Low White Blood Cell Count (Leukopenia)

What Is Leukopenia?

White blood cells serve as the body’s defense mechanism against infection and disease. These small but powerful cells constitute the body’s resistance structure, the immune system, so a disorder involving these cells is particularly concerning. Leukopenia is one such disease. Manifested as low white blood cell count, Leukopenia also causes a severely weakened immune system and a drastically increased susceptibility to infection.

While healthy individuals have varying numbers of white blood cells, a count lower than 4,000 white blood cells per microliter of blood is typically considered a low white blood count. This diminished number of white blood cells is cause by various factors. Viral infections, congenital disorders, cancer, autoimmune disease and disorder, and drugs are all known to affect the body’s natural white blood cell count.

Typical symptoms of Leukopenia vary by person, but a few common symptoms exist. Decreased energy, fever, body and head ache, and general irritability are all symptoms associated with the disease. Other associated factors include infection or sore in the mouth, anemia, abnormal menstrual cycles in women, chronic fatigue, stomatitis, and pneumonia.

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