Recognine The Serious Impact Of Neonatal Jaundice

Most neonates begin physiological jaundice after 24 hours of age and the degree of jaundice gradually increases, peaking at about 1 week, then gradually decreasing and disappearing within 2-3 weeks. However, the condition can also progress to pathological jaundice. If not detected and treated in time, it can cause serious complications such as acute bilirubin encephalopathy and kernicterus (kernicterus). 

► Signs of jaundice: 

 Yellow discoloration first on the face, then on the chest, abdomen, arms and finally the legs. However, in some children, jaundice does not progress gradually from head to toe but occurs simultaneously throughout the body. 

 When a parent presses a finger on a child’s forehead or nose, that area of the skin turns yellow. Once there, continue to monitor for jaundice by pressing on the raised part of the baby’s chest bones, hips, and knees.  

► Signs of severe jaundice parents should pay attention to:  

If your child has any of the following symptoms, you need to send him to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible. 

• Yellow amniotic fluid or calf; 
• Feverish child 
• Poor sucking; 
• Cry or sleep; 
• Stretch your body, neck 

► Dangerous complications: 

• Acute bilirubin encephalopathy: Severe cases of jaundice can cause bilirubin to enter the brain called acute bilirubin encephalopathy, but prompt treatment can significantly prevent the following complications This. Signs of acute bilirubin encephalopathy in infants with jaundice include lethargy, difficulty waking, crying, poor feeding. 
• Kernicterus fever (kernicterus): Kernicterus is a syndrome that occurs if acute encephalopathy occurs. bilirubin causes permanent brain damage. Kernicterus can lead to cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and intellectual impairment.  

► Treatment:  

• Give your baby enough breast milk to help clear bilirubin through stool and urine. The most common way to tell if a baby is getting enough is to determine the number of wet diapers. Specifically, children will need to change at least 6 diapers per day 
• Phototherapy (light therapy) is the current popular method of treating jaundice in infants. The outstanding advantage of this method over sunbathing is that it does not hurt the baby’s skin and is effective in most newborns.  
• Blood exchange is a measure that rapidly reduces bilirubin levels in the blood. However, this method is only performed when the child does not respond to other methods and there is a risk of neurotoxicity due to too high levels of bilirubin in the blood.

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