An eosinophil is a type of white blood cell that is an integral part of the human immune system. It is responsible for fighting various infections and parasites in the blood. Eosinophils are developed in the bone marrow. They are responsible in controlling the body's allergic reactions. Eosinophils are likely to be found only in certain parts of the body in a healthy individual.
They are found in the brain stem, in the thymus, in the ovaries and uterus of a female, in the spleen and in lymph nodes. The thymus is an organ that is a part of the human immune system. If eosinophils are found in other organs of the body during an eosinophils test, it might indicate that that part of the body is infected by an illness or disease. Excess concentration of eosinophils can be detected by eosinophils blood test or urine eosinophils test which can confirm this. Such a condition may be caused by a prolonged illness or by the presence of a parasite in the body. There are some malignant diseases that will result in an elevated level of eosinophils in the blood stream. This condition is known as eosinophilia. Steroid based treatments may be required to reduce the number of eosinophils in the body.
Eosinophils are also responsible for asthma related symptoms. They are ideally supposed to control asthma and such allergic reactions. However, excess eosinophil concentration may lead to a hyper reaction to any allergen. Asthma is a type of hyper reaction to an irritant or allergen.
The most common way of testing the eosinophil level is a blood test. In such a test, the concentration of eosinophil cells is measured. Blood will be drawn from the patient's arm using an airtight needle or syringe. The blood is then sent to a laboratory for analysis. Eosinophils are usually transparent in color. When they are tested in a laboratory, a stain known as eosin is introduced into the blood that is being analyzed. This stain causes the eosinophil cells to turn red in color. This is where they get their name from.
The test results can be interpreted as follows. A high count may be due to allergies, asthma, leukemia, eczema or hay fever. A low count may be caused by excessive alcohol consumption or excessive use of steroids. It may also be caused by excessive steroid production in the blood. A normal amount of eosinophils is between 200 and 400 cells per micro liter