What is a nasal swab for eosinophils? What are the norm indicators? After reading our article, you will find answers to these and other exciting questions.
The human body is made up of many organs and systems. Each has its own function, which is necessary for the overall coordinated work of all organs. Elements such as eosinophils also have their own significance in the life process of the human body. They belong to the subspecies of leukocytes. To determine their quantity in a patient, blood is drawn and a nasal swab is analyzed.
Value
Eosinophils are called elements that are created from bone marrow, namely from stem cells. They are granulocytes that do not divide. In order for eosinophils to form, it takes several days. The whole process of their formation takes 3-4 days.
After they formed in the bone marrow, eosinophils are separated from it and circulate in the human blood. There they are about 6 hours. Although some people take longer, it all depends on the individual characteristics of the person. The life cycle of eosinophils is 2 weeks. After these elements enter the blood, they pass into such parts of the body as the gastrointestinal tract, lungs and subcutaneous tissues. Here they remain until the end of their life.
Eosinophils are of particular importance for the body. They are involved in the following functions:
- These elements destroy helminths.
- They have the property of absorbing foreign elements and particles that enter the human body.
How much should be present in the body? Nasal swab for eosinophils: normal
In order to determine the amount in which certain elements are contained in the human body, it is necessary to donate blood for its analysis. To calculate the number of eosinophils, sputum can be taken for analysis. It is located in the nasopharynx of the patient. You can also find out a nasal swab for eosinophils.
There are standards for the norm of this type of white blood cells. For a healthy child, whose age has not reached 13 years, it is 0.5-7%. In an adult, a rate of 0.5 to 5% is considered the norm.
Deviations
When passing a nasal swab to eosinophils, remember that the results should be close to the minimum normal value. In the case when they are elevated, then, as a rule, this means that a person develops rhinitis or there is a runny nose of an allergic nature. The increase in eosinophils in this type of analysis suggests that the common cold is allergic in nature, and not infectious.
It is important to know that if a person is healthy, then eosinophils should not be present in the nasal mucosa. In this case, a smear from the nose on eosinophils should show the minimum value of these elements. But if the indicators exceed the norm, then this means that there is some kind of pathology in the human body.
In the case when the level of eosinophils is exceeded in large quantities, then this is a clear sign of a respiratory allergy at an advanced level of the disease. Also, such changes indicate that bronchial asthma occurs in the human body.
In addition, this type of analysis can diagnose the presence of roundworms in the body.
What diseases can be diagnosed if eosinophils are elevated?
A nasal swab may indicate that the values are too high. What does it mean? This phenomenon in medicine is called eosinophilia. The body in this condition may be at the stage of development of the following diseases:
- Allergy. As a rule, in this case, the skin and respiratory tract are susceptible to it. If the allergy is not treated and passes into a neglected form, then eosinophils spread to the lungs and complicate their work.
- Periarteritis nodular type. This disease is characterized by the fact that the muscular arteries of the human body die. This disease is more likely to affect middle-aged men. Symptoms such as abdominal pain, skin rash, fever, kidney pathology, weight loss, pain in the joints begin to bother them.
- Leukemia can be diagnosed in children in the form of myeloid leukemia. This disease is characterized by the fact that the patient has heart failure. This is due to the fact that the heart valves are affected. If this disease is suspected, a nasal swab (eosinophil) is taken in children.
- The presence of parasites affects the increase in eosinophils. Since their main task is to fight against extraneous elements that appear in the human body.
In addition to the above pathologies, the level of eosinophils in the human body can be affected by taking medications, or an infection. Other types of research may be needed to accurately diagnose the disease.
Conclusion
Now you know what a nasal swab is for eosinophils, why is it done. The article also indicates the norm of this indicator, and describes what a deviation from the norm means.