The dangers of jaundice in children, the dangers of jaundice

If childhood jaundice is physiological, it is fine, but if it is pathological, the harm is very serious. If it is not treated in time, it may even affect the baby's brain development.

Neonatal jaundice can be divided into two types: physiological and pathological. Physiological jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and sclera that occurs in most newborns on the 2nd to 3rd day after birth. It is most obvious on the 4th to 6th day. It disappears 10 to 14 days after birth in full-term infants and may last until the 3rd week in premature infants. During this period, the child was in general good condition and showed no other discomfort. When the blood was checked, the serum bilirubin value was lower than 205μmol/L. Pathological jaundice is manifested by jaundice in children that may occur within 24 hours after birth, or may persist, or jaundice may reappear after subsiding, or jaundice may progressively worsen. When checking the blood, the serum bilirubin value exceeds 205μmol/L, and the child also has symptoms of other diseases.

Generally speaking, physiological jaundice is relatively mild, the bilirubin concentration in the blood is low, and it will not affect children's intelligence. Not all pathological jaundice affects children's intelligence. Regardless of the cause of pathological jaundice, when the bilirubin concentration in the blood exceeds 340μmol/L, the indirect bilirubin in the blood can pass through the blood-brain barrier into the brain tissue, affecting the energy metabolism of brain cells. Brain cells degenerate and necrotize due to insufficient energy, among which the basal ganglia, hypothalamus and the bottom of the fourth ventricle are obviously yellowed. This lesion is called kernicterus or bilirubin encephalopathy.

When kernicterus occurs, the jaundice in children becomes significantly worse, and they begin to show symptoms such as drowsiness, weakness or choking when sucking milk, and decreased muscle tone. If not treated promptly, serious symptoms such as groaning, screaming, convulsions, and respiratory failure may follow. Some children die from respiratory failure, and those who survive often have sequelae such as intellectual disabilities and cerebral palsy. Therefore, when a newborn baby develops jaundice, we can feed him glucose water to help reduce the jaundice. When jaundice is severe, the child should be sent to the hospital for treatment in time to prevent the occurrence of kernicterus and avoid affecting the child's intellectual development.