Each person at least once in his life passed tests and then diligently tried to understand what incomprehensible numbers and words mean, how serious this is for the state of his body. Let's try to decipher some of them together, for example, if white blood cells are elevated, neutrophils are decreased.
At the very beginning, it is worth understanding what it is - a neutrophil, a white blood cell, what function they perform, what they affect and what they testify to. Indeed, without basic knowledge about the types of certain blood cells, it is difficult to understand what threatens our health if lymphocytes are elevated, neutrophils are lowered, and why such processes occur in the blood.
So, white blood cells are white or colorless blood cells that have an irregular or rounded shape. In the human body, they are a kind of barrier to the development of infectious inflammatory processes. The fact is that these cells contain special enzymes that are capable of absorbing microorganisms, destroying the decay products that inevitably form in the process of life, as well as protein substances of foreign origin.
Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cells that protects human immunity. They recognize and destroy pathogens of various kinds of infectious diseases, tumor cells and fungi. Lymphocytes enter the blood from the bone marrow, where they, in fact, are formed.
Neutrophils are also a type of white blood cell. Most of them are in the blood for only a couple of hours, after which neutrophils penetrate the organs and tissues to the foci of infection (injuries, burns, wounds, etc.) for a targeted fight. Mature neutrophils are called segmented.
From the foregoing, it becomes clear that when lymphocytes are increased, neutrophils are reduced, each type of blood cell fights infections equally, but at the same time it has its own characteristics. Now let's talk in more detail about the relationship between leukocyte, lymphocyte and neutrophil counts.
If the test results show that lymphocytes are elevated, neutrophils are lowered, this usually indicates the presence of an inflammatory process or a viral disease in the body. Depending on what was examined (urine, blood, smear, etc.), you can judge the possible focus of infection. As a rule, an increase in lymphocytes is characteristic of viral infections, tuberculosis, thyroid problems, acute and chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphosarcoma. A decrease in the level of neutrophils also occurs due to the defeat of viral infections, severe forms of inflammatory processes, side effects of a number of drugs, treatment with radiation therapy, etc. Thus, if it is determined that the lymphocytes are elevated, neutrophils are decreased, it is worth immediately contacting a specialist to identify the causes and focus of the disease.
Another variant of the test result: when the neutrophils are segmented , the lymphocytes are elevated, this indicates an already experienced viral disease, for example, acute respiratory viral infection. As a rule, such changes in the blood test are temporary, and gradually the indicators return to normal. In general, a decrease in the level of segmented neutrophils occurs due to treatment with cytostatics, exposure to ionizing radiation, aplastic anemia and immune agranulocytosis - the death of neutrophils in the bone marrow and blood, i.e. at the stage of their inception. However, in combination with elevated lymphocytes, it suggests that the infection is "waning."
It is also possible that the white blood cells are elevated and the lymphocytes are decreased. A decrease in lymphocytes is called lymphopenia. This happens mainly due to renal failure, the development of acute infections, miliary tuberculosis, the terminal stage of cancer, radiotherapy, etc. An increased level of leukocytes is possible with infectious and non-infectious diseases, the development of malignant tumors, leukemia, due to injuries, etc. A number of physiological reasons can also contribute to this, for example, stress, overload, premenstrual period, etc. Thus, an increase in white blood cells in combination with a decrease in lymphocytes can signal the presence of infection in the body, as well as the possible development of a tumor.