How to test for jaundice at home

In fact, neonatal jaundice is one of the most common problems nowadays. Many mothers don’t care too much about it, thinking that their baby’s jaundice will disappear on its own. Yes, if it is physiological jaundice, it will disappear on its own; but if it is pathological jaundice, it will not be like this, it will keep recurring and become more and more serious. So, how can mothers detect jaundice in their babies at home?

1. How to test neonatal jaundice at home

Neonatal jaundice generally has yellow skin, yellow eyes, and yellow urine as external characteristics, which are relatively easy to identify. Adults can press the baby's skin to observe the color, or observe the color of the whites of the eyes to determine the jaundice situation, or go to the hospital to use special instruments to test the jaundice level.

Neonatal jaundice may be physiological or pathological. If it is physiological jaundice, it will disappear on its own within a month without any special treatment.

Physiological jaundice is mainly distributed in the face and calves of the human body. If blood is drawn to measure bilirubin, the bilirubin level in full-term infants during the peak period of jaundice will not exceed 12 mg/dL, and that in premature infants will not exceed 15 mg/dL. Pathological jaundice is caused by disease, which leads to abnormal metabolism of bilirubin. It occurs in a specific period of newborns, significantly aggravates physiological jaundice, and is easily confused with physiological jaundice. It is best to go to the hospital to test the blood bilirubin.

2. Three major misunderstandings about jaundice

1. Can brown sugar water treat baby jaundice?

Many elderly people believe that drinking brown sugar water can cure baby jaundice, and even some doctors think so. This misunderstanding arises from an enzyme: glucuronyl transferase. This enzyme is a protein and plays an important role in the metabolism of jaundice. Some doctors mistakenly believe that the glucose produced by brown sugar metabolism can increase the amount or activity of this enzyme. In fact, the enzyme is a protein and has nothing to do with glucose, so brown sugar water has almost no effect on the treatment of jaundice.

2. Can’t get vaccinations if you have jaundice?

Physiological jaundice does not affect vaccination. Even if it is pathological jaundice, vaccination can be performed if the bilirubin drops to a safe range. Your doctor will tell you what the safe range is.

3. Will jaundice never recur once it is cured?

Usually physiological jaundice will not recur after it is cured, but for pathological jaundice, even if the bilirubin is lowered through blue light therapy, it will rise again after a period of time. Therefore, these people need to find out the cause of the disease and cure it so that jaundice can be completely cured.