Look in the mirror and see yellow? It might be jaundice. Most people associate it with newborn babies, but it can occur in adults, too. Jaundice, the yellowing of the skin and whites of your eyes, is caused by a high bilirubin level in your blood. It can be caused by a variety of medical conditions, including hepatitis, gallstones, or tumors.
Jaundice is defined as a condition that causes your skin, the whites of your eyes, and mucous membranes to turn yellow in color. The condition results from a high level of bilirubin, a yellowish pigment created during the breakdown of red blood cells. Bilirubin passes through the liver to be excreted out of your body, but an increased amount of bilirubin in your blood can indicate a liver or bile duct problem.
The three main types of jaundice are:
Prehepatic: Occurs prior to the liver processing waste, resulting in increased unconjugated bilirubin levels.
Hepatic: Occurs in the liver, resulting in higher conjugated and unconjugated bilirubin levels
Posthepatic: Occurs after the liver has processed waste, resulting in increased conjugated bilirubin levels.
This occurs after the liver has processed the waste and results in higher conjugated bilirubin levels.
Jaundice can be caused by a number of medical conditions, such as tumors, gallstones, and hepatitis. The root of jaundice lies in an increased level of bilirubin, a yellowish pigment that is made during the breakdown of red blood cells. Your liver works to break down bilirubin, so your body can remove it through your stool. It occurs when too much bilirubin is left behind and builds up in your body.
Jaundice can occur when:
Too many blood cells are breaking down or dying and going to the liver
The liver becomes damaged or overloaded
Bilirubin is unable to move normally from the liver to the digestive tract
Oftentimes, jaundice is an indicator of a problem in the liver, pancreas, or gallbladder. Other causes of jaundice, may include:
Infections, most commonly viral
Certain drugs
Liver, bile duct, or pancreatic cancer
Alcohol-related liver disease
Cirrhosis of the liver
Blood disorders
Blocked bile ducts
Gallstones
Birth defects
RISK FACTORS
The risk factors related to developing jaundice as an adult depend on the underlying issue. Those who heavily consume alcohol are at a greater risk of developing liver issues, which can cause jaundice, or those diagnosed with liver disease. Other risk factors may include:
Viral hepatitis (Hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E)
Parasites
Gallstones
Cancer of the pancreas, liver, or gallbladder
Hereditary conditions including thalassemia or hereditary spherocytosis
Birth defects or disorders present since birth that cause difficulty in breaking down bilirubin, such as Gilbert syndrome, Dubin-Johnson syndrome, Rotor syndrome, or Crigler-Najjar syndrome
Bile buildup due to abdominal pressure during pregnancy
SYMPTOMS
Jaundice caused by an infection is typically a short-term condition and may display the following symptoms:
Fever
Chills
Abdominal pain
Flu-like symptoms
Change in skin color
Dark-colored urine and/or clay-colored stool
When jaundice isn’t caused by an infection, you may experience other symptoms such as weight loss or itchy skin. Jaundice-caused pancreatic or biliary tract cancers commonly display abdominal pain as their primary symptom. Jaundice can also occur with liver disease if you’ve been diagnosed with:
Chronic hepatitis or inflammation of the liver
Pyoderma gangrenosum (a type of skin disease)
Acute hepatitis A, B, or C
Polyarthralgias (inflammation of the joints)
WHEN TO SEE A DOCTOR
If you’re experiencing symptoms of jaundice, such as yellowing of your eyes or your skin, dark urine, flu-like symptoms, and/or abdominal pain, contact your doctor or gastroenterologist as soon as possible.
DIAGNOSTIC TEST
When you’re showing symptoms of jaundice, your doctor will perform a diagnostic test to determine the underlying cause. These tests include:
Bilirubin Blood Test
Liver Function Tests
TREATMENT
With the many causes of jaundice, your doctor will have to determine the underlying cause to understand how to treat it. Your treatment will be dependent upon the findings of the diagnostic tests and your doctor will go from there.
Your doctor may prescribe symptom-specific treatment to help alleviate your current discomfort. For example, itching caused by jaundice may be relieved by a warm oatmeal bath or antihistamines.
PREVENTION
With jaundice, there is no single prevention technique, as it can be a result of many different medical conditions. However, you can help reduce your risk of jaundice with lifestyle changes, such as:
You can reduce your risk through lifestyle changes like:
Stop smoking
Reduce or cut out all alcohol (the CDC recommends two or less alcoholic drinks per day for men and no more than one a day for women)
Only take the prescribed amount of prescription medications
Get all recommended vaccines before traveling overseas
Jaundice is not as common in adults as it is in newborn babies, however, it can happen. In adults, it typically points to a greater issue, such as:
Liver diseases, such as hepatitis or cirrhosis
Blockage of bile ducts
Infections
Medicines
Blood diseases
Genetic syndromes
Why does jaundice happen in newborns?
Jaundice is caused by a high level of bilirubin in the blood. The livers of infants are less developed and may have greater difficulty filtering bilirubin out of the body. Most of the time, symptoms resolve themselves without treatment, but infants with excessively high bilirubin levels will require treatment, such as phototherapy or a blood transfusion.
Who is at risk of getting it?
Those who suffer from any of the following conditions may be at a higher risk of developing jaundice:
Liver infections, like hepatitis
Heavy alcohol consumption
Gallstone disease
Taking certain medications
Cirrhosis of the liver
Cancer of the gallbladder or pancreas
Can jaundice be prevented?
There isn’t one single approach to preventing jaundice, but there are ways to reduce your risk, including:
Avoiding hepatitis infection
Staying within recommended alcohol limits.
Maintaining a healthy weight.
Managing cholesterol.
What is the risk you'll develop jaundice?
Your risk of developing jaundice depends on any underlying conditions. If you suffer from liver disease, gallstones, hepatitis, or cancer of the liver, pancreas, or gallbladder, your risk of developing jaundice is higher. Also, excessive alcohol intake increases your risk.
What are some of the complications/side effects of the treatments for jaundice?
The treatment of jaundice depends on what is causing your high levels of bilirubin. Typically, your doctor will have to treat the cause in order to get your bilirubin levels to return to normal. Your doctor may provide treatment for your symptoms, such as recommending a warm oatmeal bath for itching or a medication to alleviate it.
How do I know if I have it?
The most common symptom of jaundice is yellowing of the skin and eyes, so you’ll be able to look in the mirror and see it. If you notice the whites of your eyes or skin are yellow, contact your doctor immediately.
What happens next if I do have it?
If you do have jaundice, that’s typically a sign of infection. If an infection is the cause, your doctor will have to treat it first before you see the yellowing begin to fade. If your jaundice is caused by a medication you’re taking, your symptoms will likely subside once you stop taking the medicine. If you have gallstones, your jaundice symptoms will get better once your gallbladder is removed.
What causes jaundice?
Jaundice is caused by an excess of bilirubin in your bloodstream, which can occur during any of the three phases of bilirubin production. High levels of bilirubin occur when too many red blood cells are breaking down or dying and going to the liver for filtering. If the bilirubin is flushed out properly for excrement by the liver, it can build up.
This is often a sign of a damaged liver, due to a variety of conditions, such as liver disease, cancer of the liver, pancreas, or gallbladder, hepatitis, alcohol-related liver disease, gallstones, and other conditions. The condition can even be caused by certain medications.
It can be caused by a problem in any of the three phases of bilirubin production.
Before the production of bilirubin, you may have what's called unconjugated jaundice due to increased levels of bilirubin caused by: Reabsorption of a large hematoma or Hemolytic anemias
What are the symptoms of jaundice?
A short-term case of jaundice, usually caused by infection, may display any of the following symptoms:
Fever
Chills
Abdominal pain
Flu-like symptoms
Change in skin color
Dark-colored urine and/or clay-colored stool
It is not caused by an infection may display symptoms such as weight loss or itchiness. Pancreatic cancer or biliary tract cancers can result in jaundice, but they most commonly cause abdominal pain as well.
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