Haematology - interpretation
From DoctorMyhill
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Haematology - this looks at the red and white blood cells together with platelets (responsible for clotting) and signs of inflammation. See Full blood count
Red blood cells
Haemoglobin - measures the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
- A low count means anaemia - see Anaemia - not enough blood - symptoms and diagnosis of. Low normal could mean anaemia for some!
- High haemoglobin could be carbon monoxide poisoning. The commonest cause is smoking. But also think of polycythaemia Wikipedia:Polycythaemia
- Mean corpuscular volume - the size of the red cells. Too low points to mineral deficiency, most often iron. Start by checking Ferritin levels in serum. A common cause of mineral deficiency is hypochlorrhydria, see Heartburn - at last I have sussed out why this is such a common problem!. Also see Anaemia - not enough blood - symptoms and diagnosis of as a low MCV may be an early warning sign of anaemia.
Too high an MCV points to Hypothyroidism B12 deficiency or folic acid deficiency or drinking too much alcohol!
White blood cells
The normal distribution of white blood cells is negatively skewed, so most people run levels towards the bottom end of the normal range. This is because stress will cause a white cell count to spike high. Any stress can do this including infectious stress such as an infection or any inflammation. What I commonly see are low white cell counts, especially in chronic fatigue syndrome, and this result has often been ignored.
- Low or low normal white cell count – can be a sign of poor immune function which most commonly is secondary to nutritional deficiencies, such as low zinc, low magnesium, low B vitamins, low essential fatty acids.
- High neutrophil count points to bacterial infection, or stress response.
- High lymphocyte count points to viral infection. Atypical lymphocytes often seen in glandular fever.
- High eosinophils or basophils can point to allergy or a parasitic infection
- High monocytes in inflammation or stress. Often high in glandular fever or "mono" as it is known in the USA!
Platelets
Low or low normal platelet count – can be a sign of toxic stress
ESR, plasma viscosity, C reactive protein
Raised levels of any of these point to inflammation in the blood. These tests do not tell us why there is inflammation - this needs investigating as a separate issue. See Inflammation. But just because these tests are normal does not mean there is no inflammation in the body! We often see high Cell free DNA results showing tissue damage, but no other signs of inflammation.
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