Jaundice is a common condition in newborns. It refers to the yellow color of the skin and whites of the eyes caused by an excess of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is produced by the normal breakdown of red blood cells. Jaundice, also referred to as icterus, is the yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment, bilirubin. The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids and also may turn the urine dark. Yellowing of only the skin also can be caused by eating too many carrots or drinking too much carrot juice.

Causes of Jaundice
The bile pigment, bilirubin, comes from red blood cells. When old red blood cells are destroyed by the body (a normal process), the oxygen-carrying molecule within the cells, hemoglobin, is released into the blood. The hemoglobin is rapidly converted to bilirubin in the blood. The bilirubin is removed from the blood by the liver, modified, and excreted into the bile. The bile flows into the intestine so that the bilirubin is eliminated in the stool.

· Autoimmune Hepatitis

· Gallbladder Cancer

· Hemolytic Anemia (including Spherocytosis, Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Deficiency)

· Medications

· Pregnancy

· Inadequate blood flow to the liver

· Congenital disorders involving bilirubin

· Malaria: a serious and sometimes fatal disease in humans caused by a parasite transmitted by mosquitoes

Symptoms of Jaundice

Obstruction

Obstructive causes are easy to understand. The liver normally produces about 1 liter (2 pints) of bile each day, which is secreted (passed) into the bile duct system and stored in the gallbladder. The bile duct empties through the sphincter of Oddi (a small tight band) at the papilla of Vater (a small opening) in the duodenum, to help in digestion.

# Yellow skin

# Yellow eyes

# Dark or reddish urine

# Orange urine

# Red urine

# Bronze skin

# Loss of appetite

# Bitter taste in mouth

# Furry tongue

# Pale feces

# Foul-smelling feces

# Nausea

# itching skin

Diagnose

Serumbilirubin: A test that measures the concentration of bilirubin in the blood.

Completeblood count: A series of blood tests that provides information about the components of blood including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Prothrombintime: A test that measures the blood's clotting ability

Abdominalultrasound: An abdominal ultrasound uses high-frequency sound waves to produce a "picture" called a sonogram.

Treatment

Mild or moderate forms of jaundice usually will go away without specific treatment after five to seven days, as the baby's liver becomes more mature. In babies with higher levels of bilirubin, close monitoring and possible treatment is required.

Light therapy, also called phototherapy, which chemically breaks down the bilirubin in your baby's skin to non-toxic forms, is the usual treatment for jaundice. During this treatment, your baby is placed under special white or blue light for one to two days

Treatment of jaundice with Bitter Luffa
Bitter Luffa juice is considered as an effectual remedy for healing jaundice. The extracts must be taken on the palm of the hand and inhaled through nostrils. This method results in an abundance outflow of a yellowish fluid through the nostrils.

Treatment of jaundice using Radish leaves
The green leaves of Radish provide an all-cure for jaundice.