Eosinophils are cells that are contained in the blood. They perform a protective function and are part of the leukocyte formula. In some cases, a blood test can show that the eosinophil count is not normal. What does this mean and what does it depend on?
Norm of eosinophil content
Eosinophils are non-dividing granulocytes. They are formed from the stem cell of the bone marrow for 3-4 days. Releasing, eosinophils freely circulate in the blood, then they move into the skin, the GI tract, or the lungs. The duration of their life is 10-14 days. It is very important that the content of eosinophils in women and men is normal, since the full-fledged activity of the organism depends on this. In particular, they destroy helminths and absorb foreign cells or particles.
To see whether the content of eosinophils is normal, they make a general blood test. The normal reading is between 0.5 and 5%. In order to know the number of eosinophils, blood must be taken early in the morning. It is advisable before this not to do heavy physical exercises and not to eat any food. It is not recommended to donate blood for laboratory tests:
- with nervous tension;
- during menstruation;
- under stress.
Also, is it normal to determine eosinophils by passing a smear from the nose. Most often, such a study is conducted if there is a suspicion of an increase in the content of these cells, since their concentration in sputum and mucus from the nasopharynx should be minimal. In addition, this analysis almost never shows false results, and you can surrender it under any circumstances.
Decrease of eosinophils in the blood
The condition, when the amount of eosinophils in the blood is lower than normal, is called eosinopenia. Their decrease suggests that there was a decrease in the body's resistance to environmental factors. Basically, eosinopenia is observed in some infectious diseases:
- sepsis;
- dysentery;
- typhoid fever;
- diphtheria;
- peritonitis ;
- pneumonia.
Acute inflammatory processes can be accompanied by complete disappearance of eosinophils in the blood. Also this state can be:
- after a strong physical strain;
- during treatment with corticosteroids (eg, Cortisone or Prednisone);
- with irritation of the adrenal cortex;
- after surgery or injury;
- with irritation of the nervous system.
In addition, the number of eosinophils falls below the norm with intoxication of exogenous and endogenous origin (for example, in acute hemolysis, porphyria, uremic or diabetic coma), during chills, seizures or severe cramping pains of various types.
Increased eosinophilia in the blood
If the amount of eosinophils in the blood or in the nasal mucosa is higher than normal, this is eosinophilia. This condition is observed in diseases that are accompanied by allergic processes. Among them:
- bronchial asthma;
- serum sickness;
- hives;
- hay fever or angioedema.
Also, eosinophilia occurs in diseases caused by parasites. It:
- trichinosis ;
- giardiasis;
- echinococcosis;
- diphyllobothriasis;
- malaria.
The number of eosinophils above the norm may indicate:
- connective tissue diseases;
- systemic vasculitis (rheumatoid arthritis, nodular periarteritis, systemic lupus erythematosus);
- skin diseases (eczema, dermatitis, cutaneous pustules, pemphigus);
- blood diseases (erythremia, lymphogranulomatosis, chronic myelogenous leukemia).
To normalize the number of eosinophils, it is necessary to identify the cause, which caused a decrease or increase in their level. For this you need to undergo a comprehensive examination.