WBC or White Blood Cells are present in the body to fight against various infections. These infections can be viruses, bacteria, or any kind of germs that infect the body’s immune system. White Blood Cells (WBC) keeps away these germs at bay and keep the immune system of the body healthy. Also known as leukocytes, it is important to keep the normal WBC count.

A WBC count helps us to understand the number of white blood cells in the blood. This count tells us about whether you are vulnerable to infections. One can also get to know about any undiagnosed medical condition by getting to know the WBC count. It is always advisable to get the body checked.

What is the WBC count test?
The WBC count test measures the total number of white blood cells in the body, which gives an idea of the immune system of the body. So, if you want to get a WBC count test, you can opt to go for the complete blood count (CBC) test. It should be known here that the white blood cells count in our body gives us the sign of how healthy are we. Also, a slight change from the normal WBC count is a symptom of alert.

What is a normal WBC count range?
The normal WBC count ranges between 3,500 and 10,500. This is counted as the number of white blood cells per microliter of blood. It should be noted that the babies are born with much higher white blood cells count than the normal WBC count. But, over the period of time, this number evens out.

So, whenever you get a CBC test done, you will get the WBC count as well, which may or may not be as per the normal WBC count. In case, a higher or lower number of WBC count is a sign of any of the underlying health condition. In such a situation, it is highly advisable to consult the doctor immediately. Also, keeping track of the WBC count can give a fair idea about any of the underlying condition.

Understanding WBC count
A simple way to understand WBC count is by looking at the cell count. A mere high or lesser number of WBC cells as compared to the normal WBC count can point to any kind of medical condition or a a blood disorder.

To figure out the underlying condition, the doctor will take into account several factors such as medical history, symptoms, to name a few.

When the potassium level is too high in blood, it causes the condition of hyperkalemia. Though there are many benefits of potassium in our bodies, too much of potassium can cause trouble. Potassium is an essential mineral that your cells, tissues and organs require. For skeletal and smooth muscle contraction, potassium is highly important. It is also an important mineral for your heart. The opposite of hyperkalemia is hypokalemia. This is the condition of low potassium level in the blood, which isn’t a healthy condition either. It causes weakness and your cellular processes are affected.

Right amount of potassium in blood:
To keep yourself healthy, right amount of potassium is needed. The amount of potassium required by everybody is not the same. There is no RDI (reference daily intake) for potassium, but to make sure level of potassium isn’t too high or low, there should be an intake of 3,500 mg per day by the means of food.

Ways to bring down your high potassium level:
Food is one of the major sources of potassium. If the level of potassium is too high in your body, then the first thing you can and should do is cut down on foods that are high in potassium. You can avoid foods like apples, potatoes, milk, spinach and bananas for cutting down or preventing the level of potassium in your blood that has gone high.

If you reduce salt substitute in your food, your chances of high potassium will come down. Salt substitute does not only increase the level of potassium in your blood, but also causes other health problems and is in general dangerous for your body. You can replace salt substitute with herbs and spices so you get only enough salt and potassium and nothing in excess.
You can use herbs to treat this condition of hyperkalemia but under the supervision of a medical professional. You can take 150 mg of licorice each day as that helps potassium levels in your blood. However, you must not take licorice if you have high blood pressure.

When your kidneys fail or don’t perform properly, it leads to level of potassium being too high in the blood. For this reason, you should treat your kidneys. You can take help of acupuncture and massage to stimulate your kidneys’ functioning. Marshmallow and cranberry are great for killing unwanted bacteria in the kidneys and that helps with better and improved functioning of kidneys.

Drink plenty of water and eat a very healthy and balanced diet with regular exercising to get your body back on track without any diseases and without having the levels of potassium too high in your body.

Enlarged spleen causes several complications including infections, blood diseases, liver problems, issues with the lymph system, and the like. Enlarge spleen symptoms are usually treated according to the severity of the condition. While limiting movement can help curb enlarged spleen symptoms for some, people with drastic enlargement may have to resort to surgery. Apart from vaccines, medications, and surgeries, several natural methods can help ease enlarged spleen symptoms. Some of the commonly used remedies effective to sooth enlarged spleen symptoms have been listed below.

Incorporate dietary changes
One of the primary cures of enlarged spleen symptoms includes maintaining a well-balanced diet. If you experience loss of appetite, you can choose to eat softer foods that can be easily chewed and digested. People with enlarged spleen symptoms should immediately stop overeating and avoid eating foods that are hard on the stomach. Avoid foods rich in protein and fats and include a diet that is rich in fiber. People who have enlarged spleen symptoms should surely avoid dairy products, soy, sugar, refined oil, processed foods, and the like.

Keep yourself hydrated
Since enlargement of the spleen can lead to indigestion and other digestion related issues, it is important that you increase your daily intake of water to enable your spleen to function well and sooth enlarged spleen symptoms more quickly. Most doctors recommend drinking at least 10 glasses of water throughout the day.

Exercise
To prevent enlarged spleen symptoms, it is important that you stay physically active and keep your blood circulating. Regular exercising helps increase blood flow to the digestive tract. Apart from exercise, therapies like infrared saunas, massages, and foam rolling can help support the lymphatic system to detox and get recovered.

Try having onion cooked water
Drinking onion boiled water thrice a day with some olive oil is known to soothe enlarged spleen symptoms gradually. This concoction is an excellent remedy that helps decrease levels of blood lipids, removes toxins, and helps protect the heart.

Increase the intake of nutrient-rich foods
Many vitamin and mineral rich foods help sooth enlarged spleen symptoms. Blackstrap molasses, capsicum, ginger, and the like are some of the items that help manage enlarged spleen symptoms and prevents people against spleen related issues. Foods rich in vitamin C also helps reduce the risk of spleen disorders. Since the nutrient is a natural antioxidant, it boosts immunity and helps fight against spleen disorders.

A fist-sized organ, the spleen is known as the guardian of the lymph system that protects the body against a whole lot of infections, viruses, bacteria, dead tissues, foreign matter, and harmful pathogens. The major functions of the spleen include producing antibodies, keeping the blood clean, transporting and balancing fluid levels, and maintaining blood platelets. The spleen is known to be located in the upper left area of the abdomen right under the rib cage. Often, some underlying diseases cause the spleen to get enlarged.

When the spleen is overactive, the condition can often cause it to get enlarged. While enlarged spleen may not always be a sign of a problem, when the spleen dramatically grows in size it may cause a lot of pain and discomfort. Splenomegaly is the condition when the spleen gets swollen and struggles hard to fight against the threats.

Enlarged spleen symptoms may vary according to every individual. Often the symptoms are minimal or non-existent and can be diagnosed only during a physical examination. While the average weight of the spleen varies with age, sex, and body weight of every individual. Therefore, the spleen can be diagnosed as enlarged only if it is not normal according to someone’s age or body type. Some of the commonly occurring enlarged spleen symptoms have been listed below.

Indigestion
One of the most prominent enlarged spleen symptoms includes a general feeling of discomfort while eating a large meal. The cause of frequent indigestion could, therefore, be because of an enlarged spleen. An extreme case of an enlarged spleen may increase the risk of a rupture. Usually, when the spleen is unable to function properly, the body becomes vulnerable to toxins.

Pain
Soreness, tenderness, or pain around the spleen or on the area around the upper left side of the abdomen is a common symptom of an enlarged spleen. Often enlarged spleen symptoms also include a radiating pain from the abdomen to the left shoulder. Many people who have enlarged spleen experience pain while breathing deeply or moving around.

Extreme fatigue
One of the most common enlarged spleen symptoms includes vulnerability to illnesses and a general feeling of extreme fatigue. People with abnormal spleen sizes often experience chronic fatigue and constantly low energy levels.

Other enlarged spleen symptoms
In some cases, people with enlarged spleen experience symptoms of jaundice, anemia, sinus, respiratory infections, sinus infections, urinary tract issues, ear infections, and the like. Many people may experience inexplicable weight loss, bleeding, bruising, and the like.

Hemolytic disease is one of the blood disorders that is found in newborns, or in a fetus. In some cases the disease can be life threatening.

The normal timeline of RBC (red blood cells) is of 120 days. In case of hemolytic disease, the red blood cells are destroyed earlier than 120 days.

Causes of hemolytic disease

Red blood cells can cross from the fetus into the mother’s blood during pregnancy with the help of placenta. This blood disorder occurs when the mother’s immune system sees the fetus’s blood cells as foreign agents, and develops antibodies against it. The antibodies attack the fetus’s red blood cells killing them too early.

The condition of hemolytic disease develops when the mother and the fetus (the unborn baby) have different blood group. The blood group is based on small molecules that are placed on the surface of the red blood cells.

There are 4 types of blood groups A, B, AB, and O. The most common mismatches might occur between these 4 blood groups, and they are not severe. The condition turns into a Hemolytic disease, when the Rh factor of the mother and the unborn baby are different. For instance, when the blood group of the mother is A positive and that of the unborn baby is B negative.

Signs and Symptoms
The symptoms of this blood disorder include:

• Swelling under the surface of the skin, this is medically termed as Edema.
• Jaundice, that occurs sooner than usual and is more severe than is usually observed.
• Low blood count (Anemia)
• Enlarged liver or spleen
• Deposition of fluids in spaces containing heart, lungs, and abdominal body. This condition is called as Hydrops which can lead to heart or respiratory failure.

Treatment and prevention
Infants suffering from this type of blood disorders can be treated with:

• Being fed more often and receive more fluids
• Phototherapy, or light therapy which uses blue lights that converts bilirubin that the baby’s body can get rid of
• Administering antibodies that can protect the baby’s red blood cells from getting destroyed
• Medications (prescribed by the doctor) to keep the blood pressure of the baby, normal
• In severe cases, blood transfusion may be required. Blood transfusion is a process in which large amount of blood is removed along with bilirubin and antibodies and is infused with fresh donor blood.
• The pregnant mother can be tested for Rh compatibility. If it turns out to be different from that of the baby, talk to your health care provider who will guide you with various prevention options for the same.

Canine blood disorders are classified into two forms genetic (or co genetic) while other is acquired through some pathological factors such as viruses, tumors, bacteria etc.

Just like humans, canine blood also has many parts like blood cells, plasma and platelets. Deficiency or defect in any of these can lead to a form of blood disorder, which can be life threatening in some ways.

Following are some disorders that you should be aware of :

Anemia
One of the common blood disorder, anemia occurs due to reduced blood circulation in a part or the whole body. There are different causes of anemia. It could be due to parasitic infestation or due to excessive bleeding. Based on these conditions there are 2 types of anemia regenerative and non-regenerative anemia. The former is caused due to excessive bleeding due to massive destruction of blood tissues. This condition can be recovered through medications and even blood transfusions. Non-regenerative anemia results in permanent defect in the blood. It is either caused by severe damage of blood cells or due to factors like cancer, defects in bone marrow. This defect is usually seen in spaniels and can be very expensive to treat.

Coagulation disorder
this type of blood disorder is usually seen in puppies. The coagulation defect occurs due to deficiency of different coagulating factors such as abnormal thrombin, post partum hemorrhage. Puppies born with this type of disorder might die soon after birth or might suffer with lifelong anemia. There are some viral, bacterial toxins, and other factors such as heat strokes and tumors that can cause a vascular disorder resulting in a coagulation disorder.

Platelet Disorder
Also called as “canine thrombocytopenia” , it is a type of blood disorder in which the body fails to produce sufficient amount of thrombocytes or platelets. It is caused by Ehrlichial disease. This disease occurs due to infection of ehrlichial canis (ticks). It also occurs due to side effects of some medications like sulfanomides or estrogen.

Leukopenia
Leukopenia is the condition where there is increased count of white blood cells. This condition is seen during several viral or bacterial infections. Thus is usually a trigger response to the infection. Leukocytosis is the condition in which there is a massive reduction in WBC in canine blood. This is also a result of viral or bacterial that the canine might be suffering from.

It is very important to consult a vet right away if you happen to observe signs such as prolonged bleeding, pale gums, progressive weakness, blood in stool. The vet will diagnose the condition and provide the required treatment for the condition.

The main function of platelets is to prevent bleeding and maintain the red blood cells count by clotting the blood in case of wound or injury to the body. The normal platelet per microliter is between 150,000 to 350,000. Because platelets are a very tiny, they make up a very small fraction in the blood volume.

Before head on to find out about low blood platelet causes, let us get to know some symptoms of the same:

Also called as thrombocytopenia, the signs of low platelets count might include:

• Easy or excessive bruising, which is medically termed as purpura
• Cuts and wounds that would take longer time to heal
• Blood in urine or stools
• Fatigue
• Enlarged spleen
• Heavy menstrual flows
• Bleeding gums or nose

Let us look at some of the common causes of low platelets count.

• Low platelet count causes due to Medication and substances:
  Low platelet counts can be caused due to certain medicines, consuming poisonous substances, heavy alcohol drinking. It can also be caused due to drinks that contain quinine as an ingredient (tonic water for instance). The substance quinine is also found in (over-the-counter) tablets that one consumes to get relief from leg cramps. Poison that cause low platelets count include pesticides, arsenic, benzene etc. Some anti clogging medications that causes low platelets include heparin, eptifibatide, tirofiban and other glycoprotein. Prescription less drugs such as acetaminophen, ibuprofen, naproxen etc. Other seizure preventing medications and sulfonamides can also cause low platelets count.

• Low platelet count causes due to medical conditions:
  There are a range of medical conditions that can cause low platelets counts. These medical conditions can be divided into 2 broad types that is, reduced production of platelets, and raised breakdown of platelets. Platelets might get trapped in great numbers by an organ called spleen, and is not secreted in the blood. This happens when the spleen is bigger than usual. This condition has its own range of medical reasons. The medical condition that causes bone marrow to produce less platelets include:

• Leukemia and other form of cancers affect the bone marrow directly, hence lesser platelets are made. These conditions are one of the major low platelets count causes.
• Some types of blood conditions called as anemia can also decrease the platelets count.
• Severe viral infections like Hepatitis C and HIV has one lower platelets counts as one of their repercussions.
• Pregnancy also destroys a small number of platelets. The condition is usually mild and does not need any treatment and returns to normalcy post pregnancy.