What are eosinophils?

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell (leukocytes). There are three types of white blood cells, all with various functions to help your immune system, including granulocytes, lymphocytes and monocytes. Eosinophils are one of three types of granulocytes, along with neutrophils and basophils. Eosinophils prevent foreign organisms from growing inside of host cells (parasites).

 

Function

What do eosinophils do?

When an unfamiliar organism or particle enters your body, your white blood cells divide into special troops to locate and destroy the invader before it causes harm to other cells. Each type of white blood cell undergoes specialized training before leaving your bone marrow and traveling to your tissues where they watch for invaders to enter your body so they can destroy them. Eosinophil cells contain small sand-like granules that release a toxic protein to destroy and consume invading organisms. Eosinophils help your body defend itself from:

 

Infections by parasites (strongyloidiasis, pinworms).

Organisms that grow on other cells (intracellular bacteria).

Exposure to allergens (immediate hypersensitivity reactions).

 

How many eosinophils are in my body?

Eosinophils are a type of white blood cell. White blood cells make up 1% of the cells in your body. There are less than 5% of eosinophils circulating among white blood cells in healthy adults.

 

What are common conditions that affect eosinophils?

Conditions that affect eosinophils are rare. There are two types of eosinophil conditions for both low and high cell counts.

 

Eosinopenia is the result of having a less than normal amount of eosinophils in your body. Types of eosinopenia include:

 

Cushing’s syndrome: This condition occurs when there is too much cortisol in your body and not enough eosinophil cells. Cortisol is a hormone that regulates your blood sugar and turns food into energy.

Sepsis: Sepsis is a severe medical condition that causes widespread swelling (inflammation) and blood clotting. It is most often the result of a bacterial, fungal, parasitic or viral infections.

Often, if you have an occasional low number of eosinophil cells, it doesn’t pose a major threat to your health because other cells in your immune system compensate for the lack of eosinophils. Long-term eosinopenia is dangerous and requires immediate treatment from your healthcare provider.

 

Eosinophilia occurs when you have more eosinophils in your blood than normal. Your healthcare provider will diagnose a high eosinophil count based on where eosinophils are living:

 

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders (EGID) are conditions that affect the gastrointestinal tract and cause a cluster of eosinophil cells to inflame the area and create swelling. This is the most common condition affecting eosinophils. EGIDs affect the large intestine (eosinophilic colitis), esophagus (eosinophilic esophagitis), stomach (eosinophilic gastritis) and both the stomach and small intestine (eosinophilic gastroenteritis) and bladder (eosinophilic cystitis).

Eosinophilic lung disorders, including eosinophilic asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, affect your lungs like a severe form of asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, where your lungs are clogged with inflamed cells. Eosinophilic lung disorders make breathing difficult.

Eosinophilic blood and tissue disorders affect the connective tissue beneath your skin (eosinophilic fasciitis), skin (eosinophilic pustular folliculitis) and cells in your blood, blood vessels and vital organs like your heart and kidneys (eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, formerly Churg-Strauss syndrome). Eosinophilic blood and tissue disorders are the result of having too many eosinophils, which take over blood vessels, making it difficult for blood to flow through your body without treatment.

What are common symptoms of eosinophil conditions?

Symptoms of eosinophil conditions often appear near the location of the disorder. General symptoms of eosinophil conditions include:

 

Fatigue.

Rash.

Puss-filled bumps on your skin.

Shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

Stomach and abdominal pain.

Swelling (inflammation).

What causes eosinophil conditions?

There are several factors that affect the number of eosinophils in your blood including:

Alcohol intoxication.

Allergies.

Gastrointestinal disorders.

Leukemia.

Overproduction of cortisol.

Parasitic infections.

Is eosinophilia the result of a contagious infection?

A high eosinophil count can be the result of a contagious infection, but it is not always the primary cause of eosinophilia. Parasites cause eosinophil cells to increase and parasites spread from human-to-human contact or animal-to-human contact, especially from dogs and cats. Your healthcare provider will test for a parasitic infection to confirm the diagnosis and offer treatment options, which will reduce your eosinophil count to a normal level.

 

What is a normal eosinophil count?

A normal eosinophil count is between 30 and 350 cells per microliter of blood. A count is higher than normal with results of more than 500 cells per microliter of blood and low if it is less than 30 cells per microliter of blood.

 

Often, a one-time, low eosinophil count will not be a threat to your overall health, even if your count is zero. Your white blood cells in your immune system will compensate and produce more cells to make up for the lack of eosinophil cells in your body.

 

What is a high eosinophil count?

Your healthcare provider will classify a high count of eosinophils (eosinophilia) by severity based on the results of an absolute eosinophil count:

Mild: Cell count between 500 and 1,500 eosinophils per microliter of blood.

Moderate: Cell count between 1,500 and 5,000 eosinophils per microliter of blood.

Severe: Cell count greater than 5,000 eosinophils per microliter of blood.

Does a high eosinophil count indicate cancer?

Although rare, having a consistently high eosinophil count can be an indication of cancer in your body. A high eosinophil count could relate to several cancers including:

Breast.

Colorectal.

Cervical.

Hodgkin lymphoma.

Ovarian.

Prostate.

If your healthcare provider suspects cancer, they will perform further tests to diagnose and treat the condition, like a biopsy, additional blood tests or imaging tests.

 

1)      https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23402-eosinophils