Don’t worry about neonatal jaundice

Neonatal jaundice

Medically, jaundice in newborns under one month old (within 28 days of birth) is called neonatal jaundice. Neonatal jaundice refers to a disease characterized by yellowing of the skin, mucous membranes and sclera due to abnormal bilirubin metabolism in the neonatal period. It is the most common clinical problem in newborns.

Disease classification

This disease can be divided into physiological and pathological types.

Physiological jaundice refers to temporary jaundice caused simply by the characteristics of bilirubin metabolism. It appears 2 to 3 days after birth, reaches a peak at 4 to 6 days, and disappears at 7 to 10 days. It lasts longer in premature infants and has no other clinical symptoms except mild loss of appetite.

If jaundice appears within 24 hours after birth, the daily serum bilirubin increases by more than 5 mg/dl or >0.5 mg/dl per hour; it lasts for a long time, >2 weeks in full-term infants and >4 weeks in premature infants, and it still does not subside, or even continues to deepen and worsen or reappears after subsiding, or jaundice begins to appear within one to several weeks after birth, it is pathological jaundice.

treat

Physiological jaundice usually does not require special treatment. It can usually disappear naturally by strengthening feeding and promoting more eating and excretion.

Pathological jaundice is usually treated with phototherapy, drug therapy and exchange transfusion, and the primary disease is actively treated according to different causes.

Avoid Misconceptions!

Q: Can jaundice be cured by sun exposure?

Answer: Reducing jaundice by sunbathing is the most common way to treat jaundice among the public and in underdeveloped areas of the world. Even some doctors recommend this to parents. It is true that sunbathing can help reduce jaundice, but it requires sufficient exposure of the body to the sun for it to work. However, since newborns have delicate skin, direct exposure to the sun can easily cause sunburn. There are also reports that excessive ultraviolet radiation increases the risk of long-term skin cancer, and the effect of sunbathing on reducing jaundice is much lower than blue light treatment. For all the above reasons, it is safer to use blue light irradiation to help children reduce jaundice, and routine use of sunbathing to reduce jaundice is not recommended.

Q: Can drinking glucose water help relieve jaundice?

A: There is no relevant data to prove that drinking glucose water can reduce jaundice. On the contrary, it may occupy the small stomach capacity of the newborn, resulting in insufficient breast milk intake, reduced bowel movements, and worsening jaundice. Therefore, it is recommended to strengthen breastfeeding of newborns and promote fecal excretion, which will help reduce jaundice.

Q: Can probiotics reduce jaundice?

A: There is currently insufficient evidence to show that oral probiotics can help reduce neonatal jaundice. For physiological jaundice, it is recommended to promote excretion through enhanced breastfeeding, which can generally resolve on its own, no more than 2 weeks for full-term infants and no more than 4 weeks for premature infants. If it is pathological jaundice, it is recommended to receive corresponding treatment according to the doctor's advice. If the child has a small number of bowel movements and a small amount of bowel movements, it may lead to increased enterohepatic circulation and poor resolution of jaundice. In this case, probiotics can be used to improve intestinal function and promote defecation.

Home Care

Parents should pay attention to the newborn's mental reaction, milk intake, activity, and bowel movements.

Under the guidance of a doctor, you can arrange for newborns to swim to promote blood circulation and reduce the bilirubin level of newborns.

Encourage early breastfeeding and increased feeding. Increasing the frequency of urination and defecation in children can promote the excretion of bilirubin through urine and feces.

Parents can learn simple baby massage movements to promote gastrointestinal motility and defecation in their children.

Parents should also take care to prevent the baby from getting infected, such as strengthening the care of the umbilical cord, keeping it dry, not going to crowded places, and adding or removing clothes in time according to the weather.

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