Jaundice is characterized by the yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes and white part of the eyes, called sclerotic, due to the increase of bilirubin in the blood, a yellow pigment that results from the destruction of red blood cells in the blood.
Jaundice in adults is often caused by diseases that affect the liver, such as hepatitis, obstruction of the bile ducts, such as a calculus, or by diseases that cause the destruction of red blood cells, such as sickle cell anemia or spherocytosis, for example. . In newborns, the most common cause is physiological jaundice, caused by immaturity of the liver. Learn about the causes and how to treat neonatal jaundice.
- Treatment is done according to the cause and may include the treatment of antibiotic infections.
- The removal of gallstones through surgery or hepatitis control measures.
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Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment that results from the breakdown of red blood cells, metabolized and eliminated by the liver, along with bile, through the intestine, stool and urine. Jaundice can occur when there are changes at any stage of this production process until it is eliminated.
Thus, an excess of bilirubin in the blood can occur for 4 main reasons:
The increase in bilirubin can be of 2 types, called indirect bilirubin, which is free bilirubin, or direct bilirubin, when it has already undergone a liver modification, called conjugation, to be eliminated with bile by the intestine.
The yellowish color of the skin and mucous membranes in jaundice usually appears when blood bilirubin levels exceed 3 mg/dL. Understand how to identify a high bilirubin in the blood test.
It may be accompanied by other signs and symptoms, such as dark urine, called coluria, or whitish stools, called fecal acolia, which occur mainly in case of increase in direct bilirubin. High values of this pigment in the blood can irritate the skin and cause severe itching.
In addition, symptoms that indicate the cause of jaundice, such as abdominal pain and vomiting in hepatitis, paleness and fatigue may also occur in diseases that cause red blood cells or fever and chills in case of infections, for example.
To treat jaundice, it is necessary to treat the disease that caused its onset. Treatment is usually guided by a gastroenterologist, hepatologist, or hematologist and may include measures to unlock the bile ducts, use of medicines to fight infections, discontinuation of toxic liver medications, or immunosuppressants to control diseases that cause haemolysis, for example.
Your doctor may also guide protective measures, such as drinking plenty of water and reducing fatty foods to avoid abdominal discomfort. Medications such as antihistamines or cholestyramine may be indicated to control the itching caused by excess bilirubin.