I got up early to wash, looked in the mirror, and found that I was not looking good, and I felt that I had been too busy at work and stayed up too late late. Take a closer look, why is the skin so yellow, it can't be jaundice!
Simplified version
1. Elevated serum bilirubin causes abnormal yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes throughout the body, which is called jaundice.
2. Jaundice may be caused by various liver diseases, hemolytic diseases, gallbladder diseases, etc.
3. Consuming large amounts of carotene-rich foods in the short term can also cause yellowing of the skin, but it is not jaundice.
Jaundice is a sign of abnormally elevated bilirubin in the blood
Jaundice is not a disease, but a sign that causes yellowing not only of the skin, but also of the mucous membranes and sclera, due to an increase in serum bilirubin. Bilirubin is mainly formed by the breakdown and transformation of hemoglobin released by senescent red blood cells, transported by albumin to the liver, and then combined with other components to form bile, which is excreted after participating in intestinal digestion. If there is an abnormality at any step in the entire metabolic process, causing bilirubin to accumulate in the serum above a certain threshold, it becomes a "Minion".
Three types of diseases can cause jaundice
One of the most important causes of jaundice is liver lesions, including viral hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, toxic hepatitis, sepsis, etc. At this time, the hepatocytes are seriously damaged, the strike is not dry, and the uptake and binding of bilirubin cannot be completed normally, and a large amount of indirect bilirubin is accumulated in the blood waiting to enter the liver for processing; The patient first has yellow staining of the sclera of the eye, and then yellowing of the skin and face of the whole body, and can also be accompanied by symptoms such as fatigue and loss of appetite.
In addition, hemolytic diseases cause excessive destruction of red blood cells, abnormal increase in source production capacity, and a large amount of indirect bilirubin is formed, which is too late for liver cells to be processed for a while; or bile duct stones, obstruction and other diseases cause cholestasis, direct bilirubin "unsalable" products, which cannot be discharged into the intestine in time and reflux back into the blood, jaundice will also occur, and may be accompanied by symptoms such as skin itching.
Serum bilirubin test results for different types of jaundice
(Please refer to the instructions of the test sheet)
Consuming large amounts of carotene in a short period of time can also cause yellowing of the skin all over the body
If not, then it is likely that short-term consumption of foods containing a lot of carotene, such as carrots, mangoes, citrus, etc., is another disease that causes yellowing of the skin: hypercarotenemia. This condition does not require special treatment, stop carotene-rich foods and the skin will return to normal.
No matter what the reason, if you find abnormal yellowing of the skin all over the body, it is recommended to go to the hospital in time for examination and treatment under the instructions of a professional doctor, so as not to ignore the hidden signs of disease!
Bibliography:
[1] Wan Xuehong, Lu Xuefeng. Diagnostics[M]. 9th Edition. Beijing: People's Medical Publishing House, 2018.
Editor: Xiao Lu
Source: Shanghai CDC