Questions About Blood Count

1. Is there anything I can take to boost my white blood count?

   Question - Yes. Prescription-strength folate supplements can help bump up a low white blood cell count, especially if these supplements weren’t being taken before discontinuing the methotrexate medication. Methotrexate is a good treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, but as you now know, it can cause low blood cocounts in a small number of people...
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2. What could be causing a low white-blood, red-blood, and low-platelet counts in a former cancer patient?

   Question - Low red blood cell counts and low platelet counts are side effects of chemotherapy because the chemotherapy drugs kill off the fast-growing bone marrow cells that boost red and white blood cell counts.
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3. How careful of germs do we need to be when my father's white blood count is low?

   Question - This is a case where you've got to balance health needs with quality of life. Yes, it's important to be careful about infection, so if visitors have colds or coughs, you should definitely have them stay away. But in general, we encourage patients and caregivers not to let fear of infection drive them to live in a bubble...
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4. What type of food can I use to build up a low blood count?

   Question - A low white blood cell count can indicate a variety of conditions, some of them serious. Before you start a program to try to up these numbers, consult with your doctor to rule out viral infections, cancer and autoimmune disorders. Once you've established that no serious problems are present, you can start making changes on your own to improve things...
   1 Expert Answer, 3 Community Answers

5. What could a low white blood cell count and hair loss mean?

   Question - My white blood cell count is low and has been for awhile. I'm also losing more hair than normal. What could these symptoms, a low white blood cell count and hair loss, indicate and do I need to talk to a doctor immedately?

6. What are causes of low blood count, red and white?

   Question - Signs of both a low white and red blood cell count include cancers (like leukemia), hyperthyroidism, bone marrow disorders, aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, severe infections, or medication side effects. If both counts are low, you should be seen by a hematologist to find out what is going on to make your numbers low...
   1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

7. Are pets a danger to someone with low blood counts?

   Question - Hi:In trying to figure out if pets can be a danger to your son’s low blood count it is best to contact his treating doctor with that exact question. Every case of low blood count is individual and the treating physicians will have the right answer for your specific ca...
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

8. Is polycythemia vera ruba blood cancer?

   Question - Polycythemia vera ruba is not cancer, but rather a blood disease. It may have a genetic cause, but medical research is still looking into this. Basically, the bone marrow is overstimulated, and produces too many red blood cells. Sometimes people with this disease can have double the amount of red blood cells that are normal...
   1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

9. What is a normal blood count?

   Question - It sounds like the number you are talking about is the hemoglobin, which is a measure of a protein that is found in red blood cells. If his number is 7, that is low, and it sounds like he may be at the level of needing a blood transfusion.
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10. What are some home treatments for hemoglobin deficiency?

    Question - Reading your question, I have never heard of a "hemoglobin deficiency". I am wondering if you meant that your hemoglobin was low, and you took that to mean you were "deficient". Hemoglobin is a substance in your red blood cells that carries oxygen around your body...
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11. Will vitamins help boost a low white blood count?

    Question - Folate and vitamin B12 are the two vitamins that are most important for making blood cells, including white blood cells. Whether taking these vitamins helps your husband's white count would depend on whether he was low on these vitamins to begin with. Usually a lack of folate and/or vitamin B12 causes a low red blood cell count as well...
    1 Expert Answer, 1 Community Answer

12. Can the chemicals injected for a PET scan result in low white blood count readings?

    Question - Highly unlikely. Here's why: Positron emission tomography, more commonly known as a PET scan, is a type of radiology that uses very small amounts of radioactive material, called radiotracer, to find certain kinds of abnormalities in the body...
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13. What causes a high red blood cell count?

    Question - There are many disorders that cause elevated red blood cell (RBC) counts. RBCs are made in your bone marrow. A hormone called erythropoietin, made by the kidney, stimulates the production of them. So, here is a list of many of the conditions that can increase RBCs:
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14. What can I do with my diet to increase my red blood count?

    Question - Anemia is very common problem, and can have numerous causes. These include lack of iron, or genetics. Anemia can range from mild to severe.
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15. Is there any way to raise a white blood cell count?

    Question - Is there any way to raise a white blood cell count?

16. What foods can help improve low white blood cell count?

    Question - What foods can help improve low white blood cell count?
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17. What causes a low white blood cell count?

    Question - A low white blood count (below 4000) could have many causes. The most common would be medication side effects (like chemotherapy), heavy metal exposure, infections, bone marrow disorders, or an immune system disorder.
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18. Are there white blood cells supplements to rejuvenate blood counts during chemo?

    Question - A very common side effect of chemotherapy is low white blood cell counts. This happens because the chemotherapy drugs kill the cells in the bone marrow that produce new white blood cells. There are drugs called Neulasta and Neupogen that are very effective in boosting white blood cell production; has your doctor been prescribing these...
    1 Expert Answer, 2 Community Answers

19. Can You Get Chemo With a Low White Blood Cell Count?

    Question - It is important to remember that chemotherapy's main goal is to kill cancer cells, but chemo drugs also kill off some healthy cells also (hair follicles, the cells lining the intestines, etc.) In order to be eligible for chemotherapy, you need to be healthy enough to survive the drug...
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20. Where can you get cancer chemo bracelets to help with nausea?

    Question - The drugs used for chemotherapy work by killing all fast-growing cells throughout the body, which means they damage the bone marrow cells that generate new white (and red) blood cells. You can read more about how chemotherapy affects your white cell count here...
    2 Expert Answers, 1 Community Answer

21. Could this be a reocurrence of the cancer?

    Question - Your most important action, if you are concerned that your mother's breast cancer has returned, is to make an appointment to see her oncologist and explain the symptoms. It would be unusual to have the cancer return this fast if your doctors felt that chemotherapy was not needed such a short time ago, but nevertheless it is possible...
    1 Expert Answer, 5 Community Answers

22. Is one of the side effects of chemo a tendency to fall down?

    Question - Chemotherapy can cause a number of side effects that can afffect your balance and movement and lead you to fall down more frequently. One of the most common side effects of many chemo drugs is central and peripheral neuropathy (injury to the nerves from chemotherapy that interferes with their normal function)...
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