Jaundice is when your skin, the whites of the eyes and mucous membranes become tinted yellow, due to excessive bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells. Everyday about 1 percent of a body's old red blood cells are replaced by new ones, and the liver processes the old ones. If the liver is overwhelmed, jaundice occurs.
Types
Jaundice that occurs in healthy newborns is physiologic jaundice and is quite common and seen even more often in premature infants. Pathologic jaundice is when there is a health risk with the jaundice, while Gilbert syndrome is a mild, inherited condition that causes jaundice.
Newborns
While common, high bilirubin levels can be dangerous to newborns and lead to kernicterus which can cause mental retardation, hearing loss and other serious problems. Treatment is usually phototherapy or in severe cases blood transfusion.
Levels
Normal bilirubin totals in the bloodstream are in the range of .20mg/dl to 1.50mg/dl. If direct bilirubin testing is done, the average is .00 to .03mg/dl. Levels beyond this along with serious symptoms, would indicate a dangerous jaundice level.
Identification
Jaundice indicates a problem and treatment depends on the cause of the high bilirubin levels behind the jaundice. Some possible causes include liver disease or damage, a type of anemia, a liver blockage, cirrhosis, hepatitis, toxic drug reaction or chronic alcoholism.
Considerations
Typically, to diagnose any cause of jaundice, other than common newborn jaundice, a physician will take a complete medical history, do a thorough medical exam and do other testing such as liver function test, complete blood count, urine and stool tests, and an abdominal ultrasound.
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