The truth needs to know about jaundice

Jaundice is a more common disease than you think. It usually appears in newborns, with a yellowish skin appearance, even white irises are tarnished.

The origin of yellow is due to the amount of bilirulin - a chemical found in hemoglobin of red blood cells.Bilirulin (also known as bile pigments) is yellow , so when the concentration is too high, the skin will turn color.

But why is bilirulin concentration so high? Normally when red blood cells are broken, the body seeks to produce new cells to replace, and push the old cells to the liver for resolution. However, because the infant's liver is still too immature, sometimes bilirubin will form faster than the rate of processing, accumulating and causing jaundice.

Jaundice is dangerous?

In fact, there are many reasons for a child to have jaundice - such as blood, maternal and child blood infections that are incompatible .

Premature labor can also cause liver activity to be poor, resulting in bilirubin accumulation.

There are many reasons for a child to have jaundice.

Sometimes breastfeeding also causes the skin to become yellow, because milk can interfere with liver's ability to metabolize bilirubin.

Most cases of jaundice are not too dangerous. Many cases of young skin appear yellow within 3-5 days after birth, but then gradually disappear when the body starts to adapt and function more smoothly.

However, bilirubin is basically a poison . When the concentration is too high, it can cross the blood brain barrier, directly affect brain cells and cause brain yellowing. If left to that extent, the sequelae will be very large, because it affects irreversibly the brain's ability to develop. A growing child may be deaf, have a lack of exercise and intelligence.

In addition, some cases of skin turn yellow because a potentially dangerous disease cannot be specified. In these cases, symptoms of jaundice will appear very early - only 24 hours after birth, should be monitored carefully.

How to identify dangerous symptoms

As stated, most cases of jaundice are not too dangerous and can be removed by themselves. However, if the child has the following signs, it is necessary to see a doctor before it is too late.

1. Yellow belly, arms, legs
2. Jaundice lasts more than 3 weeks
3. Golden irises
4. Young tired, hard to wake up.
5. No weight gain or anorexia