Elevated White Blood Cells

Our body is meant to work in a perfectly coordinated manner. Everything in place. All functions being carried out smoothly and effectively. But does that ever happen? Not really. Almost never. We misuse our body and expect it to bear the torture that we inflict on it day after day. Unhealthy food habits, unhealthy sleeping habits, pollution and stress. Give your body all this in excess and you don't think it'll have a reaction somewhere? Yes it will, and it does too. That is why there are all the problems that slowly crop up. This article deals with a problem just like that - elevated white blood cells. Why do these come about? And what does it mean to have this condition. That is what the following article will deal with.

Functions

What is the importance of white blood cells in the body? The white blood cells, also known as leukocytes are the fighters of our body. They are the ones responsible for protecting us from the attack of infections and diseases. Whenever any infection takes over our body or any germs enter it, the WBCs will make sure that they fight back either by producing antibodies or by surrounding the germ and destroying it. Therefore WBCs are an important component of our being. But here's the deal, these need to be in the correct number, anything less or more and it could spell trouble for you.

Causes

The normal count of white blood cells is about 7,000- 26,000 in a single drop of blood. When there is a high white blood cell count in the body, this figure could rise to 50,000 in a single drop of blood. What causes the white blood cells count to rise in the body? Here are a number of reasons that could lead to this condition:

• Allergic reactions. These could be severe allergies
• Measles
• Cluster headaches
• Farmer's lung
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis
• Kawasaki disease
• Chronic granulomatous disease
• Certain kinds of leukemia - Acute lymphocytic leukemia, Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Chronic myelogenous leukemia, Hairy cell leukemia
• Certain drugs like epinephrine and corticosteroids
• Myelofibrosis
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Polycynthemia vera
• Smoking
• Tuberculosis
• Whooping cough
• Stress
• Tissue damage
• Bacterial infections
• Viral infections
• Chronic bone marrow diseases like myeloproliferative disorder

Conditions

...In Urine
Elevated white blood cells in urine may spell that there is a possibility of a urinary tract infection. Normally, white blood cells do not reach the urine because there is no need for or use of blood there. The presence of white blood cells in urine could mean that there are kidney infections and stones, inflammation of the bladder, bladder infections, allergies, immune disorders and growths of certain kinds there, which leads to the elevated count of WBCs.

...In Children
The main cause for an elevation in white blood cells in children is due to the occurrence of leukemia. When a child develops leukemia, the bone marrow and the blood stream is flooded with a large number of abnormal white blood cells. Due to this, the normal functioning of the WBCs is hampered since they are abnormal cells. When the cancer begins to fester in the body, it starts to affect the functioning of the other blood cells as well and leads to slow deterioration of the body.

Along with these conditions, the elevation of white blood cells in pregnancy is a common phenomenon as well. The count of WBCs increases as age progresses and during pregnancy when there is a need for the body to be strong and protect the fetus and the mother to be against any harm and infection. Other than these times, every other instance of elevated white blood cells in the body simply translates to diseases and disorders which spells trouble for us and should be looked into immediately.