Neonatal Jaundice: Symptoms and Treatment

By jyoti

For some however, the problem might turn into a severe case of jaundice which might require regular blood screening, as extreme cases can cause brain damage. To avoid this it is better to understand neonatal jaundice and its symptoms well.

Symptoms of Jaundice include:

• Yellowish skin coloration:
To test your baby for jaundice, gently press your finger on the baby’s forehead or nose. If it appears yellowish, contact your pediatrician. It’s best to check the baby’s skin in natural daylight or under fluorescent light

Neonatal jaundice is generally noticed first on the baby’s face. In later stages, the chest, stomach and legs show signs of jaundice.

• The white’s of the eye:
If the white portion of the child’s eye appears yellow, there are signs of jaundice.

• Levels of Bilirubin in blood:
A blood screening can report the levels of bilirubin. Bilirubin is a chemical produced during the normal breakdown and replacement of red blood cells in the infant’s body. Normally bilirubin is processed and eliminated from the body through the liver. But at times a newborn’s immature liver isn't able to process all of it, and its buildup causes jaundice.

It is this high level of bilirubin that can cross the blood brain barrier and affect the brain.

Treatment:

• Phototherapy
Phototherapy is a treatment based on light. Light - both sunlight and artificial - speed up the excretion of bilirubin from the body. In phototherapy, the baby’s skin is exposed to special high intensity lights. The exposure to light changes bilirubin into a different compound - chemically identical but carrying different physical properties. Due to the inability of the new formed compound to cross the blood-brain barrier, the risk of brain damage reduces.
However, phototherapy is carried out taking certain precautions.

• The baby’s eyes must be covered throughout the procedure, to avoid retinal damage.
• In a male child, the testicular area should not be exposed to light.

• Exchange transfusion:
In severe cases of jaundice a child might require a more complicated treatment - exchange transfusion. The damaged blood of the baby is replaced with fresh blood through blood transfusion. This helps increase the red blood cell count and lower the bilirubin levels.