Jaundice in a newborn baby

Can jaundice in a newborn child be physiological( normal)?And what to do if the newborn has skin and eyes sclera colored yellow. First, let's look at the types of jaundice that occur in newborn infants.

Types of jaundice in newborns

There are physiological and pathological jaundices of newborns. The first of which disappears without a trace in a short period of time. Pathological jaundice is caused by diseases, so often it requires special close medical control.

The most common jaundice of newborn babies is physiological. After birth, she appears for 3-4 days. This condition is due to the fact that some systems in the child's body that are responsible for the metabolism of bilirubin are not yet ripe.

Bilirubin in newborns

Bilirubin is formed during the destruction of erythrocytes, that is, red blood cells that contain hemoglobin and provide tissues and organs with oxygen. After birth, these erythrocytes are destroyed and a large amount of bilirubin is formed. It can not be excreted in the urine, since it is insoluble. The liver turns it into a soluble form. Bilirubin has a toxic effect on the body, so it must be safely removed.

Many newborn systems that are involved in the conversion of bilirubin mature and begin to function fully only a few days after birth.

After one or two weeks, icteric staining of the skin disappears, and the child is not harmed.

The level of bilirubin in newborns

The general condition of children does not suffer with physiological jaundice. If the jaundice is strongly pronounced, the children become drowsy, they lazily suck, and sometimes they start vomiting. By the level of bilirubin, the severity of jaundice is judged. He reaches the maximum on the third day of the child's life. The organism of children with excess bilirubin "fights", linking it with albumin( a protein of blood), thereby preventing the toxic effect of bilirubin.

If the level of bilirubin is greatly increased, albumin completely can not "block" it, and then bilirubin can penetrate into the nervous system. First of all, it can have a toxic effect on the brain and on vital nerve centers. Symptoms: convulsions, pronounced drowsiness, decreased sucking reflex. Among the late manifestations - deafness, paralysis, mental retardation.

The best prevention and treatment of physiological jaundice are the early and frequent feeding of a newborn baby.

Colostrum in the early days acts as a laxative and helps the original feces to get out faster. And along with it bilirubin is excreted.

Pathological jaundice

Most pathological jaundice is manifested in the first day after birth. In this case, the spleen and liver are enlarged, the urine can acquire a dark color, and the feces become discolored, sometimes on the skin of the child there are pinpoint hemorrhages and bruises.

The treatment of pathological jaundice is performed by specialists. Treatment depends on the cause of this condition.

Ex and the incompatibility of the newborn and the mother by blood groups or by the Rhesus factor , erythrocytes are massively destroyed( hemolysis).Severe jaundice happens if the child has 2 or 3 blood type, and the mother has 1.

In the treatment of conditions that are accompanied by the destruction of red blood cells, blood transfusion is very often used to "wash" the body of the antibody and bilirubin that cause hemolysis.

Jaundice that occurs as a result of liver damage by bacteria, viruses, protozoa, is a large group. In such cases, of course, it is necessary to treat the infectious process. At present, unfortunately, effective methods of treatment do not exist for all congenital infections. This can once again emphasize that pregnancy must be carefully prepared, especially if there are infectious diseases in order to reduce the risk of transmission of infection to the baby.

Mechanical jaundices occur when the outflow of bile is disturbed in the cyst of the annular pancreas, the bile duct, with underdevelopment of the bile ducts. In this case, surgical intervention is necessary.

Constitutional hepatic dysfunction is a hereditary disease that is very similar to the physiological jaundice of newborns and it occurs quite often. The cause of the failure in the exchange of bilirubin is a disruption of bilirubin binding due to the fact that the liver enzyme systems are hereditarily inferior. Gastroenterologists usually observe this condition, and it requires treatment.

Jaundice in newborns can also cause hormonal disorders. For example, it happens when the functional activity of the thyroid gland decreases. This form of jaundice is combined with other symptoms, due to the fact that the thyroid hormones are not sufficiently produced. These attributes include large belly sizes, dry skin, low body temperature, a special hoarse cry, constipation, eyelid swelling, face, delayed ossification processes, etc. When hypothyroidism occurs, jaundice occurs on the 2-3rd day of life, and lasts for3-12 weeks, and in some cases up to 4-5 months. Treatment is carried out by an endocrinologist, he uses for the treatment of drugs - thyroid hormones.

In all the subtleties of a disease such as a newborn's jaundice, it is impossible to figure out if you are not an expert. It is important for parents to understand what time the icteric staining of the skin of a young child remains, if this is a long time, then the baby must be examined. This examination should consist of a blood test( total), determination of the level of bilirubin, as well as its fractions in the blood serum, samples for hemolysis, liver function indicators, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, and if necessary, and consultation of a surgeon or some other specialist, In order to clarify the diagnosis and timely to bring the treatment.