Low eosinophils, what are the causes?

When you have a complete blood count, white blood cells are one of the parts that are checked. There are various types of white blood cells that function as the immune system, one of which is eosinophils. Eosinophils fight parasites and cause allergic reactions. When the eosinophil count is high or low, there could be an underlying cause. The review below will discuss the sundries about low eosinophils.

What are eosinophils?

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell in your body that fights parasites and causes allergic reactions. Eosinophil levels are usually the lowest compared to other types of white blood cells.

Quoted from the British Society for Immunology website, normal white blood cells contain about 0.5-1% eosinophils. However, the rate is often raised to 3-5% in people with allergy symptoms and can be much higher in those exposed to parasites.

In other words, the normal eosinophil level is less than 500 per microliter of blood. The number of indicators may also differ depending on the laboratory conducting the examination.

What are the functions of eosinophils?

Eosinophils have a variety of functions, some of which are similar to other types of white blood cells. Eosinophils are involved in various inflammatory processes, especially allergic reactions.

Although white blood cells are part of the immune system, sometimes the response from this type of white blood cell is not always healthy for the body. This one white blood cell also sometimes plays a role in causing food allergies and inflammatory reactions in body tissues.

The Mayo Clinic describes the two main roles eosinophils play in your immune system:

• Destroy foreign objects. Eosinophils have anti-parasitic and bacterial properties. Therefore, this one white blood cell can trap and destroy disease-causing foreign objects, such as parasites, to be destroyed by the immune system.
• Controls the inflammatory response. Eosinophils help increase inflammation, which is useful in isolating and controlling disease. However, sometimes, this greater inflammation can also damage tissue.

What does it mean if the eosinophil yield is low?

Normal eosinophil levels may be zero or nonexistent. Usually, if you've had a blood test just once and find that the eosinophils are low, you don't necessarily have any conditions.

The journal published in the US National Library of Medicine states that patients with low eosinophils fall into several categories, namely:

• Associated with deficiency (deficiency) immunity
• Combination of deficiency of eosinophils and basophils
• Associated with common allergic diseases, especially urticaria and asthma

There are several health conditions that cause low levels of these white blood cells. This condition is called eosinopenia.

Generally, low eosinophil levels (eosinopenia) are caused by alcohol abuse or taking too many steroid drugs and Cushing's syndrome. The low number of eosinophils may also be caused by changes in time.

In normal and healthy conditions, eosinophils will have the lowest number in the morning and will reach the highest level at night. However, if all types of white blood cells are counted low, you may need to be vigilant because it could be a sign of a problem with the bone marrow.

How to deal with low eosinophils?

As mentioned in European Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Low, or even absent, eosinophil levels do not have any adverse effects on the body.

However, there are various ways you can deal with alcohol dependence and Cushing's syndrome, which causes low eosinophils.

Overcoming alcohol dependence

Alcohol consumption can lower your white blood cell count, including eosinophils. If your white blood cells are low (leukopenia), your body's ability to fight infection may also decrease.

Therefore, there are several things you can do to overcome alcohol dependence, such as:

• Limit your alcohol consumption as directed by your doctor
• Record your alcohol consumption in a journal, so that your efforts are measured
• Don't keep alcoholic drinks at home
• Tell those closest to you about wanting to quit alcohol, then ask for their support
• Be consistent with your desires to get rid of alcohol dependence

Most people succeed in completely quitting alcohol dependence after a few tries. In addition to the methods mentioned above, you can also keep yourself busy with positive things so that you are not tempted to consume alcohol again.

Overcoming Cushing's syndrome

Cushing's syndrome causes high levels of the hormone cortisol in the body and low eosinophils. That is why, this treatment aims to control your cortisol levels.

Several treatment options to treat this condition include:

• Reducing the consumption of corticosteroids. If the cause of Cushing's syndrome is long-term use of a corticosteroid medication, your doctor may reduce the dose of the drug over a period of time.
• Operation. If the cause of Cushing's syndrome is a tumor, the doctor will recommend a total surgical removal.
• Radiation therapy. If surgery cannot completely remove the tumor, the doctor will usually prescribe radiation therapy. In addition, this therapy is also intended for those who do not meet the requirements for surgery.
• Drugs. Medicines are used to control cortisol formation when surgery and radiation therapy have not worked.

Cushing's syndrome recovery takes a variable amount of time, depending on the severity and cause of your condition.