Causes And Treatments Of Jaundice In Infants
Infant Jaundice is also referred as physiological jaundice and more frequently observed in newborn infants in the first 1-2 weeks of life. It is a condition in which the skin and even the sclera (the white part of the eye) of the baby appear to be yellow. This yellowish color of the skin and sclera varies depending on the level of bilirubin in the blood stream. This whole problem arises due to liver problems. In infants when the liver is not completely developed and does not function properly results in excess of bilirubin which ultimately causes jaundice. It is very common in infants and over 50% of all the newborns are affected by it. It usually occurs in the very first week of baby’s life. Mostly jaundice goes away of its own but there are cases that may lead the untreated infant jaundice to brain damage and even death. Therefore it should not go unnoticed anytime.
CAUSES OF INFANT JAUNDICE:
It is caused due to excess bilirubin as mentioned earlier. When the red blood cells, which carry oxygen through our body, are broken down, hemoglobin is released and bilirubin remains as a waste. There is a difference in hemoglobin of red blood cells in the womb and after birth. After birth, the newborn babies body breakdown pre-birth red cells very quickly and produce new ones at much faster rates. This causes the accumulation of bilirubin higher than normal level, in the body. This must be filtered out of the bloodstream by the liver and sent to the kidneys for excretion. But the undeveloped liver cannot filter out the bilirubin at this fast rate and thus causes jaundice. There can be several underlying disorders in some of the cases. These include:
• Liver disease
• Abnormality in red blood cells
• Blood infection
• Rhesus incompatibility
• Bacterial or viral infections
• Enzyme deficiency
• Underactive thyroid gland
• Hepatitis
This problem does not end up here only; there are lots and lots of complications and risk factors involved with the disease. Most common risk factors of this disease are:
Premature birth: most of the premature babies have underdeveloped livers and fewer bowel movements which are the prime reason for slow filtering and infrequent excretion of bilirubin.
Breastfeeding: breastfeeding is the must for all the babies, But it is not the case always since some of the babies do not get enough milk and hence enough nutrients and calories are cut for them. They are likely to become dehydrated and develop jaundice.
Rhesus incompatibility: when the blood types of mother and baby are different,
The mother’s antibodies permeate the placenta and attack the red blood cells of the fetus causing accelerate break down.
SYMPTOMS OF INFANT JAUNDICE:
Most common symptoms as already discussed is yellow skin and sclera. Other common symptoms include:
• Yellow skin and sclera
• Itching
• Pale stool
• Poor feeding
• Dark urine
Some of the severe symptoms may also include
• Yellow abdomen or limbs
• Dark yellow sclera
• Inability to gain weight
• Jaundice that lasts over three weeks
Health care providers recommend that the babies should be tested for jaundice before being discharged from the hospital and again in three to five days after birth as the bilirubin levels are at highest during that period. There are some tricks and tests that you can perform yourself also. The one you can try is pressing your finger on the skin and the pressed area will be slightly lighter than the normal skin color. However, this is not that much conclusive method as you might be thinking. The skin and eyes color is enough to tell you about the issue but it should be seen under natural daylight. Doctors can diagnose it based on their experience and appearance of the skin alone. However, the severity of it will only be determined by the levels of bilirubin in the blood only. For this, there are blood tests that are to be performed. But it is done only when jaundice persists for over two weeks.
TREATMENT OF JAUNDICE IN INFANTS:
Treatment for mild jaundice in the infant is generally not necessary as it tends to disappear within weeks or so. But if jaundice persists for more than two weeks jaundice can be severe and the infant is to be admitted to the hospital for the treatment to lower the bilirubin level in the blood. Some of the treatments are stated as:
Phototherapy: In this method baby is put under special lights covered by the plastic shield to filter out the ultraviolet light, that manipulates the structure of bilirubin molecules and hence they can be excreted.
Exchange Blood Transfusion: baby’s blood is repeatedly filtered just like dialysis. This method is very critical and is performed in extreme cases if the phototherapy doesn’t work. The baby needs to be shifted to ICU.
Intravenous Immunoglobulin: if there is the difference in blood as stated earlier, the infant can get a transfusion of the immunoglobulin which will lower the level of any remaining antibodies from the mother.