Jaundice

There are many skin conditions one may experience throughout life. However, some of these conditions can be the cause of a more serious health ailment. If you have ever had a child, or are familiar with infant care, than you are well-versed in the condition referred to as Jaundice, which is a common state among newborn children. Neonatal Jaundice is caused by the infants’ liver not being completely developed. While this condition causes the infant to have a yellow tint to their skin and eyes, it usually disappears within two weeks because this is the amount of time it takes for a newborn child’s liver to begin processing the bilirubin. Even though we are familiar with Neonatal Jaundice, when it comes to this disease within adults, many people are not so familiar with it.

When an adult suffers from Jaundice, there are many different reasons why their skin and eyes are turning yellow. One of the main causes for this ailment is liver disease, which spans far beyond having Cirrhosis of the Liver. You can obtain liver disease by being infected with Hepatitis A, B, C, D, E, G, X as well as having overall liver failure. All of these conditions can cause Jaundice and when gone untreated, the condition only furthers. Even though you can obtain Jaundice through a wide variety of physical ailments, what exactly is this condition? And why does it affect your body in the known manner?

The side effect of Jaundice, which is the yellowing of the skin and eyes, is caused by an increased amount of bilirubin within your red blood cells. Basically, when the bilirubin is passed through the liver, it is broken down further through the use of bile and then finally released from the body through the means of feces. And the reason why there is a buildup of bilirubin within the liver is because when this chemical is passed through this organ it does not filter it correctly. Thus there is an increase of bilirubin in the bloodstream, causing your body to take on a yellowish tint.

There are three main hepatic reasons why this condition happens. The first of these conditions is the Pre-Hepatic condition, which is also known as hemolytic. Usually this type of Jaundice is found within individuals who suffer from diseases such as Malaria and even sickle cell anemia. The main reason why these diseases affect your body in this manner is because they inhibit the body’s ability to breakdown your red blood cells, which causes a chemical buildup within the bloodstream, and thus leads to Jaundice. You will notice that within this type of Jaundice you will experience intense fevers, which need to be treated immediately.

The second cause of this condition is called Hepatic Jaundice. This type of Jaundice is found mainly within individuals who have an alcohol related liver disease as well as any type of acute hepatitis. The reason why many alcoholics, or hepatitis suffers, obtain Jaundice is because with Hepatic Jaundice, your liver is unable to metabolize, or breakdown, bilirubin. Because of this, there is an excessive buildup of this chemical within the body and thus causes Jaundice to become active. While Hepatic is one of the most common causes for Jaundice, there is still one more type of Jaundice one can experience.

The last cause is known as Post-Hepatic Jaundice. This version of Jaundice is usually caused by a health problem, which affects how the body drains the waste fluid known as bile. The main type of health ailments that cause Post-Hepatic Jaundice, which is also known as cholestasis, is through pancreatic cancer or if you have gallstones. If you have this type of Jaundice, you will not only notice a slight yellowing of your body, but also your urine will have a dark color associated with it, and your stool will be pale in color. These side effects will help you know if you have Obstructive Jaundice, and will help your physician better fix this issue.

While many people fully understand how to diagnose Jaundice, what exactly are the treatments for this health condition? According to the Mayo Clinic, when your newborn child is experiencing Jaundice, there are several different treatments your child may go through. The first of these treatments is used for children who have a mild case of Jaundice, and it uses light therapy to help alter the state of the bilirubin to a chemical that is easily broken down by their kidneys. Another treatment option is the Intravenous Immunoglobulin, which basically is used when the child has a moderate to slightly severe case of Jaundice. With this treatment antibodies are transfused into the infant’s bloodstream, which will help the child get rid of this condition. The last treatment option is a blood transfusion, which is usually only seen in severe cases of Jaundice. Normally, all other treatments will be done before this one is even considered, however, if your child does not respond well to the previous treatments, than he/she will most likely undergo a blood transfusion.

In adults, there are many different types of treatments for Jaundice, and all of them range depending on why you actually obtained this condition. Since Jaundice is a result of some other health ailment, in order to appropriately treat this condition, you must also treat the root cause. Thus, when you are an adult, treating Jaundice usually means treating another condition. An example of this is if you have Post-Hepatic Jaundice, which is usually caused by gallstones; the physician would cure your Jaundice by removing the gallstones which are stopping your body from performing its normal tasks. The best thing to do when you are suffering from this condition is to visit your doctor and allow them to find out the appropriate treatment options for you.

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