Jaundice

When the skin turns yellow, this mostly indicates that a person has jaundice, which usually indicates that something is wrong with the liver.

Jaundice

Jaundice occurs when the skin, the sclera, and the mucous membranes become yellow-colored. The yellow color comes from having excessive amounts of bilirubin in the blood, which is a substance that forms due to the breakdown of the red blood cells.

Causes of jaundice

Normally, when the red blood cells break down, the liver becomes responsible for processing the resulting bilirubin by making it a part of the bile (a digestive fluid). However, in the case of jaundice, there’s a problem that prevents the liver from managing the whole amount of the bilirubin, and that makes it build up in the blood and leak to the tissue around the blood vessels.

Jaundice causes include:

• Hemolytic anemia.
• Bile duct obstruction.
• Hepatitis A.
• Chronic Hepatitis B.
• Hepatitis C.
• Alcohol-induced hepatitis.
• Liver failure.
• Certain medications, such as penicillin, oral contraceptives, anabolic steroids, chlorpromazine, and acetaminophen (paracetamol) toxicity.
• Gallstones.
• Gallbladder inflammation or cancer.
• Pancreatic tumor.

Symptoms of jaundice

• Yellow skin and sclera.
• Pale or dark-colored stool.
• Itchy skin.
• Abdominal pain.
• Tiredness.
• Weight loss.
• Fever and chills.
• Flu-like symptoms.

Diagnosis of jaundice

• Physical exam.
• Blood tests.
• Imaging tests.

Treatment of jaundice

• Jaundice itself can’t be treated. However, treating the reason behind jaundice helps in relieving it.