Does Lyme disease affect blood count?
Symptoms can include sudden high fever, fatigue, muscle aches, headache, and nausea. The disease can be mild or life-threatening. Severely ill patients can have low white blood cell count, low platelet count, anemia, elevated liver enzymes, kidney failure and respiratory insufficiency.
Does Lyme disease show up in routine blood work?
Blood testing alone, though, does not diagnose Lyme disease. It is one factor to be considered alongside symptoms and potential tick exposure. Some symptoms of Lyme disease, like joint pain, can be caused by many other health conditions.
What is the reason for high white blood cell count?
Causes of an elevated white blood cell count include infection, abnormalities in the bone marrow, smoking, chronic lung disease, immune disorders, inflammatory or allergic reactions or even physical and emotional stress.
What kind of infections can cause high white blood cells?
The following conditions can cause white blood cell counts to be high:
- Viral or bacterial infection.
- Inflammation.
- Excessive physical or emotional stress (such as fever, injury, or surgery)
- Burns.
- Immune system disorders such as lupus or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Thyroid problems.
Is having too much white blood cells bad?
Even with all of their disease-fighting power, having too many white blood cells can actually be a bad thing. For example, a person suffering from Leukemia, a cancer of the blood, may have as many as 50,000 white blood cells in a single drop of blood.
What diseases have low white blood cells?
A low white blood cell ( WBC ) count, known as leukopenia, can be caused by diseases such as leukemia, cancer, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and some medications, according to the Mayo Clinic.
What are the symptoms of elevated white blood cells?
People who are suffering from elevated white blood cells may also end up suffering from symptoms like fever, fainting, bruising, weight loss, general pain, and even, in some extreme cases, bleeding. This is due to the white blood cells’ function in the body.
Can Lyme disease cause anemia?
In addition to the symptoms that babesiosis shares with Lyme disease, it can also cause sweats, loss of appetite and nausea. The parasite infects and destroys red blood cells, which in turn causes hemolytic anemia. This form of anemia (red cell destruction) can cause jaundice.
What are Lyme antibodies?
A Lyme disease antibody test is used to determine if you have been infected with Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Lyme disease antibody tests are conducted with a routine blood draw.