How many white blood cells are normal?
White blood cells in healthy people
White blood cells are the protectors of the human organism and defend it against foreign bodies. Bacteria, viruses, fungi and infectious agents find it difficult to get past the immune system. There are different white blood cells in our body, which differ in their function, place of manufacture and shape.
How many leukocytes are normal and how the doctor determines the value, the reader will learn from this article.
leukocytes in the body
How many leukocytes are normal cannot be answered with a general number. Rather, the normal value depends on the age and the measurement tolerance of the laboratory equipment. Doctors give the value of white blood cells in 1,000 pieces per microliter. This gives a normal score of five to 14.5 in children under the age of six. Up to ten years, the normal limit is between 4.5 and 13.5. Under 14 years of age, the normal concentration is 4.5 to 13. Healthy adults have a value between 4.4 and 11.3.
How many leukocytes are normal – white blood cells in humans
Leukocytes form part of the human immune system. Their job is to fight and ward off pathogens. Granulocytes eat and destroy foreign bodies in humans and lymphocytes adapt specifically to target them.
Leukocyte values provide information about the number of white blood cells in the blood. The specification is in 1,000 pieces per microliter. There are various methods to determine this value. How many leukocytes are normal depends on whether the patient is sick or healthy.
Differential blood count – interpret leukocyte values
The doctor takes blood from the patient to determine the leukocytes. He sends this blood sample to a laboratory technician of a medical laboratory. According to Giemsa, the leukocyte values can be distinguished in a blood smear. The blood count usually contains 60 percent neutrophils, one to five percent eosinophils, and less than one percent basophils . A large proportion, between 20 and 40 percent, make up lymphocytes. With two to ten percent monocytes and less than one percent plasma cells , the blood count is complete.
Normal values of the leukocytes
There is no general answer to the question of how many leukocytes are normal. The concentration in the blood changes over the course of life, which is why the normal limits vary depending on age. How many leukocytes are normal also depends on dissimilar measuring methods and devices. Two different laboratories will get slightly different readings for the same blood sample.
For children under the age of six, at 1,000 pieces per microliter, a concentration of five to 14.5 is considered normal. Up to the age of ten, the normal value is 4.5 to 13.5. Up to the age of 14, the leukocyte concentration in the blood is usually between 4.5 and 13. Adults have a normal limit of 4.4 to 11.3.
Leukocytosis – too many leukocytes
Physicians refer to the condition of too high leukocyte values as ” leukocytosis “. It is very likely that this is due to an infection caused by bacteria in the body. If there is no infectious disease, there are other possible triggers for the large number of leukocytes.
Stress in physical and psychological form, as well as illness-related stress in a coma, lead to a high reading. Smoking, pregnancy and acute blood loss increase the leukocyte concentration. Taking cortisone tablets causes an increase in the leukocyte value. In chronic inflammatory diseases, as well as diseases affecting the bone marrow, myelofibrosis or leukemia , the number of leukocytes in the blood increases.
Too few leukocytes – “leukopenia”
If the number of leukocytes is too low, doctors refer to this condition as “leukopenia”. If only the subsequent production of granulocytes , which develop in the bone marrow, decreases , doctors speak of agranulocytosis . If the laboratory measures too few leukocytes in the blood, this indicates various clinical pictures.
One of the causes is a possible fungal infection or viral disease. Numerous drugs lead to leukopenia after ingestion. These include antibiotics, anticonvulsants, as anticonvulsants, analgesics, psychotropic drugs and antithyroid drugs, as medicines for the thyroid gland. Chemotherapy , unlike radiation therapy as part of cancer treatment, always leads to leukopenia . An enlarged spleen upsets the concentration in the blood when it develops during the course of cirrhosis of the liver.
Identify diseases using leukocytes
The number of leukocytes in the blood, along with other symptoms, indicates certain diseases. A determination of the leukocyte values alone is not sufficient to make a clear diagnosis. If the values match different symptoms, it is possible to determine a cause.
How many white blood cells are normal depends on the individual body, so an elevated or low number is not necessarily a cause for concern. The overall condition of the patient is decisive for the further procedure. The doctor follows this and prepares a therapy that leads to normal values.
