Normal values of a white blood cell count in adult males and females should range from around 4,500 to 10,000. Anything within this range is considered to be perfectly normal.
Slightly elevated white blood cell counts can signify a small infection, which means that the body has increased the amount of white blood cells in your system to try and fight off the infection. It could also be a sign that you have anaemia. However, a high white blood cell count does not mean for sure that a person has leukaemia. There are other factors that could be involved. Usually, the more serious the infection, the higher the white blood cell count. In relation to women, their white blood cell count is usually higher right before they begin menstruating.
There are a lot of other symptoms of leukaemia that you can keep an eye out for. Some people feel sick or nauseous, they may have a fever or the chills, they may experience night sweats or other flu-like symptoms. If the leukaemia cells manage to get to the central nervous system then neurological symptoms such as headaches may start to present themselves. But all of these symptoms can be linked to other illnesses so to make sure that someone has leukaemia, blood tests must be conducted for a proper diagnosis.
The word leukaemia itself means ‘white blood’ which relates to the high white blood cell count that the majority of patients have before they begin their treatment for the illness. Because white blood cells are known for ridding the body of infections and diseases, a high white blood cell count may not seem like such a bad thing. However, these extra white blood cells are often immature or dysfunctional and such a high number of cells can interfere with other types of cells which can cause a harmful imbalance in the blood count.
Slightly elevated white blood cell counts can signify a small infection, which means that the body has increased the amount of white blood cells in your system to try and fight off the infection. It could also be a sign that you have anaemia. However, a high white blood cell count does not mean for sure that a person has leukaemia. There are other factors that could be involved. Usually, the more serious the infection, the higher the white blood cell count. In relation to women, their white blood cell count is usually higher right before they begin menstruating.
There are a lot of other symptoms of leukaemia that you can keep an eye out for. Some people feel sick or nauseous, they may have a fever or the chills, they may experience night sweats or other flu-like symptoms. If the leukaemia cells manage to get to the central nervous system then neurological symptoms such as headaches may start to present themselves. But all of these symptoms can be linked to other illnesses so to make sure that someone has leukaemia, blood tests must be conducted for a proper diagnosis.
The word leukaemia itself means ‘white blood’ which relates to the high white blood cell count that the majority of patients have before they begin their treatment for the illness. Because white blood cells are known for ridding the body of infections and diseases, a high white blood cell count may not seem like such a bad thing. However, these extra white blood cells are often immature or dysfunctional and such a high number of cells can interfere with other types of cells which can cause a harmful imbalance in the blood count.
