14 Frequent Causes of Low Lymphocyte Count

The term “lymphocytes” describes a component of the body that everyone has in their blood, but which people have in differing levels – and whether your lymphocyte count is low or high can tell a medical professional a lot about your health, how your immune system is responding to a condition and even what conditions they should subsequently look or test for.

Low lymphocyte count is common in conditions that compromise the body’s natural immune system such as AIDS, but there are also other conditions that might trigger it, including certain types of cancers and the use of the drugs or treatments that take care of these conditions.

Lymphocyte count is one of the most important tests a doctor can order, and if they suspect any of the conditions below (or know that one needs to be managed), then they will order a lymphocyte count test in order to know what to do next.

Here are 14 frequent causes of low lymphocyte count that you should know about.

1. AIDS

HIV and AIDS are common health conditions that affect as much as a million people in the United States according to popular statistics. Exposure to AIDS most commonly takes place when someone has unprotected sex with someone else who has the virus – although exposure can also happen through sharing needles, improper tattoo parlor hygiene or through the improper handling of infections in a medical or hospital setting.

If you are one of the world’s population who has HIV or AIDS, the first thing that you should know is that the condition has the potential to compromise your immune system.

The lymphocyte count is something that has to be constantly tested in the event of an HIV/AIDS infection: Sometimes flare-ups can cause your lymphocyte count to drop.