Most times I always ask why children often get jaundiced after delivery. This question has always been in my mind not until the day I worked in children's unit as a medical laboratory scientist.
Through out my years of experience, I have come to understand that adult who suffers from kidney problem or kidney related issue always come as a result of something, is either from too much alcoholic intake or inadequate intake of drugs or other things.
Well, I can also say that in some adult, kidney failure may actually not have a particular cause.
My main confusion now becomes why newly born baby gets jaundiced.
In this article, I will be discussing on neonatal jaundice, its causes and why it often occurs in children.
neonatal Jaundice
Neonatal Jaundice is a yellow discoloration of a newborn baby's skin and eyes. This is a condition known to occur when the babies liver is not well matured in getting rid of bilirubin from the blood.
When this happens, there is always an elevated increase of bilirubin in the blood which turns out to cause yellow discoloration of the skin and the eyes.
Like I said earlier jaundice in children is caused due to undeveloped liver which happens not to filter bilirubin out of the blood into the intestine.
This condition can be terrible when there is excessive increase of it, as it can affects the brain and it's function.
Do you also know that breastfeeding a baby increases their chances of developing jaundice. Though that cannot prevent you from breastfeeding as the bilirubin level goes down in few days.
Jaundice can as well be pathologic. Pathological jaundice are those jaundice cause as a result of something or underlying conditions. Some of the causes of this pathological conditions includes, under active thyroid gland, blood group, Rhesus disease and urinary tract infection.
diagnosis of jaundice
At first, jaundice should be examined physically by the doctor after giving birth to a child, though there are some that shows up some days after delivery.
Physical examination is firstly done by removing the baby's cloth. With a good lighting supply check
¶ the white of the baby's eye
¶ the baby's gum
¶ the colour of the baby's urine or faeces.
Bilirubinometer
This is a small device used in detecting the presence of jaundice in a baby.
This device is used by shining it on the baby skin to determine the level of bilirubin in the baby's body.
The device calculates the level of bilirubin by determining how the light reflects or absorbed by the body.
blood test
Determining the blood test of the baby is another way in which bilirubin can be examined.
This is done by collecting a reasonable amount of blood in a non coagulated container. The sample is now gently spined to separate the main blood from the serum.
Using an applicator stick. The serum is being pipetted from the container into another new ones for examination using chemistry analyzer.
If peradventure the jaundice continues after two weeks, other test might be needed. These test includes:
the baby's blood group (this is to see if it's incompatible with the mother's)
whether any antibodies (infection-fighting proteins) are attached to the baby's red blood cells
the number of cells in the baby's blood
whether there's any infection
whether there's an enzyme deficiency
These tests help determine whether there's an underlying cause for the raised levels of bilirubin
Treatment
phototherapy
This is the use of special kind of light to help your baby in breaking down the level of bilirubin in the blood.
This treatment is done by placing the baby in an incubator after which the light is then turned on with the baby's eyes being closed to avoid light going straight to his or her eyes.
The baby stays for some days with constant check until the bilirubin level goes down.
exchange transfusion
This method comes into play when the level of bilirubin becomes so high that it cannot be reduced with the help of phototherapy.
In this method, blood transfusion comes into play. This is a process whereby the baby's blood is transfused out of the body through a thin plastic tube.
After that, a new blood is then transfused from a donor into the baby.
This method is only done when the bilirubin level in the blood becomes so high that it cannot be reduced only with the use of phototherapy.
Conclusion
Jaundice in children can be dangerous if not treated on time. This condition requires adequate check up to determine if the baby is really jaundiced or not.
Doing this will help to reduce the level of bilirubin in the baby's body and also help to prevent brain damage.