Watch it when your baby’s eyes turn yellow

But her joy was short-lived. While the eating and drinking was going on, she noticed that the colour of her baby’s skin was gradually turning yellow. She noticed the yellow eyes earlier on in the day, but she waved it aside not thinking it was a serious issue. Now, the life of the baby for […]

But her joy was short-lived. While the eating and drinking was going on, she noticed that the colour of her baby’s skin was gradually turning yellow. She noticed the yellow eyes earlier on in the day, but she waved it aside not thinking it was a serious issue. Now, the life of the baby for whom everyone gathered was being threatened.  She quickly got ready and took her baby to the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, Gwagwalada .

The doctors ran some test to ascertain what was wrong with the baby. Before then, from their observation, it was obvious to them that the baby has jaundice. Shortly after, the result of the test confirmed their fears. Mama Habibu’s mood became sombre as she watched how the doctors tried to save the life of her baby. Like a horror movie, her daughter, laid on the bed dead. Her joy suddenly turned sour.

Dr. Eyinade Kudirat Olateju of Department of Paediatrics at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital says jaundice in lay man term is the yellowness of the body. “It usually starts from the eye and then the skin. It’s a killer disease and is responsible for many kids who are disabled now in our community that is after Asphyxia- a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally in a new born child.”

In children, jaundice is caused by an increased breakdown of red blood cells, poor processing of bilirubin by the liver, or blockage of the flow of bilirubin into the intestine. More than half of newborns have mild jaundice in the first week after birth, caused by increased breakdown of red blood cells.

Normally, large amounts of blood flow each minute through the liver, which may be thought of as the body’s chemical processing plant. The liver breaks down old, inefficient red blood cells in a process called hemolysis. This releases large amounts of bilirubin. Too much bilirubin can be toxic and can cause jaundice.

There are different conditions that lead to jaundice. Dr Olateju said “if the parent’s blood group are not compatible.  Infection can also cause jaundice, and then pre-maturity is another cause of Jaundice.”

However, treatment depends on the cause of the jaundice. Dr Olatejusaid “first we want to know the underlying cause. If the jaundice is so much, we may want to exchange the blood so we put in fresh blood and remove the one that is contaminated otherwise we can use phototherapy. This involves placing the baby under a special blue light or wrapping them in a light-emitting blanket for a few days. We monitor if the bilirubin level is high or low (determined by a blood test). And when it is infection, we treat the infection.”

Sadly, Mama Habibu’s baby was not too lucky as the infection could not be treated.