Jaundice happens when too much bilirubin builds up in your blood. This makes your skin and the whites of your eyes look strikingly yellowish.
Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment created as hemoglobin — a component of red blood cells — is broken down.
Normally, bilirubin is delivered from the bloodstream into your liver. Then, it passes through tubes called bile ducts. These ducts carry a substance called bile into your small intestine. Eventually, bilirubin is passed out of your body through urine or stool.
Types of jaundice are categorized by where they happen within the liver’s process of taking in and filtering out bilirubin
There are three main types of jaundice:
Hepatocellular jaundice occurs as a result of liver disease or injury.
Hemolytic jaundice occurs as a result of hemolysis, or an accelerated breakdown of red blood cells, leading to an increase in the production of bilirubin.
Obstructive jaundice occurs as a result of an obstruction in the bile duct. This prevents bilirubin from leaving the liver
Common symptoms of jaundice include:
a yellow tinge to the skin and the whites of the eyes, normally starting at the head and spreading down the body
pale stools
dark urine
itchiness
Accompanying symptoms of jaundice resulting from low bilirubin levels include:
fatigue
abdominal pain
weight loss
vomiting
fever
pale stools
dark urine
Levels of Bilirubin
The level of bilirubin is defined in a blood test called a bilirubin test. This measures unconjugated, or indirect, bilirubin levels. These are responsible for the onset of jaundice.
Bilirubin levels are measured in milligrams per decilitre (mg/dL). Adults and older children should have a level of between 0.3 and 0.6 mg/dL. Around 97 percent of infants born after 9 months of pregnancy have levels lower than 13 mg/dL. If they show higher levels than this, they are usually referred for further investigation.
These ranges may differ between laboratories. How far above the normal range a person’s levels are will set out a course of treatment.