What Happens When High Lymphocyte Levels?

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Lymphocytes are one type of white blood cells that play an important role in the immune system. These white blood cells can help your body fight bacteria, viruses, and other poisons that make you sick. If your lymphocyte levels are high, it could be a sign that your body's immune system is weak and you may be suffering from an illness.

What are lymphocytes?

Lymphocytes are a type of white blood cell made in the bone marrow. This type of white blood cell can be found in blood and lymph tissue.

These white blood cells work to maintain immunity against foreign substances, such as bacteria, viruses, and even cancer cells. Normal levels of white blood cells indicate that your health is fine. However, if the levels of white blood cells, especially lymphocytes are high, this indicates that you are infected with a virus or even have certain diseases.

Types and functions of lymphocytes

There are two types of lymphocyte blood cells, usually referred to as B cells and T cells. Both of these cell types originate from stem cells in the bone marrow. From there, several cells walked towards thymus. The cell is walking towards thymus called T cells, while those that remain in the bone marrow are called cells B.

The function of B cells is to make antibodies in the form of proteins produced by the immune system to fight foreign substances known as antigens.Each B cell is set up to make one specific antibody which, if met with an inappropriate antigen, such as a virus or bacterium, B cell will destroy the antigen.

Meanwhile, the task of T cells is to help the body kill cancer cells and control the immune response to foreign substances. T cells kill cancer cells and control the immune response to foreign substances by destroying body cells that have been taken over by viruses or body cells that have become cancerous.

Besides these two types of lymphocyte cells, there is still one more type. These third cell lymphocytes are known as natural killers or NK cells. These cells come from the same place as B and T cells. NK cells respond to some foreign substances quickly and specialize in killing cancer cells and other cells that have been infected with the virus.

What happens when lymphocyte levels are high?

Lymphocytosis is a condition in which lymphocyte levels in the blood become high. Normally, normal adult lymphocytes are 3,000 in microliters of blood. Whereas in children, the numbers vary depending on their age. Usually, the normal number of lymphocytes in children is 9,000 lymphocytes per microliter. The normal dose of white blood cells generally has different benchmarks in each laboratory.

High lymphocyte levels generally indicate that there is a problem with your immune system. Usually this condition is found in people who have blood cancer or chronic infections. Your doctor may need to do another test to determine and find out what's happening with your immune system,

Some of the causes of this type of white blood cells become high include:

Infections caused by bacteria or viruses
Cancer of the blood or lymphatic system
Autoimmune disorders that cause advanced inflammation (chronic)

Other causes are:

Acute lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
HIV / AIDS
Mononucleosis
Other viral infections
Tuberculosis
Vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels)
Whooping cough

Read the results of T cell and B cell tests

At the time of doing screening or lymphocyte test, it will be seen how many T cells and B cells in the blood. The results can show the number of normal cells or the number of abnormal cells. If many abnormal cells are found, it may indicate symptoms of the disease. In this case, the doctor will likely ask for another test to ensure a diagnosis of blood-related diseases and your immune immunity.

If the number of T cells is above the normal range, it is possible to show one of the following conditions:

Sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis
Viral infections such as mononucleosis infection
Infections caused by parasites, such as toxoplasmosis
Tuberculosis, a disease that affects the lungs and other organs
Cancer of white blood cells
Cancer of blood from the bone marrow

If the number of cells B is above the normal range, it is possible to show one of the following conditions:

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Multiple myeloma
A genetic disease known as DiGeorge syndrome
A type of cancer called Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia

If the number of T cells is below the normal range, it is possible to show one of the following conditions:

Congenital disease
Acquired T-cell deficiency, such as HIV, can develop into AIDS or HTLV-1
Cancer

If the number of B cells is below the normal range, it is possible to show one of the following conditions:

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
HIV or other diseases that weaken the immune system

A diet that you can do if lymphocytes are high

To deal with high lymphocyte levels, most doctors will treat according to the disease you are experiencing. If you experience symptoms of viral and bacterial infections, doctors will generally give antibiotics. When you get cancer, most doctors will give medication and chemotherapy.

Dietary antioxidants

People affected by blood cancer generally need a diet that contains antioxidants. That is why, besides undergoing regular treatment, antioxidant diets are also recommended for cancer patients. People who get blood cancer generally need foods that are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants help eradicate free radicals. Free radicals are molecule which can cause damage to your body.

Foods high in antioxidants are also able to help prevent and inhibit the growth of cancer cells. You can get antioxidants through fruits and vegetables. Some fruits and vegetables that are rich in antioxidants include avocados, green vegetables, carrots, raspberry, citrus fruits, grapes, kale, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Other foods that can help fight cancer include foods made from soybeans, sweet potatoes, nuts, flaxseed, and spices like rosemary, garlic, and turmeric.

Anti-inflammatory diet

When diagnosed with inflammation in the body due to high white blood cell levels, chances are the doctor will recommend an anti-inflammatory diet.

An anti-inflammatory diet is done by eating foods that can help reduce inflammation. There are several foods that reduce inflammation, one of which is omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, which are found in fatty fish oil, can help reduce inflammation in your body.

In addition, drinking or cooking using olive oil can also help reduce inflammation. Olive oil contains a type of antioxidant called polyphenols, which helps reduce or prevent inflammation.As long as you want to cure inflammation in your body, avoid foods that are high in saturated fat or trans fat. You also have to avoid sugar and other sweet foods because they can make inflammation worse.

What Happens When High Lymphocyte Levels?

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