What is Jaundice?

Q: What is Jaundice?
A: A condition where yellowish colour on the skin and whites of the eyes were found in new born babies. In most cases, jaundice can be easily treated. But however, there are some extremely rare & severe jaundice cases can cause problems to the babies such as deafness, cerebral palsy, or even brain damage. Therefore it is important that parents consult with their health professional immediately if they suspect that their baby may be suffering from jaundice.


Q: How Jaundice can be developed?
A: Jaundice is caused by too much of a compound called bilirubin in the baby’s bloodstream. This bilirubin can be taken care by the baby's liver by turning it into bile in the intestines.

There are possibilities where newborn babies’ liver may not be sufficiently mature enough to take care of this function by itself and hence, the increase number of bilirubin will then cause yellowish colour on the babies' skin.

Other than that, breastfeeding may also cause a baby to develop jaundice. There are cases where substances found in the mother’s breast milk may affect the efficiency of the baby’s liver, thus helping to increase the amount of bilirubin in the baby’s bloodstream.


Q: What are the symptoms of Jaundice?
A: Jaundice usually becomes apparent in a baby, first few days after birth. The yellowing of the skin will first appear in the face & whites of the eyes, then gradually spread all over the rest of the body.

There is a quick home test that we can perform:
Press lightly with your fingertip against the tip of your baby’s nose, or against the forehead. If the skin is white (regardless of your baby’s skin colour) at the point of the depression then jaundice is not present. If the color is yellowish, then jaundice is present and you should contact your doctor for advice.

Otherwise, there are two methods can be perform by the doctors, which are the skin test and blood test. The blood test is more accurate but obviously it is more stressful for the baby. The blood is normally drawn from the fingertip of the baby.


Q: How can we treat Jaundice?
A: There are several ways in treating Jaundice as below:-

1) As a newborn baby’s liver develops, it will become increasingly efficient at taking care of the levels of bilirubin in the bloodstream, and the yellowing color will gradually reduce within a week or so.

2) Using Ultra-violet light either from phototherapy (espeacially for premature babies or babies with significant higher level of bilirubin) or direct expose to morning sunlight for a short period of time. UV light able to break down bilirubin in the bloodstream & makes it easier for the baby's liver to deal with it.

3) For Jaundice cases that cause by breastfeeding :-
i) the doctor will either advise the mother to stop breastfeeding for a period of time or
ii) to advise to feed the baby more often, but with lesser amount in order to help the baby to pass the excessive bilirubin in his/her stools more regularly.

Both the above methods 3i) & 3ii) may takes up to 2 - 3 weeks to see the result, but there is still a possibility that Jaundice may reoccur. Therefore, parents are required to keep a close eye on the color of their baby’s skin, and consult a doctor or health professional if suspect any sign of the Jaundice has returned.