Low White Blood Cell Count Causes

Blood test is a part of the routine health checkup. In this laboratory testing, the total red blood cell (RBC), white blood cell (WBC) and platelets are examined. Readings indicating too low or too high blood cell count are a cause of medical concern. Say for instance, the WBCs are components of the immune system and their count may fluctuate based on the current health condition. During onset of disease or infection, the body responds by increasing the production of WBC. While low white blood cell count causes are caused due to underlying diseases and medicinal side effects.

Reasons for Low White Blood Cell Count

A low white blood cell count is medically referred to as leukopenia. It is detected when the WBC or leukocyte count of an individual is below 3,500 per microliter of blood. This borderline may vary slightly from one school of thought to another, and also, according to the age and gender of the candidate. If you are worried regarding 'why white blood count is low', the following points regarding leukopenia causes will help clear your doubts.

Bone Marrow Problem
One of the main low white blood count causes in children is bone marrow problem. An example is leukemia, in which the resulting white blood cells are inactive or abnormal types. Some people are born with defects in the bone marrow, thereby, causing low production of white blood cells.

Viral Attacks
When pathogenic virus invades the body, some of the virulent strains attack the bone marrow and reduce the number of white blood cells. A common example for low white blood cell count caused due to virus is HIV/AIDS. Patients with this incurable viral disease have weak immunity and low white blood cell count.

Aplastic Anemia
Aplastic anemia is one of the several low white blood cell count causes. It is a severe medical problem, in which the affected individual cannot produce blood cells for normal replenishment of the death cells. The root cause for this blood disorder is disorder of the bone marrow. In addition to low WBCs, the patient has abnormally low RBCs and platelet.

Autoimmune Condition
The exact cause of autoimmune disease is not clearly known to us. In patients having the same, the body's defense system counteracts the immune responses, which in turn, cause damaging effects to the bone marrow and blood cells. As a consequence, the white blood cell count remains lower than the normal expected number.

Medications
The possible causes of a low white blood cell count includes use of immunosuppressive drugs for treatment of hypersensitive immune system. Chemotherapy drug not only targets the affected cancerous cells, but it destroys the other cells in the vicinity. The same adverse effect is observed with radiation therapy.

Certain Diseases
Other low white blood cell count causes are prolonged infectious diseases, lymphoma that spreads to the bone marrow, hyperthyroidism, spleen diseases, nutrient deficiency and inflammatory diseases. In fact, any medical problem can cause fluctuation in the white blood cell count, as it is actively involved in the body's natural defense mechanism.

The symptoms of low WBC are frequent infections, fever, anemia, increased fatigue and hematoma. In case of any suspected signs, the concerned doctor will perform further tests, like bone marrow aspiration and biopsy to detect the underlying low white blood count causes. Accordingly, correct therapeutic intervention in terms of medications, blood transfusion and bone marrow transplant will be suggested for the patient.

As you see, low white blood cell count causes are basically attributed to impaired bone marrow function. Why not, since it is the site for production of leukocytes as per the demands of the body. In order to minimize the risk of severe low white blood cell count symptoms, one should go for preliminary blood tests during medical checkups. That way, the blood cells will be monitored for any abnormal changes.