Does yellow skin mean liver disease? Here are 3 tips to quickly identify true and false jaundice!

Yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes is a typical symptom of jaundice, which is caused by the increase in bilirubin levels in the body's serum, which causes jaundice on the skin, mucous membranes, and sclera. Jaundice is also a major feature of liver disease, but not all jaundice is caused by liver disease, and it may also be caused by other problems.

How to tell if jaundice is real or fake?

1. Look at the eyes

If your hands or skin are noticeably yellow, you should look at your eyes in a mirror and carefully observe the whites of your eyes. Yellowing of the whites of your eyes indicates true jaundice.

2. If your eyes are not yellow, check your recent diet

Only the hands and skin are yellow, and the whites of the eyes are normal. This may be related to diet, especially eating a lot of foods containing carotene, such as pumpkin, mango, orange, and carrot. In this case, there is no need to worry, just adjust your diet and drink more water to relieve it.

3. Are there any symptoms?

Yellow skin, accompanied by general fatigue, liver qi discomfort, abdominal pain and loss of appetite, etc., especially for those who are infected with viruses, have recently taken medications, have drunk a lot of alcohol, and have cholelithiasis. If you have the above symptoms, you should seek medical attention as soon as possible, and confirm the diagnosis through abdominal ultrasound and liver function tests.

What are the causes of jaundice?

1. Hepatocellular jaundice

When a large number of liver cells are damaged, the normal uptake, conjugation and excretion of bilirubin can be affected, increasing the level of unconjugated bilirubin in the blood. In addition, due to the damage to liver cells and the destruction of the liver lobule structure, conjugated bilirubin cannot enter the small bile ducts, and the conjugated bilirubin will flow back into the blood, causing jaundice.

2. Hemolytic jaundice

Hemolytic jaundice is caused by blood system diseases. In acute attacks, headaches, dizziness, anemia, splenomegaly, fever, and dark tea or soy sauce-colored urine are common. A routine blood test can reveal a decrease in red blood cell count, active bone marrow proliferation, and an increase in reticulocyte count.

3. Cholestatic jaundice

Liver cells secrete bile, which flows into the duodenum through the bile duct. When the bile duct is blocked or narrowed, it can affect the discharge of bile, increase the pressure in the bile duct, cause the bile duct to expand, and make it easy for bile to flow back into the blood, thus causing jaundice. In addition to yellowing of the skin, such patients also have itchy skin, dark yellow urine, and white clay-colored stools.

Kind tips

Excluding dietary factors that cause yellowing of the skin, yellowing of the eyes and skin for a long time, accompanied by physical discomfort, further medical examination is required. You should take good care of your liver, maintain a regular schedule and adequate sleep, pay attention to a light and diversified diet, strictly control alcohol intake, stay calm, and eliminate negative emotions in time. Do not abuse drugs in daily life, especially do not take drugs together on your own, so as not to cause drug-induced liver damage or liver failure.