Jaundice Overview
Learn About Jaundice
Jaundice is a yellow color of the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes. The yellow coloring comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells. Jaundice can be a symptom of several health problems.
Conditions associated with jaundice; Yellow skin and eyes; Skin - yellow; Icterus; Eyes - yellow; Yellow jaundice
A small number of red blood cells in your body die each day, and are replaced by new ones. The liver removes the old blood cells. This creates bilirubin. The liver helps break down bilirubin so that it can be removed by the body through the stool.
Jaundice can occur when too much bilirubin builds up in the body.
Jaundice can occur if:
- Too many red blood cells are dying or breaking down and going to the liver.
- The liver is overloaded or damaged.
- The bilirubin from the liver is unable to move normally into the digestive tract.
Jaundice is often a sign of a problem with the liver, gallbladder, or pancreas. Things that can cause jaundice include:
- Infections, most commonly viral
- Use of certain drugs
- Cancer of the liver, bile ducts or pancreas
- Blood disorders, gallstones, birth defects and a number of other medical conditions
Jaundice may appear suddenly or develop slowly over time. Symptoms of jaundice commonly include:
- Yellow skin and the white part of the eyes (sclera) -- when jaundice is more severe, these areas may look brown
- Yellow color inside the mouth
- Dark or brown-colored urine
- Pale or clay-colored stools
- Itching (pruritis) usually occurs with jaundice
Note: If your skin is yellow and the whites of your eyes are not yellow, you may not have jaundice. Your skin can turn a yellow-to-orange color if you eat a lot of beta carotene, the orange pigment in carrots.
Other symptoms depend on the disorder causing the jaundice:
- Cancers may produce no symptoms, or there may be fatigue, weight loss, or other symptoms.
- Hepatitis may produce nausea, vomiting, fatigue, or other symptoms.
Treatment depends on the cause of the jaundice.
Allison Bush is a Gastroenterologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Bush and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Jaundice. Her top areas of expertise are Jaundice, Diarrhea, Hepatitis, Colonoscopy, and Endoscopy.
Christopher Koh is an Internal Medicine provider in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Koh and is rated as an Advanced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Jaundice. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis D, Hepatitis, Portal Hypertension, Endoscopy, and Colonoscopy.
Jay Hoofnagle is a Hepatologist in Bethesda, Maryland. Dr. Hoofnagle and is rated as an Experienced provider by MediFind in the treatment of Jaundice. His top areas of expertise are Hepatitis, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis D, and Liver Transplant.
Contact your provider if you develop jaundice.
Summary: The purpose of this study is to assess the long-term safety and effectiveness of odevixibat in participants with Alagille syndrome (ALGS). The participants of this study will have ALGS a rare genetic disorder that can affect multiple organ systems of the body including the liver, heart, skeleton, eyes and kidneys. Common symptoms, which often develop during the first three months of life, include ...
Summary: Obstructive jaundice is observed in 10-80 % of gallstone disease cases. The conventional tactics for the management of patients with obstructive jaundice is to remove biliary hypertension by using endoscopic or minimally invasive methods. The final surgical treatment is performed after jaundice reduction and normalization of hepatic functions. We suppose that the administration of the drug Remaxol...
Published Date: May 02, 2023
Published By: Michael M. Phillips, MD, Emeritus Professor of Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, DC. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
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Lidofsky SD. Jaundice. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology/Diagnosis/Management. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2021:chap 21.
Zdradzinski MJ, Taylor TA. Jaundice. In: Walls RM, ed. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 24.