Jaundice In Eyes
The term 'jaundice' has been derived from the French word 'jaune', which signifies the color, yellow. Jaundice is also medically referred to as 'icterus'. The disease occurs due to excessively high presence of the bile pigment, which is known as bilirubin, in the blood. This bile pigment, when abnormally high in blood starts showing its coloration in the body tissues as well, thereby demonstrating the symptoms of the disease. |
The signs of jaundice include yellowish tinge to the skin and the sclera that is the white part of the eyes. The yellowish tinge soon spreads to the other body tissues and the patient’s urine also shows a dark coloration. Out of these symptoms, the yellowing of the eyes is the first indication of the disease. As the level of bilirubin rises, it first affects the conjunctiva of the eye. The yellowish coloration is a result of the staining of the conjunctiva with the bile pigment. For the symptoms to become evident, the bilirubin content must cross the threshold of 1.5 mg/dL. However, at times the yellowish color of the skin could also be caused due to high intake of carrots, either in the solid or fluid form. Therefore, it is necessary to get the proper medical diagnosis conducted to confirm the disease.
Bilirubin is a byproduct of the RBCs in the human body. During the process of destruction of dead RBC, hemoglobin is released in the blood, which in turn is transformed into bilirubin. The liver is responsible for eliminating bilirubin from the blood and excreting it into the bile. In fact, under normal circumstances also, it is this bilirubin that flows in the intestines and imparts the brown color to the feces.
Jaundice is a consequence of any form of disruption in the normal removal of bilirubin from the body. The causes of this interruption in the normal elimination process include increased obliteration of RBCs, liver disease that hampers the organ's potential to eliminate and alter bilirubin, or any hindrance to the normal movement of bile into the intestine.
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