored and the real cause of the high count needs to be determined.
At times a more serious issue can be causing your leukocytes count to be high.
These issues include, but are not limited to; sexually transmitted diseases, different types of cancer or a disease within the body.
Leukemia is one type of cancer that is often first discovered through the presence of high leukocytes.
Certain diseases, such as a disease within the blood marrow is also commonly found when your leukocytes stays high, even after you have taken an antibiotic.
When you are working with your doctor, it's important that you tell them about all of the different medications or supplements you are taking, as some can cause your white blood cell count to go up when there isn't any type of problem going on.
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