What Is The Normal White Blood Cell Count Range For Females?
White blood cells (WBCs) help the body fight infections and other health conditions as part of the immune system. Certain diseases can decrease or increase WBC count among females.
A normal WBC count for females ranges between 4,500–11,000 white cells per microliter (µL) of blood.
WBCs reside in the blood and lymph tissue after forming in the bone marrow. As part of the immune system, WBCs help a person's body fight infections and diseases.
Abnormal WBC levels in females may be a sign of another condition. Low levels may indicate a virus, and they may also occur after a person undergoes certain cancer treatments. High levels may be a sign of bacterial infection, inflammation, and stress. Many other conditions can also cause high or low WBC levels.
This article explores typical WBC ranges in more detail. It also discusses what to expect during a WBC count, the possible causes of high and low WBC counts, and when someone should speak with a doctor. Finally, it answers some common questions about WBC counts for females.
Normal WBC ranges vary according to sex and age. For females, a normal WBC count ranges from 4,500–11,000 white cells per µL of blood. This count ranges from 5,000–10,000 white cells per µL of blood among males and children.
Individuals showing signs of certain conditions, like autoimmune disorders, infections, and inflammation, may need a WBC count. Symptoms of infection may include:
A doctor may recommend a WBC count for people with these or other symptoms.
During a WBC count, a medical professional inserts a small needle into a person's arm. They remove a small sample of blood and collect this sample in a vial or test tube. This may cause some discomfort, but this is typically minimal.
After this, a medical professional will clean the injection site and apply gauze to stop any bleeding before applying a bandage. This process may cause slight bruising around the injection site for a couple of days.
The medical professional will send the blood samples to a laboratory for testing. In the laboratory, technicians use a machine to determine the WBC count.
Once the laboratory technicians have processed the sample, a person's doctor will share the results of the test with them. Anyone preparing for a WBC count should speak with their doctor if they have any questions or concerns.
Certain conditions may elevate WBC counts, such as:
Taking certain medications may also cause high WBC counts. Recent studies have also found elevated WBC counts in individuals with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Some researchers believe that chronic inflammation associated with PCOS may increase WBC counts in certain cases.
Abnormal WBC counts may cause negative health consequences in some people. For example, elevated WBC counts may reduce blood supply to certain areas of the body. They may also lead to small blood vessel damage.
People with low or high WBC counts should speak with a doctor to help reduce the chance of negative health outcomes later on.
Individuals who have already had a WBC count should visit a doctor if their symptoms change. For example, people with low WBC counts should see a doctor if they develop a fever.
A healthcare professional can determine the cause of abnormal WBC counts and recommend appropriate treatment on an individual basis.
Below are some common questions about normal WBC count ranges for females.
What is a good WBC level for a woman?A typical WBC count for females is between 4,500–11,000 white cells per µL of blood.
What is an alarming WBC count?A WBC count below 1,000 white cells per µL of blood indicates a person has lymphopenia. Individuals with this condition have lowered immunity and are more susceptible to infections.
Doctors call a WBC count of over 11,000 white cells per µL leukocytosis. This condition may be a sign of the body fighting an infection or a more serious condition.
What happens if a WBC count is low?Individuals with a low WBC count have a higher chance of developing an infection. As the number of WBCs decreases, the immune system has a harder time fighting off pathogens in the body.
A normal WBC count for females is between 4,500–11,000 white cells per µL of blood.
Higher and lower WBC counts may occur for a number of reasons, such as infections or if a person is taking certain medications.
A medical professional can carry out a test to determine a person's WBC count. They can also help identify the cause of a high or low WBC count and recommend an appropriate course of treatment.
High White Blood Cell Count
A high white blood cell (WBC) count can develop due to many conditions. White blood cells are an important part of the body's immune system. These cells help fight infection, aid in healing from trauma, and assist in recovery from disease.
There are several types of white blood cells (neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, basophils, and monocytes) that act in different ways and may be increased in number in different conditions.
This article will discuss symptoms of the conditions associated with a high white blood cell count, including common causes, tests, and treatments. Please see your healthcare provider for specifics regarding your condition.
© Provided by Verywell Health svetikd / Getty Images Symptoms of a High White Blood Cell CountSymptoms of common conditions that may be associated with a high white blood cell count include:
Infections cause a high white blood cell count because these cells are the body's way of eliminating infectious organisms—viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites.
Many medical conditions are also associated with a high white blood cell count, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, cancer, and bone marrow disorders.
When white blood cells are active, they can have several effects. These include:
What Medications Can Cause a High White Cell Count?
Medications known to increase the WBC count include corticosteroids, lithium, colony-stimulating factors, beta-agonists, and epinephrine.
How to Treat a High White Cell CountWhen a high white cell count is caused by an infection that is resolving on its own, as is the case with most viral infections, no medical intervention is needed beyond symptomatic treatment (such as getting rest or drinking warm tea to soothe a sore throat).
Your healthcare provider may suggest ways to relieve the symptoms of the underlying condition that is causing the elevated white cell count. These treatments include:
These treatments may help you feel better, but they might not lower your white blood cell count.
Other treatments that may be needed to treat the underlying condition include:
Some conditions, such as the autoimmune diseases rheumatoid arthritis and lupus or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis), may require ongoing therapy.
Complications and Risk Factors Associated With a High WBC CountBlood cancers and autoimmune diseases that cause overproduction of abnormal white blood cells can cause susceptibility to infections and impaired healing from injuries or diseases.
Sometimes, a high white blood cell count is accompanied by anemia (a low red blood cell count). This happens when bone marrow disease that's causing overproduction of white blood cells also causes underproduction of red blood cells.
Are There Tests to Diagnose the Cause of a High WBC Count?A high white cell count is identified in a blood test called a complete blood count (CBC). This test provides a report of the number of white blood cells and red blood cells, as well as the types of each white blood cell and their percentage.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the normal number of white blood cells in the blood is 4,500 to 11,000 WBCs per microliter (4.5 to 11.0 × 109/L).
Learn More:What Your CBC Blood Test Results Say About Your Health
In addition to a CBC, you might also have a microscopic examination of your blood sample (peripheral blood smear), which can determine whether the size or shape of the cells is abnormal.
Some conditions, such as autoimmune diseases, can be associated with excess amounts of degenerate neutrophils, which are neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) that are dying. And some types of cancer can cause excess white blood cells that have an unusual microscopic appearance.
When to See a Healthcare ProviderCall your healthcare provider if you feel sick, run-down, or have a fever for longer than a few days.
If you have already been diagnosed with a chronic disease that causes a high white cell count, you and your healthcare providers should discuss the signs that your condition is worsening and develop a plan for when you should get medical attention.
Get prompt medical attention if you develop any of the following:
White blood cells are part of the immune system that help fight infection and help you heal from disease. Your white blood cells can temporarily increase while you are recovering from an illness.
Sometimes, medical problems associated with excess normal or abnormal white blood cells can cause symptoms such as fever, swelling, or congestion. A CBC can measure your white blood cell count. Medications can treat the underlying condition that is causing the elevated white blood cell count.
A Word From VerywellHaving a high white blood cell count by itself usually is not a reason to worry. This is one of the signs that your body is fighting an infection or recovering from an illness. The chronic or serious illnesses that cause a high white cell count are often treatable with medication or other therapies.
Frequently Asked QuestionsDoes a high white blood cell count always cause symptoms?
No. It is the underlying disease or condition causing the high WBC that produces symptoms. Symptoms will vary.
Is it beneficial to raise your white blood cell count?
It depends on the underlying condition that is causing a low white blood cell count. It is not beneficial to raise your white blood cell count above normal levels, but if your white blood cell count is low, then you will need treatment to help raise it to normal levels.
Higher White Blood Cell Count May Boost Death Risk
Mar. 23 -- FRIDAY, May 4 (HealthDay News) -- Men and women with above-normal white blood cell counts could face an increased risk of death at an earlier age, particularly from cardiovascular disease, a new study suggests.
People with normal white cell counts may not be out of danger, either, since individuals on the high end of the normal range were also at increased risk of illness and death, the team of Italian and American researchers said.
"The risk of cardiovascular mortality increased progressively with increasing white blood cell counts," noted study lead author Dr. Carmelinda Ruggiero from the U.S. National Institute on Aging. And, "the increased risk of mortality associated with high white blood cell (counts) was maintained over 40 years of follow-up," she added.
But the researchers stressed that they have not yet confirmed a cause-and-effect link between higher white blood cell counts and illness risk. It remains unclear whether an elevated count helps trigger serious disease, or whether these cell counts rise naturally after illness.
And one expert said it's too early to make any changes to practice based on the findings.
"The findings are interesting and help to bolster that inflammation status is involved in the biology of many chronic diseases, but the findings do not suggest specific screening or treatment would be advisable," said Dr. Mary Cushman, director of the thrombosis and hemostasis program at the University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care in Colchester, Vt.
The findings are published in the May 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Generated by the bone marrow and spread throughout the body, white blood cells (WBC) -- also called leukocytes -- are the immune's system key weapon against infectious disease. In the absence of disease, they normally make up just one percent of a person's blood.
According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, a simple blood test can easily determine whether a patient's WBC count falls within the normal range of 4,500 to 10,000 cells per microliter of blood.
While a below-normal WBC count may indicate bone marrow failure and/or liver and spleen disease, illness or invasion by a foreign body typically provokes a rise in white blood cells. Physical or emotional stress and certain chronic medications can also prompt an increase.
In their study, Ruggiero and colleagues examined data collected during a multi-decade study on aging. They tracked the medical histories of more than 2,800 men and women from the Baltimore and Washington, D.C., area.
Participants were healthy at the time of their entry into the study. WBC counts, body mass indexes, and cholesterol and blood pressure levels were tallied during biannual medical evaluations.
An analysis of death records revealed that those participants who died during the study period had higher WBC counts than those who survived through to 2002.
The finding applied to all patients regardless of their initial baseline WBC count, and held regardless of gender, age at death, or year of death. However, women tended to have significantly lower WBC levels than men.
Patients who had WBC counts between 3,500 and 6,000 cells per microliter of blood had the lowest observed rate of death, while those with readings above 10,000 had the highest death rate.
No firm conclusions were drawn regarding the risk for patients with WBC levels below 3,500.
However, the authors observed that death risk varied even within the normal WBC count range. Those with a high-normal WBC count of 6,000 to 10,000 had a 30 percent to 40 percent higher risk of death than patients with a low-normal WBC count of 3,500 to 6,000, the researchers said.
Ruggiero's team also calculated that for every additional 1,000 cells above the lowest end of the normal range (3,500), a patient's risk of death rose by just over 10 percent.
WBC counts, especially for a type of cell called neutrophils, rose progressively in the years before death, with significant bumps upward observed as early as five years prior to the end of a patient's life. In contrast, WBC counts remained relatively stable among people who survived.
People who died were also more likely to have smoked, to have been less physically active, and to have had worse cardiovascular health.
Death as a result of cardiovascular disease, especially, rose along with increasing WBC counts. WBC counts showed little connection to deaths by cancer.
Overall, white blood cell counts fell for both men and women over the nearly 45-year study period. A host of societal and lifestyle changes could explain the drop, the researchers said, including improvements in diet and exercise habits and the steady drop in smoking and drinking. Environmental changes, such as improved sanitary conditions and less frequent exposure to infectious agents, could also be factors.
The death rate for Americans has also fallen steadily over the past four decades, the authors noted. However, they stressed that they cannot establish any causal link between declines in white blood cell counts and improving life expectancy.
Measuring WBC might prove useful in predicting an individual's health risk, however.
"White blood cell count is usually measured in clinical settings as a marker of infection and hematological diseases," noted Ruggiero. "We suggest that differential WBC counts should be systematically screened and factored (into) the cardiovascular risk profile --and ultimately considered in clinical decisions concerning prescription of preventive interventions."
But Dr. James S. Goodwin, professor of geriatrics and director of the Sealy Center of Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, isn't convinced.
"The good news is, that as this study shows, a rather substantial decline in WBC counts from around 1960 to 2000," he said. "It goes well with other research showing that there's been a general improvement in health over the last half of the 20th century in the Western world."
But Goodwin believes that, "from the perspective of the individual patient, this observational study suggests nothing specific that should be done differently. It is interesting from a scientific perspective. But for patients, it is not particularly important and has no clinical relevance."
Cushman agreed. "At issue is what the intervention should be if an elevated value is found," she said. "I don't believe that for WBC we know what to do, other than the things we should already be doing, like promoting a heart healthy lifestyle and appropriate screening and prevention for risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, (and) smoking. This advice would not differ depending on whether the WBC was elevated."
More information
There's more on white blood cell counts at the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
SOURCES: Carmelinda Ruggiero, M.D., U.S. National Institute on Aging, Baltimore; James S. Goodwin, M.D., professor, geriatrics, and director, Sealy Center of Aging at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston; Mary Cushman, M.D., director, thrombosis and hemostasis program, University of Vermont and Fletcher Allen Health Care, Colchester, Vt.; May 8, 2007, Journal of the American College of Cardiology
