ManagingCytopenias: WBCs
Posted by
daydreamer
Posted on: 09/04/07
ManagingCytopenias: WBCs
Cytopenias are the reduction of blood cell lines circulating in your blood vessels. There are three main lines that can be suppressed, Red, White or Platelets. there are 5 types of White Blood Cell lines i think cells, one of which is called Neutrophils.The condition of reduced Neutrophils is called Neutropenia.
So one part of my MDS is Neutropenia, (I also have very low platelets more on that later). these cells are important to fight infection. here's some info on living w/ low white blood cells:
From The Neutropenia Support Assoc. Inc. http://neutropenia.ca/about/living.html
Living With Neutropenia "Optimizing your chemotherapy treatment - understanding and managing neutropenia with NEUPOGEN (filgrastim), Amgen Inc."
What precautions can you take to minimize the risk from neutropenia?
Personal hygiene:
- Wash hands often with an antibacterial soap, especially before eating, after using the washroom, and shaking hands.
- Bathe daily, and lightly pat the skin dry.
- Use moisturizer to prevent dry skin.
- Clean rectal area thoroughly after bowel movements.
- Women:
- Clean perianal area front to back.
- Be careful with grooming, e.g., cutting nails.
- Do not tear or cut cuticles; use cuticle cream and remover.
- Use a clean electric razor instead of a disposable or safety razor.
- Do not squeeze or scratch blemishes.
- Women: Use sanitary napkins, not tampons, to reduce infection risk. Avoid vaginal douche, bubble baths, bath salts.
Safety:
- Avoid people with colds, flu, open sores, or any type of infection.
- Avoid crowded, enclosed public areas.
- Avoid sunburn.
- Wear shoes to prevent cuts.
- Protect hands from cuts or burns.
- Avoid rectal thermometers or suppositories.
- Discuss vaccination with your physician.
- People receiving chemotherapy should avoid contact with anyone who has recently received a live vaccine.
Household:
- Have everyone remove their shoes when entering your home.
- Avoid contact with animal stool or urine; stagnant water (e.g. vases, humidifiers, denture cups).
- Have furnace and ducts cleaned once or twice a year, as required; have filters replaced monthly.
- Dry-clean outerwear frequently.
Nutrition:
- A proper diet is important.
- Ensure that food is cooked adequately.
- Avoid constipation; follow a diet with plenty of fibre.
Oral and Dental hygiene:
- Always use a soft tooth brush to prevent cuts in your mouth.
- Do not use dental floss.
- Rinse mouth often and well.
- Avoid commercial mouthwashes (very drying), and products which contain alcohol.
- Clean dentures with fresh water.
- Discuss any required or scheduled dental work first with your physician before proceeding.
- Antibiotic treatment is also recommended before an after any dental work or cleaning.
Lifestyle:
- Exercise regularly, and get plenty of rest.
- Limit activities that tire you easily.
- Learn how to deal with your stress.
- Discuss your fears and feelings with family, support groups, and health care professionals.
this next section is from article on alternative medicine and HIV, but it is useful for anyone with severely reduced immune function so i found it at the same neutropenia site.
http://www.neutropenia.ca/about/ alternative.html
Alternative/complementary therapies can be used in many ways for different reasons.
Some of these include:
- to fight HIV directly (as anti-virals) examples include:
- olive leaf extract,
- SPV-30, papaverine;
- to boost or sustain the immune system examples include:
- supplementation with vitamins and minerals,
- bitter melon,
- Chinese herbs,
- Cat's Claw
- to manage symptoms (nausea, headache, etc.) examples include:
- aromatherapy,
- acupuncture,
- marijuana
- to provide more energy and reduce fatigue examples include:
- yoga,
- ginseng,
- reflexology
- to manage opportunistic infections examples include:
- for candida - garlic, for herpes - thioctic acid,
- for wasting - whole lemon/olive oil drink
- to relieve stress for example:
- art therapy,
- exercise,
- massage therapy
- to balance chemical deficiencies in the body for example:
- glutathione,
- B-vitamin complex,
- essential fatty acids (e.g. evening primrose)
- to manage side effects or be able to take conventional drugs for example:
- milk thistle,
- acupressure,
- L-glutamine
This next article from the same site explains what neutropenia is. i trimmed this article some.
http://www.neutropenia.ca/about/index.html
"Neutropenia is a blood disorder. Blood is made up of billions of cells. There are many different types of blood cells, but most of the time you hear about two kinds - red cells and white cells. There are more red cells than any other type of blood cell. They are very important as they carry oxygen from your lungs to all parts of your body.
White blood cells are just as important, but for a very different reason. One of their jobs is to protect you from infection.
"There are several kinds of white cells. Each has a special function. The most common ones are: Neutrophils (pronounced NEW TROH FILS), which surround and destroy bacteria in your body; and Lymphocytes (pronounced LIM FOH SITES), which are the key part of your body's immune system, and defend against viruses.
"The term neutropenia describes the situation where the number of neutrophils in the blood is too low. Neutrophils are very important in defending the body against bacterial infections, and therefore, a patient with too few neutrophils is more susceptible to bacterial infections.
"People with neutropenia get infections easily and often.
"Most of the infections occur in the lungs, mouth and throat, sinuses and skin. Painful mouth ulcers, gum infections, ear infections and periodontal disease are common.
"Severe, life-threatening infections may occur. Often the child or adult must be hospitalized and receive intravenous antibiotics.
"The level of neutropenia may vary considerably. In general, the blood of healthy adults contains about 1500 to 7000 neutrophils per mm3 (1.5 - 7.0 x 109 /1). The severity of neutropenia generally depends on the absolute neutrophil count (ANC) and is described as follows:
* Mild neutropenia, when the ANC falls below a lower limit of 1500 per mm3 (1.5 x 109 /1), but remains higher than 1000 per mm3 (1.0 x 109 /1).
* Moderate neutropenia, when the ANC falls between 500 per mm3 and 1000 per mm3 (0.5 x 109 /1 - 1.0 x 109 /1)
* Severe neutropenia, when the ANC falls below 500 per mm3 (0.5 x 109 /1) "
{{{{{{right now i'm severe}}}}}
"The duration of the neutropenia may be short lived. In short-lived cases, the patient is described as suffering from acute neutropenia. However, if a patient has neutropenia for a longer period, i.e. greater than three months, the patient is described as suffering from chronic neutropenia."
{{{{{{{{{{yes i'm chronic. it's been going on since 2003 but just this year i've gone much lower and stayed there}}}}}}}}}}}}
"Severe neutropenia can lead to serious problems, which require prompt care and attention as the patient could potentially develop a bacterial, fungal or mixed infection at any time.
These infections can be life threatening when the patient is persistently severe neutropenic and it is therefore important that if the patient develops any signs or symptoms of an infection, then he or she should be seen by a doctor as soon as possible and treated with medications to fight the infection (such as antibiotics)."
Ah the perfect segue to the section on medication for Neutropenia. I spent alot of time researching this in the hopes that my oncologist would medicate me to increase my WBCs because it's so damn scary having them so low. but he's not willing to do it at this juncture (see personal news section for more on this) nonetheless having done the research i will share here.
From the Netropenia site http://neutropenia.ca/about/treatment.html this great summary: (coming soon, my notes on each of these).
"The treatments that have been tried or are being used in the management of congenital, cyclic and idiopathic neutropenia include:
"Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)
Bone Marrow transplant (BMT)
Others: including other cytokines, antibiotics, vitamins, immunosuppressive drugs, immunoglobulins, corticosteroids and white cell transfusions
Supportive care
"As well as the treatment prescribed by your physician, nutrition and good hygiene, including good dental hygiene are extremely important in overall care to decrease the potential for infection.
"Nutritional treatments will not however raise the neutrophil count in severe chronic neutropenia.
"The specific treatment for you should be discussed with your physician. These discussions should include any benefits of treatment and potential risks."
daydreamer
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