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Jaundice- An Overview Of The Condition
In simple terms, the disorder jaundice is an issue with your liver where the liver is unable to stop the production of bilirubin. The liver cells get abnormal and start to produce high levels of bilirubin, a hormone that the liver is not able to process.
The result is a high level of bilirubin presence in your body because of which causes the skin and the white section of the eyes to start turning yellow.
The Process Of Development Of The Condition In Your Body
To make you understand about jaundice and how it starts in your body, go through the steps given below-
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RBC Breakdown
Normally, your liver can break down the RBCs or the red blood cells, and in this process, bilirubin is made.
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Bilirubin Processing
The liver processes bilirubin, which is secreted as part of the bile juice during the digestion process.
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Excess Bilirubin
Since the amount of RBC breakdown increases, so do bilirubin levels. The liver is not able to deal with such a high level of bilirubin production and is not able to process it.
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The Yellow Color Starts To Appear
The presence of high bilirubin levels in the blood starts to leave its pigment, the distinguished yellowish tinge on the skin surface and around the eyes.
Possible Causes
Here is how someone can have jaundice-
Prehepatic Jaundice
This condition occurs before the body is even able to make bilirubin. Excess breakdown of RBCs destroys the liver’s ability to process bilirubin and filter it out from the blood.
Hepatic Jaundice
This issue often occurs in people during liver failure when the liver is not able to remove bilirubin from the blood.
Posthepatic Jaundice
This condition happens when the bile ducts are blocked because of the bilirubin being blocked in the liver cells.
Conditions That Cause Jaundice Are-
Prehepatic Jaundice Reasons
- Breakdown of hematoma and its reabsorption in the bloodstream.
- Hemolytic anemia occurs when the blood cells are destroyed even before their natural lifespan.
Hepatic Jaundice
- Virus that includes hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C, and the Epstein-Barr virus.
- Hepatitis that occurs because of excess alcohol intake
- Genetic metabolic disorders
- Use of medicines like penicillin, oral contraceptives, anabolic steroids, and many others
Posthepatic Jaundice
This condition occurs because of-
- Gallstones
- Inflammation of the gall bladder
- Cancer in the gallbladder
- Pancreatic tumors
Symptoms
The yellowish color develops soon, and during the initial phases of jaundice, it is not that hard to notice. However, along with this symptom, you can have other issues that indicate jaundice disorder, like-
- Fever
- Chills
- Pain in the belly area
- Symptoms that indicate flu
- Dark color of urine
- Discoloration of stools
- Severe tiredness
- Confusion
- Itchy skin
- Weight loss
Risk Factors
Some risk factors may make people more prone to the disorder. Here is a list of risk factors-
Low Immunity
Low immunity can certainly make you prone to jaundice as you can have hepatitis infections that affect the liver and onset jaundice.
Premature Birth
It is surprising to know that baby’s right from birth can have the condition. As per studies, it has been found that babies who are born before the completion of 38 weeks of pregnancy may have the condition.
The reason is that at such a tender age, the liver is not mature enough to deal with excess bilirubin and the breakdown of RBCs.
Other Causes Of Babies Having Jaundice-
- Bruising during childbirth
- Dehydration
- Low nutrition
- Less calorie intake
- Babies who are breastfed by an infected mother
Complications Of Jaundice
Acute Bilirubin Encephalopathy
Bilirubin is a type of toxin for the brain cells, so your brain is where the complications begin to occur first. The bilirubin levels inside the blood can reach the brain cells and start damaging them, leading to a lot of issues like-
- Brain stroke
- Nerve pain
- Cerebral attacks
- Brain death
Kernicterus
This is the condition where you have reached a stage of permanent damage to the brain because of rising bilirubin.
Some of the symptoms you can have in this case are-
- Involuntary movements
- Upward gaze
- Hearing loss
Preventing Jaundice- What Are The Steps?
It is important to take the right steps to prevent the disorder from affecting your healthy life. Here is a list of preventive steps that you can take for this-
- Getting vaccinated from hepatitis infections
- Increasing immunity, which can be done in a variety of ways through your diet or exercise.
- Ensuring safe sex, which is the use of condoms.
- Keeping a track of your cholesterol levels
Diagnosis
Generally, the first step for doctors is to check your body externally. Typically, the doctors will look for a yellowish color developing on your skin and eyes.
- Along with this, they can recommend that you have blood tests and check the bilirubin levels in your blood samples.
- They will also recommend liver function tests to figure out the reason for jaundice and determine its type.
- Imaging tests like CT scans, ultrasounds, and MRIs
- Liver biopsy
Treatment
The doctors aim to find a suitable remedy for the patient depending on the type, cause, and severity of jaundice disorder.
Treatment Of Jaundice In Newborns
A sort of therapy is photo therapy, in which the doctors expose the baby to blue light, which, as per studies, helps lower bilirubin levels.
Treatment Of Jaundice In Adults
Medicines
- The doctors may give you a suitable antiviral medicine if you are suffering from any hepatitis infection.
- They can also give you suitable antibacterial medicines to cure any bacterial infection.
- You may have to use medicines to curb pain, inflammation, and other symptoms of the disorder.
Blood Transfusion
The doctors may have to opt for a blood transfusion if you have a severe anemia condition or your bilirubin levels have gone abnormally high.
Surgery
Gallstones, tumors, and blocked bile ducts may have to undergo from surgery if it is the cause of jaundice.