What's the matter with the red and fine bubbles

We all know that when we go to the hospital for a check-up, many doctors will recommend patients to do a basic blood and urine test because they cannot clearly judge some hidden diseases in the patient's body. For the blood test, the basic test is the number of red blood cells. Some patients' test results show high red blood cells. What's going on?

Erythrocytes, also known as erythrocytes, are often abbreviated as RBC in routine tests. They are the most numerous type of blood cells in the blood. They are also the main medium for transporting oxygen through the blood in vertebrates and also have immune functions. Mature red blood cells in mammals are anucleate, meaning they have lost their DNA. Red blood cells also lack mitochondria; they generate energy from glucose. It transports oxygen and also some carbon dioxide. It is dark purple when transporting carbon dioxide and bright red when transporting oxygen.

Red blood cells are produced in the bone marrow and begin to grow inside white blood cells. When red blood cells age, they are prone to blood vessel blockage, so they will automatically return to the deep bone marrow to be destroyed by white blood cells; or when passing through the liver, they will be broken down into bile by Kupffer cells. A high or low red blood cell count can have an adverse effect on your health.

The high red blood cell count can generally be divided into two types: relative increase and secondary increase. Relative increase is generally due to decreased blood volume, which is common in acute dehydration or burns; secondary increase is common in chronic hypoxia, lung diseases, etc.

1. Causes of relative increase in red blood cells

Due to some reasons, water is lost in the blood, the blood becomes concentrated, and the number of red blood cells increases relatively.

It is generally common in continuous severe vomiting, large-area burns, severe diarrhea, heavy sweating, etc.; it is also seen in chronic adrenal insufficiency, diabetes insipidus, hyperthyroidism, etc.

2. Causes of secondary erythrocytosis

The absolute number of red blood cells in the blood increases due to various reasons, which is mostly related to the body's circulation and tissue hypoxia. Secondary increase can be divided into physiological increase and pathological increase.

(1) Physiological increase: Due to insufficient oxygen in the environment or certain special reasons, the body experiences tissue hypoxia, causing an increase in red blood cells. It is more common in fetuses and newborns, and people who are in an oxygen-deficient environment for a long time, such as in plateau areas. In addition, drinking too little water or sweating too much, excreting too much water, etc. can also lead to high red blood cell counts.

(2) Pathological increase: Generally caused by insufficient lung ventilation, which puts the body in a state of hypoxia and causes an increase in red blood cells. It is common in lung diseases such as bronchiectasis, cor pulmonale, obesity, pulmonary arteriovenous fistula, cyanotic congenital heart disease, abnormal hemoglobin disease, etc.

In other cases, the patient does not have tissue hypoxia, but the bone marrow's function of producing red blood cells is enhanced. However, the increase in red blood cells is not needed by the body and has no compensatory significance, which can also cause an increase in red blood cells. It is more common in certain tumors or kidney diseases, such as nephroblastoma, adrenal tumor, polycystic kidney, renal artery stenosis, hemangioblastoma, etc.