THE YELLOW BABY
Dr. Elías Jiménez F.
http://www.diagnostico.com/Pediatrics/Symptoms/jaundice.stm

The color of the newborn is extremely important in order to 
determine his health condition.

Usually, at the time of birth, the baby's color is purple 
(cyanotic), and after a few seconds of breathing room 
temperature air, his color changes to pink. His hand and 
feet will remain purple, since the blood circulation in 
those places is slower.

The baby will have the pink appearance during his first days,
it will become less intense as time goes by, since his 
hemoglobin, which is very high at birth, begins to go down 
until it reaches the level that the child needs. As the 
hemoglobin destroys itself or degrades it converts into 
bilirubin, and this pigment is transformed and eliminated by
the liver, most of it through the digestive tube. When 
excess bilirubin is accumulated, the skin turns yellow, and 
this is known as Jaundice or Icterus.

High levels of bilirubin can injure the child's nervous 
system and cause serious and permanent injuries. The 
principal causes for increase levels are:

   1. More hemoglobin than the necessary is destroyed, this 
      happens when the mother and the baby have different 
      blood types.

   2. The liver is not functioning well, this might happen 
      to premature children due to this organ immaturity, or
      as an effect of the maternal milk.

   3. Because the bilirubin can't be eliminated through the 
      digestive tube.

A baby who turns yellow should be considered as an emergency,
and the pediatrician must determine each case. There are 
some signs that may alert parents and have to be watched 
for; these are:

   1. Presence of Jaundice in the first 72 hours of life. 
      Usually this is caused by the excessive destruction of
      red blood cells and with them the hemoglobin, due to 
      blood incompatibility between mother and son.

   2. Jaundice accompanied of lethargy, lack of activity and
      of appetite.

   3. Presence of fever or very low temperature.

   4. Low birth weight, because premature children are more 
      prone to the toxic effects or the bilirubin.

   5. The skin coloration is very yellow or orange.

According to the doctor's criteria, one can go to a lab, to 
find both the cause of the Jaundice and to determine the 
level of bilirubin found in the blood. The treatment will 
depend on the moment that the problem appears, the child's 
condition and the cause and the level of bilirubin.

The treatment can be very simple, as increasing the amount 
of fluid intake and eliminating the intake of maternal milk;
or putting the child under phototherapy, special lamps that 
facilitate the bilirubin found in the skin to transform and 
eliminate easily. The sun has a similar effect, but with the 
inconvenience that it can only be received a few hours a day. 
In the worst cases, when the levels of bilirubin in the 
blood are higher than 20 mg/dL, a blood exchange has to be 
carried the child's blood is changed through the umbilical 
vein.

Like in many other cases, the most important thing is to 
prevent this situation by giving an on time diagnosis and 
applying treatment in the right moment. In this way we 
prevent a simple problem becoming a complicated one


-----------------------------------------------------------
When I was born I was so surprised I didn't talk 
for a year and a half.
Gracie Allen (1906 - 1964)
-----------------------------------------------------------





AYO GALANG SOLIDARITAS UNTUK MEMBANTU KORBAN MUSIBAH DI ACEH & DAN SUMATERA 
UTARA !!!
================
Kirim bunga, http://www.indokado.com
Info balita: http://www.balita-anda.com
Stop berlangganan/unsubscribe dari milis ini, e-mail ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Peraturan milis, email ke: [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Kirim email ke