What causes jaundice in children? Be alert to jaundice if you have these four symptoms

Jaundice is a common disease in infants. It is caused by liver disease that leads to abnormal metabolism of bilirubin in the body. After that, the bilirubin content in the serum gradually increases, and the patient will show symptoms such as yellow skin, abnormal urine and feces color, which is also called hyperbilirubinemia. When a child has jaundice, parents need to understand the cause of the child's jaundice in order to achieve better treatment results.

What factors are related to jaundice in infants?

1. Heredity of the disease

Some genetic diseases that parents may suffer from can cause jaundice in babies, such as hereditary polycythemia, thalassemia, etc. These diseases are the cause of congenital hemolytic jaundice and can cause babies to become ill at birth.

2. Neonatal infection

Babies are very weak after birth and are easily infected when encountering viruses and bacteria. Or the mother may not pay attention to hygiene and cause bacteria to cause infection symptoms in the uterus, leading to jaundice. Women must pay attention to cleanliness and hygiene during pregnancy, and also do a good job of protecting the child after birth.

3. Drug stimulation

The medications used by women during pregnancy may have an impact on the fetus. For example, excessive use of drugs containing neomycin will indirectly lead to the occurrence of drug-induced jaundice. Therefore, medication during pregnancy needs to be taken under the guidance of a doctor.

What are the typical symptoms of jaundice?

1. Fever

When a baby is born with acute hemolytic jaundice, it will be accompanied by fever. In addition, fever is also common in patients with jaundice caused by acute cholangitis and acute viral hepatitis.

2. Changes in stool and urine color

Infant jaundice will be manifested by changes in urine and stool color. If it is obstructive jaundice, the urine color will be very dark and the stool color will become very light. If it is hepatocellular jaundice, the urine color will slightly darken and the stool will appear light yellow.

3. Abnormal skin color

The skin of a jaundiced person will change, and different colors also represent different types of jaundice. Lemon-colored skin indicates hemolytic jaundice, light yellow indicates hepatocellular jaundice, and dark yellow or yellow-green indicates obstructive jaundice.

4. Skin itching

Patients with intrahepatic or obstructive jaundice are prone to symptoms of skin itching. After finding out which type of jaundice the baby has, be careful to prevent the child from crying due to itchy skin.

Women should use medications properly during pregnancy to avoid affecting the fetus and causing the child to be born with drug-induced jaundice. When a baby has jaundice, parents need to actively understand the cause of the disease and cut it off at the root. Pay attention to the changes in the child's symptoms and take timely measures to deal with them to avoid more serious conditions in the child.