Jaundice

Symptoms

Red blood cells only last for about 120 days in the body, when they are broken down to be replaced by new ones. When old or damaged red blood cells are broken down by the spleen, a yellow pigment known as bilirubin is produced. Normally, bilirubin in the blood is removed by the liver and discharged as bile into the intestines, where it helps with digestion. When too much yellow pigment is produced, the excess is deposited in the body tissue giving it a yellow colour, some lands up in the urine giving it a dark brown colour and some in the stool, leaving it pale or grey-coloured.

Causes of excess bilirubin

Liver damage may lead to an excess of bilirubin. In turn, the liver damage may be caused by:

• • Hepatitis

• • Glandular fever

• • Malaria

• • Parasitic disease called amoebiases

• • Leptospirosis, an infectious disease caused by bacteria

• • Alcoholism (cirrhosis of the liver)

• • Chemical poisoning

• • Pregnancy.

Excessive destruction of red blood cells may cause an excess of bilirubin, due to the following:

• • After birth, a baby needs less blood and the spleen then starts removing excess blood, leading to jaundice three to five days after birth. Jaundice is commoner in premature babies because their liver is even more immature and therefore less able to cope with the process

• • Sickle-cell anaemia

• • Rhesus incompatibility

• • Thalassaemia major (an inherited form of anaemia in which the red blood cells break down too easily).

Obstructive jaundice is caused when bile is prevented from being discharged through the bile ducts into the intestines. This can be the result of:

• • Gallstones

• • Cancer of the pancreas and bowel.

Treatment

Jaundice should be thoroughly investigated, so that the underlying cause can be identified and treated. The treatment of jaundice depends on its cause but in otherwise healthy individuals, no treatment is necessary. In babies, jaundice improves rapidly without treatment, although when too high it can be speeded up by exposing the baby to ultraviolet light.

 

Sources
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk