What does it mean if your wbc is low

White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, help protect the body against infections, bacteria, viruses and diseases. These essential part of the immune system are produced in the bone marrow and are present in the blood and lymph tissue. White blood cells (WBC) come in different types, and the blood normally contains a certain percentage for each type. This is what doctors check when they request tests that measure a person’s WBC count.

Why Do Doctors Check Your WBC Count?

The WBC count is usually included in a test that measures your complete blood count (CBC). A low white blood cell count or a high blood cell count may indicate an infection or an undiagnosed condition such as a blood disorder, an autoimmune diseases or an immune deficiency. The WBC count can help doctors detect and provide treatment for these potential conditions as well as help monitor the effectiveness of radiation treatment or chemotherapy for cancer patients.

What Is the Normal WBC Count?

People’s WBC count may vary depending on their age. Infants usually have a higher WBC count which gradually decreases as they get older. The table below shows the normal WBC ranges per microliter of blood (mcL).

Symptoms of an Abnormal WBC Count

An abnormal WBC count may either be lower or higher than the normal range. The common symptoms of a low WBC, also known as leukopenia, include body aches, chills, fever and headaches. If you have these symptoms, please schedule an appointment with your doctor and he/she may recommend a WBC count.

On the other hand, a high WBC count, also known as leukocytosis, usually doesn’t cause symptoms, although the underlying condition that’s causing it may show its own signs.

Risk Factors of an Abnormal WBC Count

A low WBC count may be triggered by the following factors or conditions:

• Autoimmune disorders
• Bone marrow damage or disorder
• Certain medications (i.e., antibiotics)
• Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
• Liver and spleen diseases
• Lupus
• Lymphoma
• Radiation therapy
• Severe infections

Meanwhile, a high WBC count may be triggered by the following factors or conditions:

• Asthma
• Certain allergies
• Certain infections (i.e., tuberculosis)
• Certain medications (i.e., corticosteroids)
• Exercise
• Inflammatory conditions (i.e., arthritis and bowel disease)
• Leukemia
• Pregnancy
• Smoking
• Stress
• Tissue damage
• Tumors in the bone marrow

How to Prepare for a WBC Count

First, you have to schedule an appointment with your doctor to get a test request and then schedule an appointment with the laboratory for blood extraction. Certain medications may either lower or increase your WBC count, so please let your physician know if you’re under medication. Some of the drugs that may interfere with your WBC count results are as follows:

• Antibiotics
• Anticonvulsants
• Antihistamines
• Chemotherapy medication
• Clozapine
• Corticosteroids
• Diuretics
• Heparin
• Quinidine
• Sulfonamides

Final Thoughts

If your laboratory test results show that you either have a low or high WBC count, your doctor may recommend a treatment plan and may also recheck your WBCs from time to time. But if your WBCs are within the normal range, great. Just keep doing things that can help boost your immune system and keep you healthy, such as eating fruits and vegetables, getting enough sleep, limiting your sugar intake, exercising regularly, managing your stress levels and staying hydrated. Have a great day ahead!

Some medical conditions, like bone marrow disease, can cause low white blood cells. These cells are a vital part of the immune system, and having low white blood cells can cause medical problems, especially infections. Low white blood cells can also lead to problems with healing from wounds and make you more susceptible to cancer and other diseases.

This article will discuss the symptoms experienced with a low white blood cell count, what causes the symptoms, risk factors, treatment, and when to contact your healthcare provider.

Symptoms of Low White Blood Cells 

You wouldn’t expect to have direct symptoms of low white blood cells. But when these cells are low, it causes the immune system to be weak. With a weak immune system, medical problems can arise and these problems will often cause symptoms.

Infections are the most common effect of a low number of white blood cells. The infections can be more frequent and more severe than what you would experience if you had a healthy immune system. Lacking white blood cells can also make it difficult for you to heal from injuries or recover from illnesses.

Symptoms that you may experience from complications (such as infection) of having a low white count include: 

• Fatigue 
• Fevers, chills 
• Sore throat, coughing, difficulty breathing 
• Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea 
• Painful urination, blood in the urine, urinary frequency 
• Skin sores that don’t heal 
• Mouth sores, mouth pain 

The symptoms that accompany a low white blood cell count can vary and depend on what's causing the low count. For example, a bladder infection can cause urinary symptoms, and a stomach infection can cause nausea and vomiting.

Sometimes a lack of white blood cells leads to opportunistic infections, which are infections that wouldn’t normally develop in a person with a healthy immune system. 

Cancer is another potentially serious effect of low white blood cells. These immune cells normally recognize and destroy abnormal cancer cells, and a white blood cell deficiency can allow cancer cells to multiply and spread in the body. 

Types and Function of White Blood Cells (WBCs)

Causes of a Low White Blood Cell Count

Common causes of a low white blood cell count are:

• Medications and cancer treatments, such as some antibiotics, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy
• Bone marrow cancers and bone marrow disorders, including aplastic anemia and multiple myeloma
• Infectious diseases, including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and severe infections

White blood cells are made in the bone marrow and circulate throughout the body. Diseases, toxins, medications, or medical treatments that harm the bone marrow can prevent enough white blood cells from being produced. Some medical conditions can also cause the destruction of white blood cells.

Usually, having low white blood cells is a sign of chronic disease. But sometimes medications or infections can temporarily cause this problem due to the destruction of white blood cells. This should resolve once the infection clears up or the medication is discontinued.

Benign ethnic neutropenia is a cause of inherited chronic neutropenia (a low number of leukocytes, which are usually the most numerous white blood cells). It is seen mostly in people of African, Middle Eastern, and West Indian descent worldwide. It does not increase a person's risk of infection.

White Blood Cell Count and Cancer: What You Need To Know

What Medications Cause Low White Blood Cells? 

Some medications can cause low white blood cells as a side effect.

Chemotherapy treatments are the medications most commonly associated with low white blood cells. These medications target rapidly dividing cancer cells, as well as rapidly dividing healthy cells. Radiation therapy, also used as a cancer treatment, can have the same effect.

Because white blood cells rapidly divide as the body frequently replaces them, chemotherapy treatments can prevent their healthy production.

Other medications known to cause low white blood cells include antibiotics, antihypertensives, antipsychotics, immunosuppressants, and anti-epilepsy drugs. These medications do not cause a low white blood cell count in everyone, and there may be a genetic predisposition to this side effect.

How to Treat Low White Blood Cell Symptoms

The symptoms that may develop as a result of having low white blood cells often require treatment in addition to the treatment that’s needed for managing the underlying issues.

Treatments can include:

• Covering wounds to prevent an infection
• Tylenol (acetaminophen) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs), such as Advil (ibuprofen) and Aleve (naproxen sodium) for treatment of pain or fevers
• Fluid intake to prevent dehydration from vomiting or diarrhea
• Dietary supplements to prevent or treat malnutrition
• Antibiotics or antivirals to treat infections

Additionally, sometimes a low white blood cell count can be treated, depending on the cause. Examples of treatments may include antiretroviral therapy for treating HIV or a bone marrow transplant for cancer.

Neulasta (pegfilgrastim), a granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), is a medication that can be used in certain circumstances to prevent low white blood cells occurring as a side effect of chemotherapy.

These treatments require ongoing and close medical care.

Are There Tests to Diagnose the Cause of Low White Blood Cells? 

Diagnostic tests can identify the white blood cell count, as well as the cause of low white blood cells. A complete blood count (CBC) is a blood test that measures the number of white blood cells, as well as the number and proportion of each type of white blood cell.

The cause of a low white blood cell count can be identified with diagnostic tests as well. The specific testing selected is directed by the signs, symptoms, and risk factors. For example, an HIV test can identify HIV as the cause, while a bone marrow biopsy can often identify blood cancer.

Known Causes

Sometimes diagnostic tests are not needed to identify the cause of low white blood cells when there is a known cause, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Your white blood cell count may be monitored to identify whether it is too low or is recovering after treatment.

When to See a Healthcare Provider 

If you have been diagnosed with low white blood cells, it’s helpful for you to know the signs of complications and to get medical attention if you start to develop problems. You won’t be able to feel any direct effects of a low white blood cell count, so you may need periodic testing to monitor your count.

Call your healthcare provider or make an appointment if you get a fever or chills, feel run down, develop sores or a wound that won’t heal, or vomit, have diarrhea, or lose your appetite.

Get prompt medical attention for any of the following:

• Severe vomiting or diarrhea
• Signs of dehydration—sunken eyes, dry skin, decreased urination
• Confusion, lethargy
• Severe pain or swelling
• Painful, red, or pus-filled wound
• Shortness of breath
  

Have an Action Plan

When you have a chronic condition that’s associated with low white blood cells, it’s important for you to have a plan of action in case you begin to develop urgent or nonurgent complications.

Summary 

A low white blood cell count is a consequence of serious diseases, and it can lead to harmful health problems—including infections, slow healing, and cancer. A low white blood cell count doesn’t cause symptoms, but the complications of a low white blood cell count can cause many different symptoms. These symptoms often need to be treated, and management of low white blood cells is important to prevent serious complications.

A Word From Verywell

If you have a medical condition that causes low white blood cells, it’s important that you maintain consistent medical care. This can include getting regular blood tests to monitor your white blood cell count and surveillance for complications.

You may need symptomatic treatment, as well as treatment of the underlying cause. Some medical conditions that cause low white blood cells are serious chronic illnesses, like HIV or blood cancers.

Coping with these health problems can be overwhelming. Make sure you find ways to reach out for support from your family, friends, healthcare team, or support groups so you won’t have to carry the stress all by yourself.

An Overview on How to Increase White Blood Cells During Chemotherapy

Frequently Asked Questions

• Are there medications that increase white blood cells?

  Yes, some medications, called granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (G-CSFs), can increase white blood cells. These are used in specific circumstances, such as to boost white blood cell counts that are reduced by chemotherapy used for treatment of certain types of cancer.

  Learn More: Bone Marrow Stmulating Factors

• Can you feel symptoms of low white blood cells?

  Having a low white blood cell count doesn’t cause detectable symptoms, but the effects of white blood cell deficiency—infections, impaired wound healing, disease, and cancer—can cause a variety of noticeable and distressing symptoms.

  Is low white blood count serious?

  A low white blood cell count is a consequence of serious diseases, and it can lead to harmful health problems—including infections, slow healing, and cancer. A low white blood cell count doesn't cause symptoms, but the complications of a low white blood cell count can cause many different symptoms.

  What can cause your WBC to be low?

  Causes.

  Viral infections that temporarily disrupt the work of bone marrow..

  Certain disorders present at birth (congenital) that involve diminished bone marrow function..

  Cancer or other diseases that damage bone marrow..

  Autoimmune disorders that destroy white blood cells or bone marrow cells..

  What should I do if my WBC is low?

  Summary. A low WBC count may be the result of an underlying condition, such as an infection, blood disorder, or autoimmune condition. If you know you have a low WBC count, try to avoid situations where you could get an infection. If you experience frequent infections, contact your physician.

  When should I be worried about low white blood cells?

  How many white blood cells (WBCs) someone has varies, but the normal range is usually between 4,000 and 11,000 per microliter of blood. A blood test that shows a WBC count of less than 4,000 per microliter (some labs say less than 4,500) could mean your body may not be able to fight infection the way it should.