Why would my son have high white blood cell counts but unknown infection?

Question

My son is 9 years old and has had a high white blood cell count 2 weeks in a row but they cannot find an infection. They did a blood culture last week that came back negative and they said he had a virus. He was getting better then he had a really high fever so i took him in again now they say the infection is in his stool because he has diarrhea. They havent even tested his stool yet. The one doctor said this has been to long for him to be sick. I don't know why they don't keep looking for the infection. So he can get better from what ever this is.

Answer 1

If he still has a high white blood count, then his body definitely is sensing that something is trying to invade or already has. Let them do whatever tests that they are going to do and then based on their findings, decide if they seem to know what they are doing (or not). Don't be afraid to leave and go elsewhere for a second opinion. But remember that even doctors are only capable of diagnosing based on what symptoms a patient has. If there aren't enough conclusive clues for them to follow, then they can only give it their best educated guess and go from there. Sometimes this takes a while. However, if you feel that they are bumbling around totally, go for another opinion. This is your child that you're talking about!

Answer 2

Oh, bless your heart. That is really irritating. The high white count means your child is fighting an infection which is a good thing because they are like little tiny troops that attack and destroy infections. Your doctor sounds (excuse me) like a quack. Sorry, my opinion. Find another one. If your child has diarrhea now, take him fast to the E.R. especially if he is still running fever. Don't use that doctor anymore. Also, in the ER describe symptoms and ask for a stool culture. Relate to them what you were told. "going on too long for him to be sick" is a horrible stupid remark for the doctor to make. Your child was not treated properly. I am so very, very sorry. Did they even bother to tell you what blood culture was taken? Get all of your child's medical records (you can do that legally, although you may have to pay around $15 to get them for the processing fee, etc.) and take them to another doctor of your choice. You need to know exactly what your child was treated for and what treatment was used.

This is an edit: To the person identified as new here. Please read her statement again. She mentioned that she had seen the doctor. otherwise your response was good.

God bless you.

Answer 3

Im sorry but it sounds like you might not have gone to a doctor and you are getting your opinions from the wrong places.

There are many reasons why the white blood cell count is high and infection is only one of them. He might need to be examined thoroughly . Sometimes it takes time to find the culprit, it could be a tooth, ear, or throat (tonsils, adenoids). or it can also be a lung infection.

In viral infections, usually the total white cell count is low, not high. There is also an examination of the blood called a differential, and this will tell you which of the blood cells are elevated.

Answer 4

hi there, high white blood cell count (WBC) may mean many things. One could be infection but depneds on what particular WBC. If you try to look at the previous result of your son, there are types of WBC; if the NEUTROPHILS is high, it indicates a bacterial infection, if the LYMPHOCYTES is high it may indicate a viral infection or could be ( but i pray it is not..) an immuno-related problems like leukemic process.The culture done is only for bacteria. If its not bacteria, doctors should try to have your son tested for Serological blood tests depending on what clinical signs and symptoms. It is important to observe your son's physical features, are there any signs of bruising or redness of the skin or eyes...things like that and also symptoms, does your son feel pain or feverish, weak or nausea. These are pertinent data before a competent doctor jumps into a laboratory tests. As for now, I advise that you should not wait that long for the doctor to see what is wrong..if the WBC is consistently high and they already mentioned something is wrong..then they should urgently find it before its too late and not wait. Get another doctor's opinion if its possible. Hope this helps. God bless

Answer 5

I've never heard of a high white cell count when it comes to what I'm going to discuss here, but the chronic diarrhea is a sign of it. So I'm giving you the information to read just in case.

They're starting to recommend that people with IBS, or IBS-like symptoms such as chronic diarrhea, be tested for celiac disease, which is an intolerance to gluten (wheat, rye, barley and oats). A lot of people with celiac were misdiagnosed as having IBS for years. (18 years for me). It takes an average of 11 years for a person with celiac to be diagnosed.

Here's a webpage by the National Institutes of Health on celiac -
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases...

If that starts sounding familiar here are a couple of message boards for people with celiac and other gluten intolerances.

http://www.glutenfreeforum.com
http://www.celiacforums.com

You can also be intolerant to other common foods and get the symptoms you are describing. Soy, corn, eggs, yeast, dairy, etc. You may want to think about keeping a food/symptoms journal and see if you can identify the culprit(s).

I hope your son feels better soon.

Nancy

Answer 6

Just Because Someone has a License to Practice Medicine, doesn't Mean they Are Very Good At it, Which is too Bad, a License By the State, Should Mean Something, Please See my Response to: Christina J.

Answer 7

Check out WebMD and research high wbc. Sometimes we have to be our own doctors. Get your friends to help you too.

Answer 8

the least worrying answer is that he could be gluten intolerant.

Answer 9

get a second opinion

Answer 10

SOUNDS LIKE A VIRAL INFECTION , LET NATURE TAKE ITS COURSE