High ESR with normal white blood cells can be considered normal or pathological. ESR - erythrocyte sedimentation rate. This indicator is determined as part of a blood test. If it is normal, this indicates that there are no inflammatory reactions in the human body. As part of the diagnosis, a leukocyte count with a reactive protein should also be taken into account. The ESR is also influenced by the quantitative and qualitative erythrocyte composition.
Decryption analysis
Why is there a high ESR with normal white blood cells, we learn below. In the meantime, find out what is the norm.
The normal ESR indicator most depends on gender, and in addition, on the person’s age, but in any case, the readings are in fairly narrow ranges. You need to know about the following features:
- Healthy newborns have an ESR of 1 to 2 millimeters per hour. Other values are possible in individual cases. This is directly related to a protein change, as well as an increased blood cholesterol and acidity. Upon reaching six months of age, this value in children rises to 17 millimeters per hour.
- Older children have an indicator of 1 to 8 millimeters per hour.
- In men, ESR is kept within 10 millimeters per hour.
- In women, the normal rate is slightly higher than in men, and reaches 15 millimeters per hour. This is due to the presence in the female body of a certain number of androgens. It is important to know that this indicator rises during pregnancy and grows, as a rule, before the end of the term, reaching a peak at the time of delivery of 55 millimeters per hour. The indicator returns to normal about a month after birth. An increase in ESR in this case is explained by a change in the qualitative composition of the blood.
Knowledge of the ESR indicator allows you to determine the presence of various diseases and to prevent their development in time along with the appearance of complications.
So, why does high ESR occur with normal white blood cells?
The main reasons for the increase
An increased ESR does not always indicate the presence of pathology. The following situations exist, against which the overestimated boundaries of this indicator are the norm:
- The presence of individual features of the work of organs. Only a small fraction of the total number of patients has a high ESR. The reasons should be determined by the doctor.
- Certain medications and vitamins can affect sedimentation rate.
- Pregnant women are also subject to changes in this indicator (their ESR reaches 80 millimeters per hour).
- Deficiency of iron in the blood along with its poor absorption in the body. What are the other causes of high ESR in normal white blood cells?
- ESR can increase in boys between the ages of five and twelve years, even if they do not have any pathogenic factors.
- This indicator often rises as part of a change in the quantitative and qualitative composition of the blood.
But often a high ESR with normal white blood cells in a child and an adult reports that certain pathological processes occur in the body.
Common diseases
The most common diseases with elevated ESR include:
- Infectious lesions. Almost half of all reasons for increasing this indicator are associated with the occurrence of an infectious focus. In this case, the indicator can increase to 100 millimeters per hour and higher.
- Neoplasms of various kinds. A tumor is often detected precisely by the presence of high ESR in the blood in combination with a completely normal leukocyte composition. In children, a similar situation may also appear, but at the same time, this does not indicate a tumor.
- Poisoning the body with various toxins. Intoxication leads to increased ESR in the presence of normal white blood cells, which can cause blood thickening and leads to very rapid settling of particles. What else does high ESR mean?
- The presence of diseases that affect the genitourinary system. With such pathologies, the ESR value can range from up to 120 millimeters per hour.
- The presence of anisocytosis. This blood disease increases the ESR immediately several times.
- The patient has an impaired metabolism. This pathology can increase or decrease the indicator in question.
- The presence of pathologies of the endocrine system. Most of these diseases lead to an increase in this indicator. In this regard, when changing its boundaries, it is necessary to visit an endocrinologist. The causes of high ESR in the blood are important to establish.
- Disease of the cardiovascular system. After a heart attack or stroke, the ESR indicator increases markedly and can stay at this level for a long time. Often, this situation can be experienced by older people. They need to know their individual permissible ESR boundaries in order to avoid any unpleasant consequences.
- The presence of viscous blood. An increase in this indicator invariably leads to an acceleration of erythrocyte sedimentation. Blood viscosity, as a rule, increases with constipation, intoxication, infectious bowel disease, and so on.
- Against the background of dental diseases. Some diseases that affect the teeth can also cause an increase in ESR.
The need for additional examination
It is worth noting that a high level of ESR only suggests the presence of a disease, but never determines it. To do this, you need to see a doctor who will prescribe an additional study, and in addition, make a diagnosis, and then determine the further therapeutic course.
As treatment progresses, it is necessary to conduct several tests after certain time intervals, which will allow you to track how much the value has changed since it increased. Based on this information, a specialist can reduce or increase the dose, replace drugs if necessary, and carry out all the necessary medical manipulations.
High ESR in a child
In young children, the following causes may increase sedimentation rate:
- The effect of improper breastfeeding (in this case, red blood cells will settle much faster due to maternal neglect of the diet).
- The impact of parasitic lesions.
- Teething (such a process causes the child to rearrange the entire body, therefore, the sedimentation rate increases).
- Fear of the baby to donate blood.
Definition of the result
The level of erythrocyte sedimentation is currently determined in three different ways:
- The Westergren method involves the venous sampling of biomaterial, which is subsequently mixed with sodium citrate. After one hour, it is necessary to measure all settled red blood cells.
- As part of the Winthrop method, the blood is mixed with an anticoagulant, after which the biomaterial is placed in a test tube with divisions. But the tube may become clogged if the settling rate is more than 60 millimeters per hour (this, of course, makes it very difficult to establish the exact level of settling).
- The Panchenkov determination method involves blood sampling for examination from a finger. Next, the biomaterial is combined with sodium citrate.
All of the above counting methods are manual. Different methods are good in certain cases. The most accurate is often the methodology for calculating subsidence according to Westergren. With the development of medicine, ESR began to be calculated automatically, since this method completely eliminates the appearance of errors in the calculations.
Determination of ESR and subtlety of research
You also need to know that white blood cells play a very important role in the process of determining the sedimentation rate. Normal white blood cells in the presence of increased ESR may indicate residual effects after the disease. As for the lowered level of leukocytes, this indicates the viral sources of the disease, and the increased one indicates the presence of bacterial pathogens.
Reanalysis
In case of doubts about the correctness of the test and the calculation of the final results, you should seek a second blood test at any paid clinic. Currently, there is an alternative method for determining the sedimentation rate. This technique is used exclusively in paid clinics in connection with expensive equipment.
Today in medicine, determining the level of ESR plays a very important role in the treatment of various diseases, as it acts as an indirect or direct sign that indicates the presence of a certain pathology in the patient. An experienced doctor can easily recognize the disease with the help of additional diagnostic techniques and prescribe the necessary course of therapy.
Thus, a high ESR in the presence of a normal white blood cell count usually provokes a number of issues. Many people are concerned about this condition, since when the white blood cells increase, we are talking about some specific disease that develops in the body.
Inflammation and additional tests
At the same time, an increase in ESR can signal the start of some kind of inflammation, which leads to the need for additional analyzes, in this regard, it is important to know what exactly caused the increase in one blood element and the preservation of the norm of another. And in this situation, you can’t do without the help of a qualified doctor.
We examined what a high ESR in normal white blood cells means.