What is Neutrophil Count?

Neutrophils are the part of the immune system that deals with bacteria. They are made in the bone marrow, and once in the blood they engulf bacteria and release antimicrobial compounds.

WBC Count puts every white cell type into a single figure. The neutrophil number says what share of that total is neutrophils, and whether a change in the total came from them or from one of the other types.

Infection and inflammation raise the count most often, prompting the marrow to send more neutrophils into the blood.

An infection lifts neutrophil production within days, and the count falls back once it clears. Testing a year on therefore says nothing about that week, and is not meant to: it asks whether the number neutrophils return to between infections has shifted. This is Do Health's monitoring schedule, not a general recommendation for everyone.