What causes high white blood cell count?
Disease description:
Recently, I fell ill and went to the hospital for a checkup, where it was found that my white blood cell count was high. May I ask what could be the cause of this?
Doctor's answer (1)
Dr. Liu Feng
Elevated white blood cell count may be caused by various factors, mainly including:
1. **Infection**: When the body is infected by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, or fungi, white blood cell count increases in response to the infection, as seen in conditions like pneumonia and tonsillitis.
2. **Inflammation**: During inflammatory responses in the body, white blood cell count may also rise to combat infection and tissue damage, such as in arthritis and gastroenteritis.
3. **Stress response**: Physical stress, such as surgery, trauma, or burns, may also lead to elevated white blood cell levels.
4. **Medication effects**: Certain medications, such as glucocorticoids and antibiotics, may stimulate the bone marrow to produce more white blood cells, resulting in an increased white blood cell count.
5. **Disease-related factors**: Conditions such as leukemia and autoimmune diseases (e.g., rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus) may also cause abnormal increases in white blood cell count.
