I know you Posted this 2 years ago. But I thought I would share this just incase you still have no answer, which I'm sure is not the case....but mostly for others who look it up and come upon it like I did.
Yes everyone that has posted before is correct about an increase in WBC's. I wanted to highlight a thing that people did not mention. The enlarged psoterior cervical lymph nodes....ONE OF THE SIGNS DOCTORS LOOK for that can indicate a HIV INFECTION is enlarged cervical lymph nodes, which are those lymph nodes on the posterior neck that you are talking about.
I am not for sure on this, but with my back ground...I would think it common to have an increase in WBC in the beginning stages of HIV due to the body trying to fight off "the infection". Then once the disease progress's it will eventually start to decrease your WBC's the immune system fighters.
Hope this helps others or even you...if you have not found an answer yet!
Just for some reference for you when looking at your labs.
The normal overall WBC is (3.8 -11)
Differentials : Neutrophils : Normal should be approx 48 - 73% of total WBC
Lymphocytes :18 -48%
Monocytes:0 -9%
Eosinophils:0 -5%
Basophils:0 -2%
Any %"s out of wack as cheesenrice has mentioned can be sometimes caused by one of the above or if they are only slightly out of normal often it is nothing at all and imagine your doctor would have discussed this with you when going over the results.
Good luck
Will
When I had a high white blood cell count, my doc said it was the body's way off fighting off an infection. Things like a cut that's trying to heal, or the flu, a sore throat, bronchitis or a sinus infection can all cause your wbc to go up. And, antihistamines can make it go up too! I hope this helps.
christina
Cheesenrice pretty much has it covered here. Get a copy of your lab report so that you can tell us which WBC is elevated... as you can see, there are many different kinds... each with its own cause.
Diane
2
Look at the neutrophil levels. An elevation in the number of neutrophils can indicate bacterial infection, vasculitis and inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and vasculitis. Low levels of neutrophils may be caused by a serious infection or medications, such as chemotherapy.
3
Examine the eosinophil count. Eosinophils levels can increase because of allergies, skin inflammation, parasitic infections or bone marrow disorders. Low eosinophil levels can indicate infection.
4
Check the number of basophils. This number can increase because of leukemia, chronic inflammation, food allergies or radiation therapy.
5
Look at the lymphocyte count. Increases in lymphocytes can be caused by viral infection, leukemia, bone marrow cancer or radiation therapy. Low lymphocyte levels may be due to immune system diseases, such as lupus and the HIV infection.
6
Check monocyte levels. Monocyte counts can increase because of infection, inflammation and cancer. Low monocyte levels may be caused by bone marrow problems and leukemia.
Read more: How to Interpret a WBC Differential Count | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_5727931_interpret-wbc-differential-count.html#ixzz1SVbuH900