Yellowing is a common symptom, some of which is the result of our tiredness and poor rest after a long night’s sleep, while others indicate that there is something wrong with your body. Jaundice is a not-so-familiar medical term, and people usually associate jaundice with hepatitis, fearing that it may be contagious. In fact, not all jaundice is caused by hepatitis. Today we will learn more about jaundice and not be a little “yellow” person.
Factors that cause jaundice
First of all, we should know that jaundice is caused by high levels of bilirubin in the serum, which is deposited in the tissues and causes the sclera, mucous membranes, skin, body fluids, etc. to turn yellow. The most common of these are the sclera, tongue tie, and other areas.
In clinical practice, the common indicator we use is total serum bilirubin. The normal serum total bilirubin concentration is usually 1.7-17.1 μmol/L. When the total bilirubin concentration is 2 times higher than the upper limit of normal (i.e., >34 μmol/L), the body can show signs of jaundice. However, when the clinical bilirubin index is 17.1μmol/L to 34.2μmol/L, the body does not show yellow staining of the skin, which we call occult jaundice.
So, does yellow skin staining necessarily mean that you are suffering from a disease? The answer is no, some non-pathological reasons can also lead to yellowing of the skin, in this case do not need to be overly nervous.
1. Some people have yellow skin staining from eating too much carrot, pumpkin, etc., or from taking yellow medications such as miparin. In such cases, although there are symptoms of yellowish skin staining, the sclera of the eyes do not turn yellow and the indicators of total bilirubin do not rise. We call this pseudo-jaundice.
2. There are also some . The newborn’s liver enzyme system is not yet well developed and the bilirubin produced cannot be converted in time. Jaundice will appear at birth and can generally subside on its own, which we call physiological jaundice.
There are also jaundice due to disease, which is divided into the following categories according to the cause
In adults, jaundice is generally classified according to its cause: hemolytic jaundice, hepatocellular jaundice, and cholestatic jaundice. Let’s look at the differences between these three.
1. Etiology and common diseases
Hemolytic jaundice – jaundice can occur in diseases that produce hemolysis due to massive destruction of red blood cells or increased ineffective production.
Commonly seen in diseases of the blood system.
Congenital – such as thalassemia, hereditary spherocytosis, etc.
Acquired – such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia, neonatal hemolysis, hemolysis after transfusion of different blood types, and serum sickness, paroxysmal sleep hemoglobinuria, etc.
Hepatocellular jaundice – mainly due to extensive damage to liver cells causing jaundice.
It is commonly seen in various liver diseases: e.g. viral hepatitis, cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, toxic hepatitis, etc.; others are also seen in leptospirosis, sepsis, etc.
Cholestatic jaundice.
Intrahepatic cholestasis – capillary bile duct type viral hepatitis, pharmacologic cholestasis (e.g., chlorpromazine, methyltestosterone, etc.), primary biliary cirrhosis, multiple jaundice of pregnancy, etc.
Intrahepatic obstructive – hepatic bile duct stones, cancerous invasion to form cancerous emboli, Schistosoma chinensis, etc.
Extrahepatic obstructive – inflammation of the common bile duct, stones, strictures, tumors, roundworms, etc.
2. Three characteristic manifestations of jaundice.
3, Laboratory tests.
Clearly identify the cause of the appearance of jaundice, and on this basis for the cause, symptomatic treatment is the principle of jaundice treatment. Clinically, the performance varies from person to person, and these indicators can only be used as a reference, and need to be combined with the patient’s symptoms, signs, and laboratory tests for a comprehensive evaluation to develop the most appropriate treatment plan.