Jaundice

Jaundice occurs when

1) there is too much bilirubin being produced for the liver to remove from the blood.
2) a defect in the liver that prevents bilirubin from being removed from the blood,

Jaundice can turn the skin and sclerae yellow. In addition, stool can become light in color,

Jaundice,is a yellowing of the skin, or whites of the eyes and mucous membranes caused by increased levels of a pigment called bilirubin in red blooded animals.

Bilirubin is a natural product arising from the normal breakdown of red blood cells in the body and is excreted in the alkaline fluid called bile, through the actions of the liver

Although jaundice is most often the result of a disorder affecting the liver it can be caused by a variety of other conditions affecting.

There are three different classes of causes for jaundice

- Pre-hepatic or hemolytic causes, where too many red blood cells are broken down,
- hepatic causes where the processing of bilirubin in the liver does not function correctly
- post-hepatic or extrahepatic causes, where the removal of bile is disturbed.

Pre-hepatic (or hemolytic) jaundice is caused by anything which causes an increased rate of breakdown of red blood cells.
Jaundice commonly seen in the newborn baby is another example of hepatic jaundice.
post-hepatic jaundice is caused by an interruption to the drainage of bile in the biliary system, The presence of pale stools and dark urine indicate that it is an post-hepatic cause
Jaundice is not a disease but rather a sign that can occur in many different diseases.
Jaundice is the yellowish staining of the skin and the whites of the eyes that is caused by high levels in blood of the chemical bilirubin.

Jaundice comes from the French word 'jaune', meaning yellow. Jaundice typically appears in a 'top to bottom' progression starting with the face, and then moving towards the feet, and resolves in a 'bottom to top' manner.

Neonatal jaundice is usually harmless, this condition is often seen in infants around the second or the third day after birth, The risk factor that is involved in Neonatal jaundice can be hearing loss.

In extreme cases, jaundice can cause brain damage which is called as 'kernicterus'