What does it mean if your white blood cells and neutrophils are high?
If your white blood cell count is high, this shows an infection, usually bacterial. If your neutrophil count is also high, this shows an acute infection, whereas if your macrophage count were to be high, this would show a chronic infection. An acute infection or inflammation means that it has had a duration of usually less than 2 weeks. A chronic infection lasts longer than 2 weeks. The difference is that the neutrophils are the first responders to inflammation and infection, then come the macrophages. The neutrophils have a shorter lifespan and the macrophages can live for a long time fighting infection. This is how you get the higher count of neutrophils with an acute infection, and the higher macrophages with chronic infection.
