Can you explain me infant jaundice?

Infant jaundice is a yellow discoloration in a newborn baby’s eyes and skin. It occurs because the baby’s blood contains excess bilirubin, a yellow-colored pigment that is released when the red blood cells dies. It is a common condition in babies born before 36 weeks of gestation. The baby’s liver is not mature enough to remove the excess bilirubin from the blood. In few cases an underlying disease may cause jaundice.

Signs of infant jaundice normally appear between the second to fourth days of life. They include:

• Yellowing of the skin
• Yellowing of the eyes

The yellow coloration starts first in the baby’s face and later it can be seen in the eyes, chest, abdomen, arms and legs. The easy check is to find whether the infant has jaundice or not is to press the baby’s forehead or tip of the nose. If the baby has jaundice the pressed areas become yellow. This should be done in day light only.

Bilirubin is a waste when aged red blood cells are broken down. Mother’s liver filters the bilirubin before birth. The newborn infant has high amount of red blood cells and mostly the liver is not mature enough to remove all the bilirubin formed quickly to the intestinal tract. It is normal in infants and that is why it is called physiologic jaundice. Bilirubin is removed mostly in the stool.

There may be other causes for the infant jaundice. In this case it will be much earlier or much later than the physiologic jaundice. Infection of the blood or bacterial, viral infections, liver malfunction, abnormal red blood cells, internal bleeding or enzyme deficiency can be other causes. Sometimes, the incompatibility of baby’s and mother’s blood can cause jaundice.

The risk factors for infant jaundice include premature birth, bruising during birth and different blood group of the mother and baby. Poor breastfeeding is also an important risk factor for infantile jaundice. It is because of low calories received and dehydration.

The symptoms of excess bilirubin in the blood include fever, high-pitched crying, difficult to wake, poor sucking or feeding and backward arching of the neck and body. Bilirubin is toxic to brain cells. If not treated quickly they can cause permanent brain damages.

The peak level of bilirubin is normally when the baby is three to five days old. In the hospital during these days bilirubin are often monitored in the blood. If you delivery your baby in the home then the attending nurse or doctor must take care of this. Mild infant jaundice mostly disappears without any treatment in two to three weeks. If it is moderate or severe the baby must be treated immediately in the home or must be admitted in a hospital. Necessary treatments as well as the right feeding are necessary to bring down the bilirubin level.

Can you tell me what causes gallstones?

The gallbladder is a small pear shaped organ located just below the liver in the upper right part of the abdomen. The bile produced in the liver is stored in the gallbladder until the body needs it. Bile is secreted from the gallbladder into the small intestine during the process of fat digestion and absorption from the food. Bile has water, bile salts, fats, cholesterol, protein and bilirubin. We all produce small gallbladder stones which we never notice. When bile crystallizes into big stones the problem starts. Bile can harden if there is too much of bile salts, cholesterol or bilirubin in it. Gallstones are stones that form in the gallbladder or bile ducts.

There are two main types of gallstone and they are:

• Cholesterol stones – 80% are cholesterol stones. They are made mostly of hardened cholesterol and are usually yellowish – green in color.

• Bilirubin stones – 20% are bilirubin stones and are also called as pigment stones. They are made of biliruben, usually small and have a dark color.

Very rarely calcium is also present in bilirubin stones.

Gallstones can be very small or can be as big as a golf ball. Many people who have gallstones do not have any symptoms. The ducts can be blocked and this can cause excess pain and inflammation. Liver, gallbladder and pancreas can be affected.

The causes or risk factors for gallstones include:

• Diabetes – the increased triglycerides are the risk factor here.

• Crohn’s disease – the patients have less bile acids to keep the cholesterol in the solution and these results gallstones.

• Other diseases - cirrhosis of the liver, sickle cell disease and thalassemia are also risk factors of bilirubin gallstones.

• Cholesterol-lowering drugs – these can reduce the cholesterol level in the blood. But, actually it increases the amount of cholesterol in bile.

• Age – people above 60 years are more likely to develop gallstones.

• Obesity – it is a main risk factor in women. Overweight is also a risk factor.

• Rapid weight loss – crash diet to weight loss can produce more cholesterol.

• Estrogen – excess estrogen is a risk factor. Oral contraceptives, pregnancy and hormone replacement therapy can be the reason.

• Ethnicity – for example, the American Indians have higher risk because of the higher levels of cholesterol in their bile. Scandinavians and Mexico-Americans are also in this group.

• Hereditary – can run in the families

• Gender – women has double the risk than men.

There are surgical as well as non-surgical methods of treatment and you doctor can decide which is right for your problem.

What are the natural antioxidants in our body?

Cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are the natural antoxidants in our body. If somebody is eating only junk, fast and processed food, te intake of antioxidants are minimum from their food.

Antioxidants are very important in the detoxification and in the management of dangerous free radicals. Free radicals are the weapons to destroy the bacteria and virus which enter inside our body, but in excess they destroy our healthy cells, joints and organs.

In this extreme case the levels of cholesterol, bilirubin and uric acid are increased to do the antioxidantal functionsa also. 25 years before we had no explanation for that, but today these are well understood.

Fresh vegetables and fruits are very important for our health. Our food must contain always vegetables and fruits. I could understand the argument that sometimes without processed food it is not possible to adjust. But, there will be always time and place for carrots, cucumbers, apples and other vegetables and fruits. With this good action the bad effects from the processed are not completely eleminated, but you give the body the necessary antioxidants so that the natural antioxidants from the body need not do this work also.