Symptoms, Causes, Home Remedies, and More

Overview

Jaundice is a liver-related condition that causes a yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes, and sometimes other less obvious symptoms. While it’s quite common and temporary in newborns, jaundice in children can be a sign of a more serious medical problem.

Jaundice is the result of hyperbilirubinemia, the buildup of a substance called bilirubin in the bloodstream. Bilirubin is produced during the normal breakdown of red blood cells. It’s an orange-yellow substance that usually passes through the liver and is excreted from the body.

When there are abnormally high levels of bilirubin in the blood, jaundice develops, and signs of skin and eye color changes appear. Jaundice in children and adults is unusual and an indication of health issues requiring treatment. It’s important to see a doctor if your child shows any signs of this condition.

Types found in children

In newborns, jaundice usually occurs because an infant’s liver isn’t fully developed enough to properly break down and excrete bilirubin. Jaundice in older children, however, has other causes. They can generally be divided up into three types:

• obstructive jaundice, which results from blockage in the bile duct between the pancreas and the liver
• hepatocellular jaundice, which appears if there is liver disease or damage
• hemolytic jaundice, which develops when there is an abnormal breakdown of red blood cells, leading to excessive levels of bilirubin in the blood

Symptoms of jaundice in children

The most apparent signs of jaundice are yellowing of the skin and of the whites of the eyes. Jaundice can also cause color changes to bodily fluids, such as pale stools and dark urine.

If your child’s jaundice is related to a serious medical condition, such as hepatitis, they may have other symptoms, including:

• fever
• abdominal pain
• nausea
• fatigue

Symptoms of jaundice should be taken seriously, but if they’re accompanied by other signs of distress, get your child to an emergency room or a walk-in clinic as soon as possible.

Causes of jaundice in children

Jaundice has a range of several possible causes. Knowing the origin of your child’s jaundice is critical in making sure the right treatment plan is put in place. Among the more common causes of jaundice are:

Hepatitis

There are five basic types of transmittable hepatitis, each one triggered by a different virus.

• Hepatitis A is often the result of consuming contaminated water or food.
• Hepatitis B is transmitted through bodily fluids. A mother with hepatitis B may transmit the virus to her baby at birth.
• Hepatitis C is typically transmitted through contaminated blood or drug needles, so it may be less likely a cause of jaundice in young children.
• Hepatitis D often develops in people who already have the hepatitis B virus.
• Hepatitis E is usually isolated to developing regions of the world.

Hepatitis A and hepatitis B are preventable by vaccines. Another type of hepatitis, known as autoimmune hepatitis, occurs when the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells in the liver.

All forms of hepatitis involve inflammation of the liver. Over time, this can cause serious harm to liver function.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)

EBV is a very common virus, affecting children and adults alike. It tends to be transmitted through bodily fluids, such as saliva.

A child who shares a toothbrush or a drinking glass with someone who has EBV is vulnerable. You or your child could have EBV and experience no symptoms or lasting health problems. But in more serious cases, jaundice, fever, enlarged lymph nodes, and other signs may be present.

Gallstones

Gallstones are small, hardened deposits of bile, a digestive fluid. The deposits form in the gallbladder, a small organ located just below the liver.

It’s not always clear why gallstones develop, but it may be due to an abundance of bile in your child’s cholesterol or too much bilirubin in the bile. If the gallbladder doesn’t properly empty of bile, the fluid can build up and form gallstones.

Cancer

Cancers of the pancreas and liver may cause jaundice, among other symptoms. However, these are rare in children.

Hemolytic anemia

There are several types of hemolytic anemia, but they all cause the destruction and removal of red blood cells at a faster rate than is healthy and normal. Hemolytic anemia can be an inherited condition, passed down from one or both parents, or it can result from an infection or an autoimmune disease, among other things.

Diagnosis of jaundice in children

An initial diagnosis of jaundice can be made by a physical examination and observation of your child’s skin and eyes. Determining the cause of jaundice can be more difficult.

Your child’s doctor may look for signs of liver disease by checking for unusual bruises or for spider angiomas, which are small, abnormal clusters of blood vessels just under the surface of the skin. If the fingers and palm of the hand turn a reddish color (palmar erythema), that could be a sign of liver disease. A physical exam to check for swelling of the liver will also be done.

A blood test and urinalysis can reveal high levels of bilirubin in the body along with problems with liver function and anemia. Blood tests can also help diagnose conditions such as hepatitis and Epstein-Barr.

If your child has anemia in addition to jaundice, your child’s doctor may also order a screening known as a Coombs test to confirm or rule out whether antibodies are attacking red blood cells. This is a sign that an autoimmune disease is at the root of your child’s jaundice.

Treatment of jaundice in children

Home remedies for jaundice in children

Outlook and prevention

A mild case of jaundice will usually disappear on its own. Once an underlying cause, such as hepatitis or hemolytic anemia, is treated, jaundice and other symptoms will also vanish.

Preventing jaundice isn’t always possible, especially if your child has an inherited condition or an autoimmune condition that’s causing the bilirubin buildup. However, good hygiene and avoiding the sharing of cups and other items that might carry a virus may reduce the risk of conditions such as EBV. Two of the most common types of hepatitis are preventable by vaccines.

Jaundice in newborns | Raising Children Network

About jaundice in newborns

Jaundice in newborns happens when there’s an overload of bilirubin in a baby’s blood. This can make the baby’s skin and eye whites go yellow.

Bilirubin is a waste product that’s produced when old red blood cells break down. Usually, the liver processes bilirubin and mixes it into bile. Bile then goes from the liver to the digestive tract and finally comes out of the body in poo. In newborns, several things can stop this happening properly, which leads to a bilirubin overload.

Types of jaundice in newborns

Physiological jaundice
In physiological jaundice, babies’ livers aren’t yet developed enough to get rid of bilirubin.

This type of jaundice is very common. It occurs in about 3 in 5 newborns. It usually gets better when your baby’s liver is mature enough to process bilirubin properly.

Breastmilk jaundice
Breastfed babies often get breastmilk jaundice. This is when a chemical in the mother’s breastmilk interferes with the baby’s ability to get rid of bilirubin. This type of jaundice often happens a few days after birth.

Breastmilk jaundice isn’t harmful and usually sorts itself out after several weeks.

Breastfeeding jaundice
Breastfeeding jaundice happens when babies get dehydrated because of problems with breastfeeding. They need fluids to reduce bilirubin levels.

Breastfeeding jaundice usually gets better when babies get more fluids.

Jaundice from delayed cord clamping
Babies can get jaundice if there’s been a delay in getting their umbilical cord clamped and cut. Delayed clamping can cause there to be too many red blood cells in a baby’s blood. It means that there are more red blood cells than normal for the liver to process, so the bilirubin builds up.

This type of jaundice usually just needs monitoring and gets better by itself after 1-2 weeks.

Jaundice from birth interventions
Babies can get jaundice when they’re bruised because of interventions at birth, like forceps birth. The red blood cells from this bruising break down and bilirubin builds up.

This type of jaundice usually just needs monitoring and gets better by itself after 1-2 weeks.

Blood type incompatibility jaundice
This is a rare type of jaundice, which happens when the mother’s and baby’s blood groups are incompatible.

This isn’t usually a problem during a first pregnancy because the mother’s and the baby’s bloodstreams don’t mix. But during the delivery, some of the baby’s blood might mix with the mother’s blood. The mother then develops antibodies that become active during her next pregnancy and cross the placenta to attack a second baby’s red blood cells.

The destruction of these red blood cells in the second baby releases bilirubin into that baby’s bloodstream, which results in jaundice. If this happens, you usually see it in the first 24 hours after birth.

Babies with this kind of jaundice need treatment.

Biliary atresia
Biliary atresia is a rare cause of jaundice in babies.

It happens when the tiny tubes that carry bile from the liver to the intestine don’t work. Babies with this condition usually grow as expected and look well at first, but they get very ill with serious liver disease if they aren’t diagnosed and treated early.

Babies with this kind of jaundice usually start to show signs at 2-8 weeks of age.

Babies with this kind of jaundice need surgical treatment.

Symptoms of jaundice in newborns

Newborn jaundice causes your baby’s skin and the whites of their eyes to go a yellow colour.

The jaundice typically starts on the face and head. If the level of bilirubin increases, the colour spreads to the body.

Babies might also be drowsy and have feeding difficulties.

Babies with biliary atresia also have pale-looking poo and darker urine.

Medical help: when to get it for newborns who have jaundice

Your child and family health nurse, midwife, GP or paediatrician should check and monitor your newborn for jaundice.

You should take your baby to the GP if your baby:

• is unwell, feeding poorly and not gaining enough weight
• has pale poo or dark wee
• looks jaundiced.

Tests for jaundice in newborns

Medical staff might measure the level of your baby’s jaundice using a bilirubinometer, which is a special machine that’s briefly placed on your baby’s skin. But they might also need to do a heel prick test to get a more accurate measurement of the level of bilirubin in your baby’s blood.

Sometimes if the levels of jaundice are high or medical staff are worried that your baby has a more serious condition, your baby will need other tests to find the cause.

Treatment of jaundice in newborns

Treatment for newborn jaundice depends on how serious it is and what has caused it.

Physiological jaundice and jaundice from delayed cord clamping or birth interventions
Babies who develop jaundice several days after birth usually just need careful monitoring by their parents. These babies don’t usually have to stay in hospital.

If your baby’s bilirubin levels are high, they might have phototherapy treatment for a few days. This treatment uses a special type of blue light that helps break down the bilirubin overload.

Babies most commonly get phototherapy by being placed naked in a cot under a phototherapy lamp for 2-3 days in hospital. Some hospitals offer a biliblanket. This is a special blanket for wrapping your baby. You can use a biliblanket to give your baby phototherapy treatment at home. It’s important to supervise your baby when they’re wrapped in a biliblanket.

Most babies cope well with phototherapy treatment. Phototherapy has minimal side effects, although your baby might have a mild rash and runny poo for a few days. Some babies have small fluid losses during phototherapy, so they might need extra feeds.

Breastmilk jaundice
If your baby has breastmilk jaundice, you can keep breastfeeding. This type of jaundice is usually mild and should get better by itself with time. Talk with your child and family health nurse or doctor if you’re worried about what to do.

Breastfeeding jaundice
Babies with breastfeeding jaundice get better when they have more feeds. Your child and family health nurse or a lactation consultant can help with breastfeeding.

Severe or blood type incompatibility jaundice
Severe jaundice, in which bilirubin levels are very high, might need treatment with an exchange transfusion. This is when a baby’s own blood is replaced with compatible fresh blood. This is usually a treatment for blood type incompatibility jaundice, but it isn’t common.

Biliary atresia jaundice
If your baby has jaundice caused by biliary atresia, they’ll need an urgent operation to help with bile drainage.

If severe jaundice isn’t treated, it can cause brain damage.

Prevention of jaundice in newborns

Only jaundice caused by a certain type of blood incompatibility is preventable.

If your doctor or health professional thinks this type of jaundice might be a problem, you’ll get an anti-D injection immediately after delivery. This can prevent complications in subsequent pregnancies.

10 home remedies for jaundice in newborns

jaundice Very common in newborns. This occurs when the level of bilirubin in the blood is high. As a rule, Jaundice in children Newborns are harmless. It can be treated easily or on its own within XNUMX-XNUMX weeks after the baby is born. But if the bilirubin level remains high, the child should be hospitalized. There are several treatments for jaundice in newborns. However, before giving it to a child, you should consult a doctor.

It is normal for a baby to have jaundice at birth. There are several treatments for jaundice in newborns. Here is a list of treatments for jaundice in newborns.

1. Feed your baby often.

If your newborn has jaundice, feed him more often. Breastfeeding your baby will help remove bilirubin from the bloodstream more often and excrete it in feces and urine. Babies with jaundice sleep a lot. If your child has jaundice, he may sleep a lot too. So wake him up at regular intervals to feed him. If you are not breastfeeding him, give him XNUMX grams of formula at every feeding.

2. Use a beater blanket.

The Bili-blanket is a convenient and inexpensive way to treat neonatal jaundice. This is a portable phototherapy device that is effective in treating some degrees of neonatal jaundice at home.

3. Hold it in the morning sun.

If your child has jaundice, expose him to sunlight for 1-2 hours a day. However, make sure that the child is exposed to oblique sunlight, that is, until 8 o’clock in the morning. The sun’s rays will help reduce the content of bilirubin in the blood and cure jaundice.

4. Try giving him marmalade zest.

Give the newborn 1 ml marshmallow marshmallow extract three times a day until the jaundice is completely gone. This will lower the amount of bilirubin in the blood, flushing it out. Check with your doctor before giving to a child.

5. Use nutritional supplements.

Children need to be fed newborn More people with jaundice compared to children who do not have health problems. If the mother does not have enough milk, you can give her formula.

6. Feed him. carrots and spinach juice.

Mix the vegetables and then squeeze the juice to make juice. Give your child a few drops of juice after consulting a doctor.

7. Give him sugar cane juice.

The vital sugar in sugar cane helps the liver fight jaundice better. So give a few spoons of juice 3-4 times a day, and jaundice in young children can be cured. However, remember to extract the juice at home and not buy it from vendors.

8. Give wheat juice.

A few drops of wheatgrass juice can be added to formula and given to a child suffering from jaundice. Wheatgrass juice also helps remove excess bilirubin from the liver. If your child suffers from jaundice, you can try this remedy. You can even drink a glass of wheatgrass juice because it will be passed on to your baby through breast milk, which will ultimately benefit him.

9. Try sunbeam therapy.

Put your child under a special sun lamp. This is a home phototherapy method that you can try if your child’s bilirubin levels are constantly elevated.

10. Drink tomato juice.

تعد tomatoes Rich source of lycopene, good for blood. If tomato juice is consumed early in the morning, it can help treat liver problems and jaundice. Since newborns should not take tomato juice, it is recommended for mothers to drink it. Nutrients in tomato juice will enter the body of the newborn through the mother’s milk and help him recover better.

These are some of the treatments you can try with your newborn after consulting your doctor. There are some herbs for jaundice, but they should not be given directly. Therefore, the mother can take herbal supplements such as dandelion tea, basil tea, comfrey tea, etc., which are rich in antioxidants, which can help detoxify the baby’s body.

Sometimes a newborn may suffer from jaundice due to the consumption of mother’s milk. In such a situation, the mother should stop breastfeeding him.

Most newborns are born with jaundice and require little or no treatment. Within a week or two, the jaundice goes away on its own. For this type of mild jaundice, you can use home remedies (after consulting your doctor, of course). But if the level of bilirubin continues to rise, you should immediately take the newborn to the doctor. There is no cause for concern if your child has this; However, it should not be left untreated.

Rental of a photolamp against jaundice in Novosibirsk

Several types of photo lamps

Minimum rental period – from one day

Favorable cost of renting photo lamps against jaundice

Rental conditions for photo lamps 9008 9

1. Hire of photolamps against jaundice is carried out on the basis of an Agreement executed in 2 signed and stamped copies.
2. When concluding a contract, you need a passport with a residence permit in Novosibirsk or the Novosibirsk region.
3. In the absence of a passport or residence permit, a cash deposit is paid (for each product it is calculated individually). Upon return, the security deposit will be refunded.
4. To conclude the contract, an advance payment is made for the expected period of use.
5. The minimum rental period is indicated for each product.

How to rent a photo lamp for jaundice

1. Select the appropriate model in the catalog;
2. Leave a request for rent through the website form (button “Rent”), write to WhatsApp, or call the specified numbers;
3. The manager will discuss with you all the details of the lease;
4. Arrive at the address Novosibirsk, st. Voskhod d. 20 office 311 for the conclusion of the contract;
5. After the conclusion of the contract and payment, you will be given the goods.

How to return a photo lamp

• Return is available only at: Novosibirsk, st. Voskhod d. 20 office 311.
• Upon return, an additional payment / refund is made under the contract.

Neonatal phototherapy is a procedure aimed at reducing total bilirubin in the blood serum. This is an effective treatment for jaundice, which is carried out using special equipment – photo lamps. Under the influence of super-bright LEDs, free bilirubin is transformed into lumirubin and excreted from the body in a natural way. The duration of the sessions and the total number of hours of phototherapy for jaundice is determined by the doctor – it all depends on the state of health and the individual characteristics of the child’s body.

Features of phototherapy:

• The newborn is undressed so that as much skin as possible is exposed to therapeutic radiation;
• The child’s eyes should be covered with a bandage to protect from bright light;
• Feeding can continue as usual, no change needed;
• The level of bilirubin in the blood is under control and measured at least once a day.

Photolamps for the treatment of jaundice in newborns in Novosibirsk

Jaundice is diagnosed in 60% of full-term and more than 80% of premature newborns during the first week of life. This is due to the fact that the child’s liver is not mature enough to get rid of excess toxic bilirubin, the yellow pigment in red blood cells. The main symptom of jaundice is yellowness of the skin, discoloration of the sclera.