What is Jaundice?

your skin, sclera (whites of your eyes) and mucous membranes turn yellow. Jaundice occurs when your liver is unable to process bilirubin (a yellow substance made when red blood cells break down) in your blood. This can either be caused by too much red blood cell breakdown or liver injury.

How jaundice develops:

Red blood cell breakdown: Your body regularly breaks down old red blood cells and replaces them with new ones. This breakdown process makes bilirubin.

Bilirubin processing: Normally, your liver processes bilirubin, making it a part of bile (a bitter, greenish-brown fluid that helps digest food). Your liver then releases the bile into your digestive system.

Too much bilirubin: Jaundice happens when your liver can’t process all the bilirubin your body makes, or if your liver has a problem releasing bilirubin.

Yellow color: When there’s too much bilirubin in your blood, it starts to leak into tissues around your blood vessels. This leaking bilirubin makes your skin and the whites of your eyes yellow. This yellow color is a common sign of jaundice.

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Possible Causes

What causes jaundice?

Jaundice can result from a problem in any of the three phases of bilirubin

Before your liver processes bilirubin (prehepatic jaundice). This type of jaundice happens before your body makes bilirubin. Too much red blood cell breakdown takes over your liver’s ability to filter out bilirubin from your blood.

During the production of bilirubin (hepatic jaundice). This type happens when your liver can’t remove enough bilirubin from your blood. Hepatic jaundice can happen if you have liver failure.

After production of bilirubin (posthepatic jaundice). Also called obstructive jaundice, this type happens when a blockage stops bilirubin from draining into your bile ducts.

Conditions that cause jaundice include:

Prehepatic jaundice causes

Breaking down a large hematoma (bruise) and then reabsorbing it back into your bloodstream.

Hemolytic anemias (when blood cells are destroyed and removed from the bloodstream before their normal lifespan is over).

How do you know if you have jaundice?

You may not notice the yellow skin and sclera associated with jaundice. Your provider may find the condition when looking for something else. How serious your symptoms are depends on what causes them and how quickly or slowly they develop.

Symptoms that can be associatd with jaundice include:

Care and Treatment

How can my provider tell I have jaundice?

Your provider can tell if you have jaundice by measuring the bilirubin levels in your blood and seeing whether it’s the type of bilirubin related to red blood cell breakdown (unconjugated) or liver injury (conjugated). They may also check for other signs of liver disease, including:

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Spider angiomas (abnormal collection of blood vessels near the surface of your skin).

Your healthcare provider will also examine you to decide your liver’s size and tenderness. They may use imaging (ultrasound and CT scanning) and liver biopsy (taking a tissue sample of your liver) to better understand what’s causing your liver injury.

How is jaundice treated?

There’s no specific treatment for jaundice. But your provider can treat the cause and the jaundice should improve. They can also treat complications the condition causes. For example, if itchy skin is a problem, your provider can prescribe medication.

What are the risks of not treating jaundice?

It depends on what’s causing your jaundice. If it’s a virus, the virus could spread or become chronic. But if you have jaundice because your liver is failing, complications from your liver disease can include coma and death.

Can you prevent jaundice?

Since there are many causes of jaundice, it’s hard to find ways to prevent it. Some general tips include:

Avoiding hepatitis infection by getting vaccinated, having safe sex, using clean needles and practicing good personal hygiene like thorough hand-washing with soap and water.

Staying within recommended alcohol limits.

Managing your cholesterol.