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| | Home » Health » Allergies and Diseases » Jaundice |
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Jaundice |
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| The very name of Jaundice creates a panicky sensation in any sensible mind. Often referred to as icterus, Jaundice is the turning yellow of the skin, the white portion of the eyes, and also the conjunctiva. Even the mucous membranes turn yellow. Jaundice, one of the seriously harmful allergies and diseases, has been termed from the French word 'Jaune' that means yellow.
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It is very tough to detect this disease. In the initial stages the yellowish color of the skin and eyes are almost imperceptible. Therefore in most of the cases these are ignored. When it is detected in the later stages, the disease already take a serious form. When treatment becomes tough. Therefor, it is always advised that if you find the least of the symptom of Jaundice, do consult the doctor. The yellowing starts from the face. It gradually spreads to the rest of the body.
Jaundice is caused when the level of bilirubin in the blood gets increased. After the death of the red blood cells, the heme that hemoglobin contains, gets transformed into bilirubin. Naturally the count of bilirubin increases, resulting in the increasing of the possibility of Jaundice. If in any case the red blood cells start breaking down, it increases the possibility of Jaundice.
There are mainly three types of Jaundice. They are Pre- Hepatic Jaundice, Hepatic Jaundice and post- hepatic Jaundice. There is also another kind of Jaundice, called Neonatal Jaundice. Let us have a quick look at the types of Jaundice, their causes and effects.
Pre- Hepatic Jaundice is caused for the red blood cells having broken down. This breaking down of the red blood cells is known as hemolysis. The tropical nations are the worst victims of pre- hepatic Jaundice. Mere malaria results in this kind of Jaundice in those countries. There are some particular genetic diseases like sickle cell anemia that cause the breakdown of the red blood cells. These diseases automatically causes pre- hepatic Jaundice.
Hepatic Jaundice is caused by hepatotoxicity, liver diseases due to excessive consumption of alcohol and, most importantly, by Hepatitis. Almost all of these diseases cut down the liver's ability of metabolism. The bilirubin is not excreted from the liver. Therefore chances of Jaundice increases. This type of Jaundice is found to have affected nearly five per cent of the world's population.
Post- hepatic Jaundice, also referred to as cholestasis, is caused if the drainage of the bile in the biliary system gets interrupted badly. If there are gallstones in the common bile duct, the chances of post- hepatic Jaundice are high. Pancreatic cancer also causes post hepatic Jaundice.
The other form of Jaundice is Neonatal Jaundice. It is harmless in normal cases. It generally happens to the new born babies. It starts affecting the body of the child on the second day of its birth, and stays till the eighth day. In case of the prematurely born babies the Jaundice may continue till the 14th day. | |
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