Eosinophils are one of the types of leukocytes that are constantly formed in the bone marrow. They mature for 3-4 days, after which they circulate in the blood for several hours and move to the tissues of the lungs, skin and GI tract.
The change in the number of these cells is called the shift of the leukocyte formula, and can indicate a number of disorders in the body. Consider what eosinophils are in blood tests, why they may be higher or lower than normal, what diseases it shows and what it means for the body, if they are raised or lowered.
Normal in children and adult men and women
The main function of eosinophils is the destruction of foreign proteins , which enter the body. They penetrate the focus of the pathological process, activate the production of protective antibodies, and also bind and absorb the parasitic cells.
The norms of such particles in the blood are determined by general analysis, and depend on the time of day, as well as the age of the patient .In the morning, evening and night their number may increase due to changes in the work of the adrenal glands.
| Age | Eosinophils,% |
| 2 weeks after birth | 1-6 |
| 15 days - year | 1-5 |
| 1,5-2 years | 1-7 |
| 2-5 years | 1-6 |
| Children from 5 years andadults | 1-5 |
What does this mean if the indicator is increased
Shift of the leukocyte formula with a high level of eosinophils( eosinophilia) indicates that in the body is the inflammatory process of .
A severe degree is considered quite dangerous for a person with the state of , since in this case the internal organs are often damaged due to oxygen starvation of tissues.
When diagnosing cardiovascular diseases
In itself, the increase in eosinophils in the blood of can not speak of cardiac or vascular lesions of , but the pathologies, the symptom of which is an increase in the amount of this type of leukocytes, can cause cardiovascular diseases.
The fact is that in the place of their accumulation over time inflammatory changes are formed, which destroy cells and tissues .For example, prolonged, severe allergic reactions and bronchial asthma can cause eosinophilic myocarditis - a rare disease of the myocardium, which develops due to the impact on it of proteins of eosinophils.
Main causes of
increase Excess of eosinophils may have a number of different causes of , including:
- defeat of the body by parasites: helminthic invasion, giardiasis, ascariasis, toxoplasmosis, chlamydia;
- acute allergic reactions and conditions( allergic rhinitis, urticaria, Quincke's edema, dermatitis of different etiology);
- pulmonary diseases: bronchial asthma, sarcoidosis, pleurisy, fibrosing alveolitis;
- autoimmune pathologies, including systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, nodular periarteritis;
- acute infectious diseases or exacerbations of chronic( gonorrhea, tuberculosis, infectious mononucleosis);
- oncological diseases, including malignant blood tumors - for example, lymphogranulomatosis;
- administration of some medications - aspirin, dimedrol, papaverine, euphyllin, sulfonamides, antituberculosis drugs, penicillin antibiotics, etc.
Reduced content in the results of the general analysis of
A decrease in the level of eosinophils in the patient's blood( eosinopenia) is an equally dangerous condition than their increase. It also indicates the presence of infection in the body , pathological process or tissue damage, as a result of which protective cells rush to the source of danger and their quantity in the blood drops sharply.
About what it says in diseases of the heart and blood vessels
The most common cause of eosinophil depletion in the blood in heart diseases - the onset of acute myocardial infarction .On the first day, the number of eosinophils may decrease until they disappear completely, after which, as the heart muscle recovers, the concentration begins to increase.
Than the decrease of
is caused. Low rates of eosinophils are observed in the following cases:
- severe purulent infections and sepsis - in this case the leukocyte form shifts towards the young forms of leukocytes;
- at the first stages of inflammatory processes and in pathologies requiring surgical intervention: pancreatitis, appendicitis, exacerbation of cholelithiasis;
- strong infectious and painful shocks, due to which there is gluing of the formed elements of blood into the thiniform formations, settling inside the vessels;
- disorders of the thyroid and adrenal glands;
- poisoning with lead, mercury, arsenic, copper and other heavy metals;
- chronic emotional stress;
- is an extended stage of leukemia, when the concentration of eosinophils may drop to zero.
Changes in the number of children
High eosinophils in the blood of a child - a fairly common phenomenon. In preterm infants , this condition is considered a variant of the norm, and when normal body weight disappears.
In the remaining cases, the most common causes of the increase in the level of cells are:
- In newborns and infants on artificial feeding, normal eosinophils may be increased due to a negative reaction to cow's milk, as well as a number of medications. Also, eosinophilia in infants can be a sign of Rh-conflict, hemolytic disease, staphylococcal sepsis or enterocolitis, pemphigus and hereditary diseases - for example, family histiocytosis.
- At the older age of , the number of protective cells in the blood of children often increases with atopic dermatitis and food allergy( often it coincides with the introduction of the first complementary food), as well as helminthic invasions( the presence of pinworms and ascarids in the body).
- For , the widespread causes of for this phenomenon in children include parasitic diseases( toxocarosis, hookworm), scarlet fever, chicken pox and eosinophilic gastroenteritis, a disease typical of patients under 20 years old.
Eosinophils in children are reduced if there are viral or bacterial infections in the body of and a general decrease in the immunity. In addition, it can cause prolonged physical exertion, severe psychoemotional fatigue, as well as suffered trauma, burns or surgical interventions.
In any case, a decrease or increase in the level of eosinophils in the blood of is not an independent disease, but a symptom of that the body has a pathological process. In order to identify the problem and to prescribe adequate treatment, the patient needs to go through a set of additional studies and get a specialist consultation.
