Low WBC count, headaches, joint pain, nausea. What could be wrong?
Patient: Hello,A friend of mine is having difficulty getting diagnosed.  She is currently in the hospital with symptoms of low white blood cell count, headaches, joint pain and nausea.  She recently visited Mozambique and started to show symptoms about 3 days after returning.  Do you have any possibilities of what could be wrong? Doctor: Hello and welcome to HCM,Low white blood cell counts may be seen in infections especially bacterial infections.A high load of infection consumes the white blood cells rapidly.Headache, joint pains, and nausea can be a manifestation of infection.You need to get investigations done to look for infections.A blood culture can be done to isolate the micro-organism causing the infection.Consult your treating doctor for prescription of further investigations.Thanks and take careDr Shailja P Wahal