Usually, when our eyes become yellow we aren’t greatly bothered about that, but when it causes some other issues, we will consider getting treatment. Also, the yellowing of your eyes is a silent indication by your body, and often it can be linked with jaundice. But whenever your eyes turn yellow, is it an indication of jaundice? Dive into this blog to get answers to all your questions regarding the yellowing of eyes.
What is jaundice?
Typically in jaundice your skin, eyes, and mucous membranes will become yellow. Jaundice develops when your liver fails to process bilirubin in your blood. This can occur due to excess red blood cells breakdown or liver injury. Further, let’s see how jaundice grows:
- Breakdown of RBC: Frequently, your body breaks down mature red blood cells and replaces them with new ones. Bilirubin will be formed due to this breakdown process.
- Bilirubin processing: Usually, your liver processes bilirubin, and makes it a part of bile (a greenish-brown fluid that greatly helps with digestion). Further, your liver will release the bile into your digestive system.
- More bilirubin: Jaundice develops when your liver fails to process all the bilirubin your body makes, or if there are any issues with releasing bilirubin.
- Yellow color: When there is more bilirubin in your blood, it will start to spread into the tissues around your blood vessels. This bilirubin that leaks into your tissue will make your skin, and whites of your eyes turn yellow. So yellowing of skin and eyes is one of the common signs of jaundice.
What are the possible causes of jaundice?
Jaundice can occur due to various reasons, some of them include:
- Hepatitis: Various factors like viruses, autoimmune disorders, alcohol, certain drugs, and chemical exposure can inflame your liver. It can be either short-lived or can persist for a long time, that is, it can also persist over 6 months. Simply, long-term inflammation will damage your liver, causing jaundice.
- Alcohol-related liver disease: If you have the habit of consuming alcohol for a long time, that is over 8 to 10 years, your liver will be damaged severely. Alcoholic hepatitis can be caused due to this, which will affect your liver.
- Other liver disease: Conditions like cirrhosis can be caused by autoimmune diseases, genetics, and hepatitis. A serious condition known as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis can cause nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In this condition, fat will build up in your liver along with inflammation.
- Blocked bile ducts: There are small tubes that carry a fluid known as bile from your liver and gallbladder to your small intestine. When gallstones, cancer, inflammation, or rare liver diseases block this tube, you could get jaundice.
- Pancreatic cancer: This type is more common in men than women. It will block your bile duct, and cause jaundice.
- Blood clots: When your body reabsorbs a large blot clot under the skin, it can increase bilirubin levels.
- Hemolytic anemia: At times, destroyed blood cells will be removed from the bloodstream rapidly, surging your bilirubin levels.
What are the symptoms of jaundice?
Sometimes, your eyes may not become yellow with jaundice, in such cases doctors will look for other symptoms to find the condition, so whenever you suspect the symptoms of jaundice reach out to the best gastroenterologist in Coimbatore. Simply, the severity of your condition is based on what causes it and how slowly, or quickly it develops. Other symptoms of jaundice include:
- Yellowish skin and eyes
- Fever
- Chills
- Pain in belly
- Flu symptoms
- Always being tired and confused
- Itchy skin
- Dark-colored pee and pale-colored poop
- Weight loss
How will your doctor find that you have jaundice?
Doctors will check the bilirubin levels in your blood and will check whether it’s related to red blood cell breakdown or liver injury. Further, doctors will look for other symptoms of liver disease like:
- Bruising
- Spider angiomas
- Red palms and fingerprints
Doctors will also check your liver’s size and tenderness. To find this, doctors will use techniques like ultrasound, CT scanning, and liver biopsy to understand better about your liver injury.
How to diagnose jaundice?
Firstly, healthcare providers will ask about your symptoms and medical history. Further, they will give you a physical test to see if there is swelling in your liver. To precisely diagnose your condition, doctors will suggest you undergo a blood test to know your bilirubin and cholesterol levels and get a complete blood count. Your bilirubin level will be very high if you have jaundice. Also, your doctor will recommend other tests to find the cause of jaundice and to diagnose how severe it is, those tests include:
- A hepatitis panel is a kind of blood test that shows the present or past effects of hepatitis. By using this method you can test for hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. If there is no evidence of hepatitis antibodies in your blood, you are free from jaundice.
- To find how well your liver is functioning, doctors will recommend enzyme level check tests in your liver. If those enzyme levels are more or less than the normal level, it indicates that there is some issue or damage to your liver or bile duct.
- Further imaging tests like CT scans, ultrasound, magnetic resonance, and certain kinds of MRI tests will be taken to diagnose the presence of issues in the liver.
- A liver biopsy will be taken to diagnose the damage or disease in your liver. During the test, a tiny piece of your liver will be removed either with a needle inserted into the belly to the liver, via a vein in your neck, or through a small incision in your abdomen.
- In prothrombin time, which shows how long it takes for blood plasma to clot. In the lab, a test will be done with your blood to check how fast or slower your blood clots than the normal range. If it clots gradually, it indicates that there are issues with your liver.
How is jaundice treated?
There is no particular treatment for jaundice. But doctors will treat the cause and eventually your jaundice will improve. For instance, if you are going to the hospital with issues like itchy skin, your doctors will prescribe medication to treat your condition. Simply, whenever you develop jaundice immediate medical treatment is mandatory, to get the cure for yellowish eyes.
If you are affected by acute viral hepatitis, jaundice will get away easily when your liver gets healed. Also, when you are affected by a blocked bile duct, doctors will recommend surgical treatments. If you have issues like itchy skin, healthcare providers will suggest medications to treat this condition. Those medications highly help you remove bile acids from your body, which triggers your itching.
How to prevent jaundice?
There are several causes of jaundice, so it’s a little hard to find which preventive measure helps you. There are certain preventive measures to fight against jaundice like:
- You can avoid hepatitis by getting proper vaccinations, having safe sex, using clean needles, and practicing good hygiene such as washing hands thoroughly and frequently with soap and water.
- Limiting alcohol consumption.
- Maintaining a healthy weight.
- Avoid certain supplements
- Manage your cholesterol levels
What are the complications of jaundice?
You need to understand that jaundice itself is a sign, not a disease, it can result in serious complications if the underlying cause is not treated.
- Prolonged liver damage: If jaundice is caused due to ongoing liver disease, it can result in permanent liver damage over time.
- Gallstones: Gallstones will be formed when jaundice is caused by bile duct obstruction, also with the help of surgery this can be removed.
- Pancreatitis: In certain cases, the condition causing jaundice will lead to inflammation of the pancreas, referred to as pancreatitis.
When to get medical help?
If you suspect that you are going through jaundice, immediately reach out to the hospital for appropriate care and treatment. When you are going to the hospital, first your doctor will evaluate your jaundice, and cater treatment based on the cause and your health condition.
Also, it is crucial to understand that jaundice not just affects adults but also affects newborn babies. Similar to adults, an accumulation of bilirubin in your baby’s body can cause jaundice. Simply, your kid’s liver is still developing, this condition can remove all the bilirubin. Either jaundice goes away naturally or when treating the cause of the condition.
Do yellow eyes always mean jaundice?
Let’s see the answer to the question that always comes to our mind when thinking about jaundice: does yellowing of the eyes always mean jaundice? The crisp answer is ‘no,’ jaundice is one of the common causes of yellow eyes, also there are other causes for issues with liver and yellow eyes.
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Other possible causes of yellow eyes:
Certain conditions such as dehydration, few medications, or even binge consumption of alcohol can sometimes lead to yellowing of the eyes. So, it’s crucial not to jump to the conclusion that getting medical treatment is highly recommended when noticing a change in your eye color.
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Difference between jaundice and other conditions:
When getting medical treatment, doctors will easily find out if your yellow eyes are due to jaundice or something else. Also, they will check for other symptoms and will conduct a test to check your bilirubin levels.
Is jaundice a very serious health condition?
In kids, jaundice or high neonatal bilirubin levels are common and go away on their own easily. But if it persists for more than 2 weeks, healthcare providers will offer the potential to lower bilirubin levels or find out if it’s caused by another illness. Typically, jaundice will not cause harm in adults and also goes away over time. If you feel like you are undergoing jaundice symptoms, discuss with your doctor immediately to see if they recommend tests, imaging, or treatment.
Also, in certain cases, patients won’t experience any common symptoms, or they just feel like they are affected by flu, or will have itchy skin, or stomach pain. Even in adults, with proper treatment and care it can be completely cured, also you can try home remedies for yellow eyes, so it is not a serious condition.
What stage of liver disease are yellow eyes?
Only in the advanced stage of liver disease, patients’ eyes will turn yellow, often linked with severe liver dysfunction. This sign will be exhibited when the liver can no longer effectively process bilirubin, a yellow pigment produced during the breakdown of RBC.
When liver function ceases, bilirubin will start to deposit in the blood, and it will start to reflect in your eyes and skin, resulting in jaundice, so before your condition gets worse visit the best hospital for jaundice in Coimbatore. Also, your eyes will turn yellow in other conditions such as advanced hepatitis, cirrhosis, or bile duct obstruction, signaling that liver damage is obvious and calling for immediate medical treatment.
Final takeaway:
In conclusion, we can say that usually when your eyes turn yellow you will feel scared, or sometimes it may occur very slowly, and you will not notice it until the people around you point it out. So it can bother you, but make sure that it is not worrying you too much. Also, remember that jaundice itself is an underlying condition of another health issue. Additionally, tell your doctor about the medication you took, they will also reduce the dosage or prescribe alternate medications. Notably, make sure to get balanced meals, drink sufficient water, and avoid substances that strain your liver, such as alcohol, or herbal supplements. Yellowing of eyes is a sign of jaundice, but it can also be a sign of other health issues.
