Neutropenic!

So the blood tests today showed that my white blood count had reached the neutropenia threshold of 1.0; in fact they were 0.8.

This means that I am now at significant risk of developing an infection which my body will not be able to fight on its own. This is where it gets a bit scary. The nurses give me antifungals and antivirals to help reduce the chance of me these types of infection, but there is nothing to stop me getting a bacterial infection and the only defence to these is an army of antibiotics.

Apparently 70% of infections come from your own body so there is little you can do except maintain good hygiene and drink lots of water. The others infections come from people you come into contact with - principally nurses, doctors, cleaners and visitors. Therefore I'm being a bit overcautious and only receiving visits from family.

Hope the counts go back up soon!

(written retrospectively)