is 15,000 wbc dangerous?

is 15,000 WBC dangerous?

An elevated white blood cell count may also be chronic or long-lasting under the following conditions:

– smoking

– tumors in the bone marrow

– leukemia

– inflammatory conditions, such as arthritis and bowel disease

– obesity

– vasculitis, or inflammation of the blood vessels (2)

But the question is when is a high WBC count threatening? for instance, is 15000 wbc dangerous?!

If your WBC counts 50,000 to 100,000 per microliter of blood, you may have a severe infection, organ rejection, or a solid tumor. Values above 100,000 only occur with conditions like leukemia or other types of blood and bone marrow cancer, which is dangerous (6).

Is 15,000 wbc dangerous?

It depends; A WBC count of 15,000 may be normal if you are pregnant. Otherwise, it is dangerous and you should consult your doctor.

White blood cells, also called leukocytes, are the cells of the immune system. They’re involved in protecting the body against both infectious diseases and foreign invaders. The CBC test is used to check the number of white blood cells (1).

The normal range for a white blood cell count is typically between 4,000 and 11,000 /microliters. However, the exact range varies from person to person and depends on your age and gender:

· Adult men                                   5,000 to 10,000 per μL

· Adult women                              4,500 to 11,000

· Children                                       5,000 to 10,000

· 2-week-old infant                      5,000–20,000

· Newborn Infant                         13,000–38,000 (2,3)

Note that pregnant people may have a white blood cell count that differs from these ranges (around 6,000 to 17,000 cells per μl) (4).

Abnormal results

Leukopenia, the medical term used to describe a low WBC count, can also be due to:

– Bone marrow failure (aplastic anemia).

– cancer cells attack Bone marrow (leukemia).

– Drug exposure (chemotherapy).

– Vitamin deficiency (B12).

– HIV/AIDS (5)

An infection or acute stress increases your number of white blood cells. High white blood cell counts may also be due to:

– fever

– injury or burn

– pregnancy

– allergies

– asthma

– a recent vaccination

– some medications, such as corticosteroids, epinephrine, and NSAID drugs

– tissue damage

– acute hemolysis

– hemorrhage

– leukemoid reaction

– heart attack

– surgery(2)

* You can enter your lab test results online and get a personalized interpretation, including your condition in each test, definition, reasons for increased or decreased results, dietary and lifestyle recommendations, potential treatments, drug interactions, etc.

References:

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/17704-high-white-blood-cell-count
2. https://www.healthline.com/health/wbc-count#normal-range
3. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327446#normal-ranges
4. https://ada.com/white-blood-cell-count/
5. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21871-white-blood-cells
6. https://www.healthline.com/health/leukocytosis#diagnosis