How high jaundice affects intelligence

Jaundice is the most common problem among newborns, and more and more people are beginning to understand it. Most neonatal jaundice is physiological jaundice, which usually appears 2 to 3 days after birth and disappears automatically after 10 to 15 days. It has no effect on the child. However, if the child unfortunately suffers from pathological jaundice and is not treated in time, it will have a great impact on the child. So, how high will jaundice affect intelligence?

1. Will jaundice affect the intelligence of newborns?

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.

2. Neonatal jaundice

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.