What are the symptoms of jaundice in newborns?

Newborn jaundice is also called neonatal jaundice, which refers to a common infant disease that occurs in the neonatal period. If jaundice occurs before the child is one month old, it will usually heal automatically after the full month. However, some children still have jaundice that has not subsided after the full month, which means that it is pathological and needs to be treated in the hospital. Let’s take a look at the symptoms of jaundice in newborns.

Neonatal jaundice can be divided into two types: physiological and pathological. The symptoms of neonatal jaundice vary depending on the type.

Symptoms of physiological neonatal jaundice include:

Newborns will develop yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes and oral mucosa on the 2nd to 3rd day after birth, with varying degrees of severity. It is usually more obvious on the face and chest, but the palms and soles of the feet are not yellow. It is most obvious on the 4th to 6th day, disappears on the 10th to 14th day 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.

It is normal for newborns to have physiological jaundice, but parents should also pay close attention. Generally speaking, physiological jaundice is relatively mild, the bilirubin concentration in the blood is low, and it will not affect children's intelligence.

Symptoms of pathological jaundice include:

Jaundice in children may occur within 24 hours after birth, or it may persist, or jaundice may reappear after it subsides, or jaundice may progressively worsen.

Pathological neonatal jaundice can also cause manifestations of other diseases, such as kernicterus. When it occurs, the child's jaundice becomes significantly worse, and begins to show symptoms of 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.

The above is an introduction to the symptoms of neonatal jaundice. It should be noted that when a newborn develops jaundice, parents can feed 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.

Through the above introduction, I believe that parents and friends have a certain understanding of the symptoms of pathological jaundice in newborns. When the above situation occurs, please go to the hospital as soon as possible for medical treatment, because pathological jaundice has a huge impact on children. Parents and friends must not be careless. However, medical technology is developing rapidly nowadays, so there is no need to worry too much. As long as the child is treated correctly, he or she will recover soon.