Pain under left ribcage doesn’t mean that you are experiencing an enlarged spleen. If the spleen was enlarged it could be palpated. Normal spleens can’t be registered on palpation. Enlarged spleens can be due to many reasons including leukemia.
A high white blood count is usually caused by infection. Leukemia is also possible, although it occurs much less frequently than infection. During leukemia not only is the white blood count increased, but also there are pathologic forms of white blood cells (WBC) present in the blood.
Increased granulocytes indicate a bacterial infection while increased lymphocytes indicate a viral infection. Extremely increased WBC (above 50000/ml which is not in your case) is a case that is a suspect for leukemia, but as I said previously, pathologic forms of WBC should be detected in the blood to confirm leukemia. It seems likely that in your case, infection is a more probably explanation than leukemia. You should visit your GP and eventually an internist for further diagnostic procedures including a differential blood count.
DISCLAIMER:
"Ask a Doctor" questions are answered by certified physicians and other medical professionals who volunteer
their time on eHealth Forum.
For more information about experts participating in the "Ask a Doctor" Network, please visit our
medical experts page.
You may also visit our Leukemia , for moderated patient to patient support and information.
The information provided on eHealth Forum is designed to improve, not replace, the relationship between a patient and his/her own physician.
Personal consultation(s) with a qualified medical professional is the proper means for diagnosing any medical condition.