Is a white blood cell count of 17,000 unusual? Yes, it is a little on the high side. Should you be alarmed? No, probably not.
In a normal, healthy adult, the white blood cell count is usually reckoned to be within a range of around 5,000 to 11,000 per microlitre of blood. However, there are a number of things that could cause your white blood cell count to go up above this range temporarily, none of which is usually dangerous to long-term health.
Causes of an elevated reading could include an infection of some sort, such as appendicitis. It could equally well be caused by a lot of stress causing your immune system to go into overdrive - or even a lot of exercise.
The list of causes of an elevated white blood cell count includes anemia, bone marrow tumors, infectious diseases, inflammatory illnesses (such as rheumatoid arthritis), leukemia, severe emotional or physical stress, and tissue damage such as burns.
You don’t need to be concerned unless your white blood cell count goes over the 30,000 level. However, if your count goes high very suddenly and stays high for some time, then your doctor is bound to start investigating to find the cause.
White blood cells, or leukocytes are cells of the immune system and are one of the body’s primary mechanisms in defending against infectious diseases. There are five different kinds of white cell, all of which are produced in the bone marrow. Leukocytes are found throughout the human body including the lymph nodes.
One study of bereaved spouses has found that when a loved one dies, the remaining partner is subjected to severe emotional stress and under these circumstances their production of white blood cells can drop sharply. This indicates that changes in white blood cell count can be caused by emotional as well as physical causes.
In a normal, healthy adult, the white blood cell count is usually reckoned to be within a range of around 5,000 to 11,000 per microlitre of blood. However, there are a number of things that could cause your white blood cell count to go up above this range temporarily, none of which is usually dangerous to long-term health.
Causes of an elevated reading could include an infection of some sort, such as appendicitis. It could equally well be caused by a lot of stress causing your immune system to go into overdrive - or even a lot of exercise.
The list of causes of an elevated white blood cell count includes anemia, bone marrow tumors, infectious diseases, inflammatory illnesses (such as rheumatoid arthritis), leukemia, severe emotional or physical stress, and tissue damage such as burns.
You don’t need to be concerned unless your white blood cell count goes over the 30,000 level. However, if your count goes high very suddenly and stays high for some time, then your doctor is bound to start investigating to find the cause.
White blood cells, or leukocytes are cells of the immune system and are one of the body’s primary mechanisms in defending against infectious diseases. There are five different kinds of white cell, all of which are produced in the bone marrow. Leukocytes are found throughout the human body including the lymph nodes.
One study of bereaved spouses has found that when a loved one dies, the remaining partner is subjected to severe emotional stress and under these circumstances their production of white blood cells can drop sharply. This indicates that changes in white blood cell count can be caused by emotional as well as physical causes.
