White blood cells
White blood cells are the most important components of the immune system in the human body. If there is a deficiency, the patient is very vulnerable to infection and infection. The number of white blood cells varies from person to person, and their proportions vary according to age and sex. In general, about 7,000 white blood cells / microliters of blood are present, and they account for about 1% of the blood volume in an adult.
There are many types of white blood cells, which are usually divided by whether they contain granules or not. Cells containing granules are called granular cells, and include both neutral cells, basal cells, and acid cells. Non-granular cells include lymphocytes and monocytes And large capsules.
White blood cell deficiency
Leukopenia is when the number of these cells is less than the minimum age and sex, less than 3500 white blood cells / microliter. Leukocyte deficiency usually results from many diseases, as a result of taking medications or when suffering from certain genetic disorders. The most common form of leukocyte deficiency is the lack of neutral cells, which account for 45 to 75% of the total number of white blood cells. These cells are the most important primary fighters of the immune system. They fight bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.
Symptoms of leukocyte deficiency
The lack of a small blood cell is usually diagnosed by a blood test. The slight decrease in numbers is temporary and does not have any specific symptoms. What needs to be examined is the severe lack of white blood cells. This may provide the opportunity for severe infection and may lead to death. . The main symptoms associated with leukemia deficiency are as follows:
- Anemia: A deficiency of white blood cells is usually caused by a decrease in the number of red blood cells. The patient has anemia. This causes many symptoms, such as persistent tiredness even when performing the lowest effort, as well as shortness of breath and rapid heartbeat , As well as the difficulty of concentration and the frequent feeling of dizziness, and may become pale color, and may suffer from insomnia.
- Suffering from bleeding constantly, due to lack of platelet numbers as well, and women usually suffer from the abundance of menstruation or persisting longer than usual.
- Increased inflammation of the lining of the cheek, gums, lips and tonsils.
- Suffering from mental disorders, usually accompanied by a feeling of extreme tiredness and severe head pain as well as hot flashes.
- Increased risk of infection and ulcers, which can result in infection of the lungs or liver, which poses a risk to the patient’s life.
- The patient may suffer from the urgent need to drink hot drinks, due to irritation of the lining of the stomach.
Causes of leukocyte deficiency
White blood cells are produced in the bone marrow, so the deficiency in their numbers usually results from related causes. The main causes of leukemia are as follows:
- Inhibition or damage to bone marrow: This is caused by exposure to toxins or certain chemicals such as lead, chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer, and may cause some medications. These substances reduce the production of bone marrow for all blood cells, causing Leukocytes and red blood cells plus platelets.
- Bone marrow disease: These diseases include congenital anomalies, leukemia, nephrotic syndrome, bone marrow transplantation, vitamin B12 deficiency and folic acid deficiency. These diseases cause bone marrow dysfunction, either producing small numbers of White blood cells, or overproduction of one type, thereby reducing its production to other species.
- Suffering from autoimmune diseases: The most common diseases that cause leukemia are so-called systemic lupus erythematosus, and what happens in this disease is the failure of the immune system in the human body to identify the white blood cells, and thus considers it an enemy and attacks with antibodies.
- Cancer outbreaks in the bone marrow, such as lymphoma.
- Suffering from severe infection, or so-called poisoning of blood; as the number of white blood cells when doing so in an attempt of the immune system to fight this infection.
- Infections affecting the immune system: such as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), which specifically cause the destruction of lymphocytes.
- Suffering from spleen enlargement, this causes the destruction of white and red blood cells.
- The presence of many diseases such as: thyroid diseases, dyspepsia, rheumatoid arthritis, parasitic infection, lack of vitamins and minerals such as copper and zinc, tuberculosis, influenza, malaria and dengue fever.
- In addition to interferon, which is used to treat a variety of conditions such as scleroderma (MS), such as scleroderma, tacrolimus, and cyclosporine, , The lack of white blood cells may result in the use of antidepressants, as well as some drugs used to treat smoking addiction such as bupropion, in addition to certain types of antibiotics such as Mainosa Clean and Banislan.