low white blood cell count - Leukemia Message Board

horsejody · 01-21-2003, 08:28 AM

My 15 year old daughter has been sick with flu like syomtoms 4 times in the last 4 months. She is also gets skin infections very easily. She seems to have lost her energy and her appetite. She has seen the doctor regularly for the skin infections. Yesterday, I took her to the doctor because the flu symptoms came back again. He took a blood sample, xrayed her lungs and her sinuses. The xrays showed a sinus infection, but the blood test came back with a very low white blood cell count. The doctor said that 4 - 9 was normal range, but hers came in at 2.9. He put her on antibiotics and said that he wants to retest the blood in 10 days. I have been researching "low white blood cell counts" on the internet, and all the sites that come up talk about leukemia. I am scared half to death. Is 10 days too long to wait for more tests, or am I just an over anxious mom?
Jody

Jay Tor · 01-24-2003, 05:46 PM

Have you already researched megaloblastic anemia and leukopenia? These are the most common headings for locating information on low white blood count conditions. My preliminary search pulled up a very wide range of underlying conditions/causes of low white blood count. By waiting, perhaps your doctor is trying to narrow down the possibilities.

Start checking among your/your daughter's blood relatives whether anyone else has a similar condition, because some of the possibilities include genetic disorders. In which case, the more background information you can collect, the better.