In the first days after the birth of the baby body it is in a state of extreme stress, as he, after the comfort and protection of my mother's belly, have to adapt to completely new conditions. And one of the adaptation factors is the so-called neonatal jaundice.
Jaundice - phenomenon in which the mucous membranes and integuments newborn colored in yellow. This is due to the collapse of a large number of red blood cells (RBCs) after birth, and the freed hemoglobin immature until the liver is unable to process quickly and withdraw from body. The result is bilirubin, which stains the skin and mucous baby.
pedicterus
Normally, this phenomenon occurs in 70-80% of neonates appears 3-4 days of life and growing baby during the first 4-5 days of life. Typically, in this period, whites of the eyes, face, neck, trunk and sometimes the genital area of the newborn are painted in bright yellow or orange shades.
This type of jaundice is not dangerous for the child and does not require treatment. It will disappear in the second or third week. At the same time, to assess the degree of symptoms, the baby must be completely stripped and natural daylight carefully examined.
Pathological jaundice
This species occurs in the first 24 hours of life, and is always a sign of pathology. Therefore, in this case, the newborn should be immediately initiate phototherapy and directly determine the level of bilirubin in the blood. Also, serious signs of danger is considered to be the spread of jaundice stains on hands and feet on the second day of life and more.
Among the symptoms and the deterioration of general condition of the child on a background of the progressive increase of jaundice, dark urine or discolored stools. In rare cases, it may form an excessive amount of bilirubin in the blood and as a consequence of complications bilirubin encephalopathy.
In this case, the child is actually noticeably to the naked eye: it becomes sluggish, drowsy, reluctant to take the chest, regurgitation, vomiting, and seizures can not be excluded. This occurs when the body of the child can not cope with a large number of bilirubin, and it penetrates into the brain. This can lead to chronic irreversible damage to the central nervous system, ie, the "nuclear jaundice". In this case, an urgent need to communicate their observations to medical personnel.
It causes a variety of pathologic jaundice:
• konyugatsionnaya - occurs when the liver enzyme deficiency (hereditary diseases);
• Enzyme - when failure of enzyme systems of erythrocytes;
• liver - in infectious and toxic liver damage;
• mechanical - in violation of the normal outflow of bile.
Infants who are exclusively breastfed, there may be late onset jaundice (the end of the first week of life) and slow decrease in the intensity of jaundice skin staining (jaundice can be up to 12 weeks of life child). This "jaundice of mother's milk." Check it can only be a process of elimination in healthy term infants. It arises from the presence in maternal milk of substances which inhibit the activity of enzymes that convert indirect bilirubin into direct bilirubin. This jaundice does not require treatment and weaning.
How to treat?
The best treatment and prevention of physiological jaundice - earlier and frequent breastfeeding. Thus, accelerating the excretion of bilirubin with original meconium.
Treatment of pathological jaundice determine the specialists depending on the cause and severity. The main way to treat jaundice - phototherapy (light effects on the baby's skin). The decision to hold phototherapy takes the attending doctor based on clinical and laboratory examination. For its use of special fluorescent lamps of blue light. Under the influence of phototherapy bilirubin lyumirubin converted into water-soluble and excreted in the stool and urine.
Complications during phototherapy is flaking skin and loose stools. Duration of phototherapy 2-3 days, but may last longer. In severe cases, surgery is sometimes required for exchange transfusion, but basically it is conducted in hemolytic disease of the newborn blood group and the Rh - factor.
