Doctor, This is from the mother who's son was sexually molested 6 years ago. I did have him tested for HIV, and all test for HIV and STD's were all negative. I have some more questions on White Blood Cell count though. 3 weeks ago, his WBC count was 3,200, below normal, now it is 4,100. He has an upper respiratory infection and prostatitis so the doctor put him on medication to take care of both. He also is continuing to have breathing problems. The doctor said he is not 2/3 of where he should be when he blows in that tube, so they are trying an asthma inhaler. My question is, should his white blood cell count be monitored? Is there reason for concern? I am not very bright on this, but it seems that it might have gone up due to URI, when the infection is gone, it could go down again. Please advise, and thank you so very much. It is very much apprecitated. He's 16.

Worried Mom

Dear Mom, good to hear the HIV and other tests were negative. The WBC was somewhat low, but is now normal. You are right, in most infection settings the count does go up. In very serious infections, it can decrease instead. There is a natural variability to the WBC count. It can be affected by the time of day, infections, medications, or other illnesses. I don't think it needs to be monitored if he is otherwise healthy. MH