What Is Jaundice?
Jaundice comes from the French word jaune, which means yellow. Jaundice is the yellow color seen in the skin of many newborns. It happens when a chemical called bilirubin builds up in the baby’s blood. Jaundice can occur in babies of any race or color.
Jaundice is not a disease but rather a sign that can occur in many different diseases. Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) that is caused by high levels in blood of the chemical bilirubin. The color of the skin and sclerae vary depending on the level of bilirubin.
Causes Of Jaundice
In the human body, new blood is being made all the time and old blood is being destroyed. One of the products of destroyed blood is called bilirubin. Bilirubin normally goes to the liver to be processed and then leaves the body in the poo. For the first few days after birth your baby's liver does not work as well as it does later, so there tends to be a build-up of bilirubin in the blood.
Gilbert’s syndrome: a mild inherited condition associated with decreased bilirubin conjugation due to a decrease in enzyme activity. Those affected may have temporary jaundice during times of illness or stress and increases in their unconjugated bilirubin levels.
Symptoms Of Jaundice
The symptoms of jaundice depend on the cause and severity, but may include:
Yellow tinge to the skin, usually appearing first on the skin of the face and scalp.
Yellow tinge to the white parts of the eyes (sclera).
In moderate jaundice, the yellow tinge will spread to the skin of the body.
Jaundice, also referred to as icterus, is the yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment, bilirubin. The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids and also may turn the urine dark.
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If the jaundice is severe it can cause brain damage. Signs of this in small babies are sleepiness and poor feeding. In some types of jaundice, the child may pass dark urine and very pale faces.
Treatment Of Jaundice
Good fluid intake is essential for newborn babies. Jaundice is often exaggerated with mild dehydration. Bilirubin is metabolised or processed by the liver. Mild jaundice in the first week needs no treatment except fluids. Moderate jaundice is treated by placing your baby naked (with a protective mask over the eyes) under a bright light or a bluish-coloured light. This is called phototherapy and can be delivered in many different ways safely.
If moderate to severe jaundice develops because of blood group differences between mother and baby, an intravenous transfusion of antibodies may decrease the jaundice and lessen the need for exchange blood transfusion.
Take juice fast for a week, and rest until the acute symptoms of the disease subside. After the juice fast, adopt an all-fruit diet for a further three to five days, taking three meals a day of fresh Juicy fruits at five-hourly intervals.
Phototherapy is safe, but is only used when needed (usually for 2 to 3 days). In severe cases, the baby may need to be given fluids intravenously (into his veins with a needle) or through a blood transfusion.
If the liver is severely damaged, the damage cannot be reversed. If you stop drinking alcohol this will increase your chances of survival. You may be considered for a liver transplant if the damage is very severe.
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