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Suggest Treatment For Persistent Sore Throat And Cold In An Anemic Person

Posted on Sat, 2 Jul 2016

Question: I have had frequent sore throats and colds and recently discovered I was anemic. Would the CBC tests I've had be able to tell if I had leukemia? Or would I need other tests?

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
CBC is the first investigations which should be done to look for leukemia

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Thanks for posting your query on HealthcareMagic.

Yess if you are suspicious for leukemia, a CBC is the first investigations which should be done.

Thanks
Dr Shailja Puri

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee

Follow up: Dr. Shailja Puri (16 hours later)

If my CBC is completely normal other than my iron, does this rule me out for leukemia?

Answered by Dr. Shailja Puri (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Frequent infections can be due to low immunoglobulins

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome again,
A normal CBC rules out leukemia in most of the cases.
Leukemia is accompanied by other constitutional features also like fever, weakness, tiredness, weight loss, frequent infections, bleeding tendencies etc.
Low iron should be corrected with iron supplements.
Frequent sore throat can occur due to allergy, acid reflux also.
If there are frequent infections, then immunoglobulin level should be assessed.
Low immunoglobulins can result in frequent infections.

Thanks
Dr Shailja Puri

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Naveen Kumar