Is infectious jaundice serious? Can hemolytic jaundice be cured?

Most people probably know that jaundice in children is mostly caused by physiological jaundice, so parents don't need to worry too much about it because it will naturally disappear in about a week. However, there is also pathological jaundice, which is jaundice caused by viral infection. So how serious is viral jaundice for children?

How is infectious jaundice diagnosed?

How to diagnose infectious jaundice? There are many causes of pathological jaundice in young children, one of which is infection. Bacterial and viral infections can aggravate jaundice and cause pneumonia. Therefore, infectious jaundice must be treated in the hospital to find out the infection factors and then carry out targeted treatment, especially for premature infants within 1 week and children with severe hypoxia, acidosis, intracranial lesions, and severe infections, so as to avoid adverse consequences.

Infants will have yellow skin within one week after birth, which is determined by the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism in infants. Generally speaking, the degree of jaundice in infants is relatively mild and belongs to physiological jaundice, so parents do not need to be overly nervous. Several common causes of jaundice are: hemolytic jaundice, infectious jaundice, obstructive jaundice, breast milk jaundice, etc. Infants with severe jaundice should be alert to the occurrence of nuclear jaundice, especially immature infants. The younger the age, the higher the incidence rate. Generally, symptoms such as mental depression, drowsiness, weak sucking, decreased muscle tension, vomiting, and refusal to eat milk may appear within 12-48 hours after the onset of severe jaundice. In terms of observing the degree of yellowing of the skin of infants, if only the face is yellowed, it is mild yellowing. Press the skin of the trunk with your fingers and lift it up to observe the yellowing of the skin. The yellowing of the skin of the trunk is moderate yellowing. Use the same method to observe the limbs and palms and soles. If yellowing also occurs, it is severe yellowing and should be promptly checked and treated in the hospital.

Can hemolytic jaundice be cured?

Hemolytic jaundice is very harmful to newborn babies. When hemolytic jaundice occurs, not only the baby's skin, sclera, etc. will appear jaundice, but also the nuclear nerve cells in the brain may appear jaundice, that is, kernicterus is formed, which may cause lifelong paralysis of the baby, affect the baby's intellectual development, and cause hearing impairment, etc., so it is urgent to treat the baby's jaundice.

How to treat hemolytic jaundice? First, we need to see whether the baby's jaundice is very serious. Newborn babies with mild jaundice can be placed under a blue fluorescent lamp to accelerate the oxidation of indirect bilirubin, thereby achieving the effect of reducing jaundice or cooperating with drug treatment. For babies with severe jaundice, blood exchange and blood transfusion should be adopted as soon as possible, and blood with the right blood type should be used to replace blood with antibodies. The sooner the blood exchange, the better, which can reduce hemolysis and prevent the occurrence of kernicterus. In particular, blood transfusion treatment is required for newborn babies with severe anemia.

Here we would like to remind mothers that it is best to breastfeed after the condition is under control and stabilized to prevent worsening of jaundice. In addition, jaundice is accompanied by fever, refusal to breastfeed, poor spirits, drowsiness, dull eyes and other symptoms. Parents need to carefully observe the baby's condition and changes in jaundice. When special circumstances occur, they should be sent to the hospital in time to seek help from the doctor.