Blood Health
Neutrophils %
What This Marker Tells Us
Measures neutrophils as a proportion of total white blood cells, showing their relative abundance and helping identify bacterial infections or bone marrow stress.
Why It Matters
Neutrophil percentage reflects the relative proportion of neutrophils among all white cells. Normal is 50-70% in adults. High neutrophil percentage (neutrophilia) typically indicates bacterial infection, acute inflammation, stress, or bone marrow disorders. Low neutrophil percentage may indicate relative lymphocytosis (viral infection) or true neutropenia (immune suppression). High percentage with low total WBC might still mean low absolute neutrophils. Always interpret percentage alongside absolute neutrophil count for accurate clinical assessment. Neutrophils dominate the WBC differential during bacterial infections, while lymphocytes dominate during viral infections, creating characteristic percentage shifts that aid diagnosis.
How to Interpret Your Trends
Normal neutrophil percentage: 50-70% of WBC. High percentage (above 70%) typically indicates bacterial infection, severe inflammation, stress, or bone marrow disorders producing excess neutrophils. Very high percentage (above 80-85%) suggests severe bacterial infection or chronic myeloid leukemia. Low percentage (below 50%) may indicate viral infection (relative lymphocytosis), true neutropenia, or other conditions suppressing neutrophil production. Very low percentage (below 30-40%) raises concern for significant neutropenia or overwhelming lymphocytosis.
What Influences This Marker
Neutrophil percentage increases with bacterial infections, acute inflammation, physical or emotional stress, smoking, steroid medications, and conditions increasing absolute neutrophils. It decreases relatively with viral infections (lymphocytes increase), or absolutely with bone marrow suppression, autoimmune destruction, or medications. Percentage reflects both absolute neutrophil changes and relative shifts when other WBC types change dramatically.
How Your Team Uses It
Your coach supports neutrophil health through adequate sleep, stress management, balanced nutrition with sufficient protein, and appropriate training intensity. They interpret percentage alongside absolute count to understand whether changes reflect true neutrophil issues or relative shifts from other WBC changes.
Related Signals We Also Review
Absolute neutrophils, total WBC, lymphocyte percentage and absolute count, bands, hs-CRP, and clinical symptoms for comprehensive infection and immune assessment.