Q. Can allergy or breathing problem be a cause for elevated hemoglobin levels?

Hi doctor,

This is for my son, who is 18 years old. He was identified as having mild anemia when he was 12 years old. The doctor who was consulted suggested him to take iron supplements, and he recovered. In the past, he had eczema as well. It was very severe when he was a child. Later, when he grew older, the itching stopped. He has been in college and away from home for the last year. He has developed breathing problems and a little bit of itching, mostly under the knee joints. His breathing problems have been treated with a Salbutamol inhaler. Almost six months above, his blood test shows a hemoglobin count of 16. His haemoglobin count showed a little increase to 17.1 last week, while his high density lipoprotein count dropped to 30 from 38 the week before. His allergy test, which was over 500 ml, was also taken.

So is his allergy or breathing problem the reason for this hemoglobin increase? I already did research online and see that body is trying to compensate for chronically low blood oxygen levels due to poor heart or lung function.So instead of long theories, given my son's blood results above, is his allergy or breathing issue the reason for this? Is there a relation between elevated allerge ige or immunoglobuline ige and high hemoglobin count? We consulted a doctor, who said the count was close to the border. So make some blood donation, and it should be fine. But I am not sure, and I am concerned. Please advise.