How to deal with Jaundice

Jaundice in a baby or infant jaundice is quite common among new born. In fact one in every 5 babies is diagnosed with jaundice at the time of birth or a few weeks after it. Infant jaundice has typical symptoms of a yellowish skin, yellow tinge in the eyes and difficulty in feeding.

The weight of the infant also drops at this time. Generally jaundice goes on its own without harming the baby, but for the new parents its heart breaking to see the baby suffer from jaundice.

 

There are no certain causes of infant jaundice. Many times it occurs because of blood group dissimilarities between the newborn and the mother. Jaundice means risen levels of bilirubin in the blood. This can be dealt in a number of ways. Here are a few great tips to deal with infant jaundice effectively.

 

1.       Firstly the jaundice needs to be diagnosed timely. Keep an eye on the baby's skin color. A tinge of yellow in skin and eye indicates jaundice. Further, blood tests may reveal the bilirubin level and would confirm the severity of jaundice.

 

2.       Once the jaundice is confirmed, the baby needs to be well fed as increased bilirubin levels often dehydrate the infants. To increase the feeds of a breast fed baby, it is recommended to express the milk and offer ina cup, spoon or a bottle, since jaundice are unable to such much at breast.

 

3.       If the type of jaundice is breast-milk jaundice, then the doctors might advice you to stop breastfeeding totally and supplement the baby with a formula bottle or a cup. Normally, by increasing the quantity and frequency of feeds, the infant jaundice can be controlled.

 

4.       Sunlight is important for the babies who develop jaundice in the first week of their lives. The ultraviolet rays of the sun help cure the condition and bring down the serum bilirubin levels in the body of the infant. The correct way to expose a baby to indirect sunlight is to remove all the clothing and place the baby near a glass window that reflects sunlight. Sunlight exposure should be given early morning or before the sunset for a brief period of time to avoid dehydration.

 

5.       If the sunlight is not available or if it is not effective in treating jaundice or the levels are too high and threatening then the baby is kept in a phototherapy unit. This is a small glass chamber with UV lights. The baby is made to lie down in the unit with protective eye covers. The phototherapy treatment is quite effective in treating this condition and in a day or two brings down the severity of jaundice.

 

6.       Another great and advanced therapy option is biliblanket that works on the same phenomena as phototherapy unit. It is a specialized blanket that uses the fiber optics and sunlight energy for treatment. This can be used at home and there is no need to admit the baby in the hospital for photo therapy.

 

7.       After going through two days of treatment the tests are repeated again to check he bilirubin levels. If the levels have come down considerably then the baby may be sent home and continue with normal feeds. If the levels are still on the higher side, further hospitalization and treatment is necessary.