Differentiating between physiological jaundice and pathological jaundice in newborns.

Jaundice is a common symptom in newborns, caused by the breakdown of red blood cells and the immature liver function in metabolizing bilirubin.

Pathological jaundice can lead to complications such as kernicterus, which can cause death or leave lasting physical, mental, and motor developmental delays in infants. Therefore, caregivers, especially mothers, should be aware of some signs of pathological and physiological jaundice in newborns.

Some symptoms of physiological jaundice:

- Physiological jaundice usually appears from the 3rd to 5th day after birth.

- It usually doesn't last more than 1 week in full-term babies and 2 weeks in premature babies.

- Light yellow, usually starting from the face and then spreading to the body and limbs, gradually fading to a lighter shade of yellow.

- General condition: normal

- Yellow stool, clear urine

Some manifestations of pathological jaundice:

- Jaundice that appears early or late, and lasts for more than 14 days.

- Light or dark yellow. Yellowing appears all over the body immediately. The yellowing increases gradually.

- General condition: poor

- Yellow or pale stools, yellow urine

If a child exhibits any of the following symptoms, the family should take the child to a medical facility for examination and prompt diagnosis and treatment:

- Jaundice appears early, before 48 hours of age.

- Gold all over, even the palms and soles of the feet are gold.

- Jaundice lasting more than 1 week in full-term infants, or more than 2 weeks in premature infants.

- Infants with jaundice accompanied by other abnormal signs such as poor feeding, seizures, fever, pale stools...

To accurately identify signs of jaundice in young children, it is best to expose the child's skin to natural light or white light. Therefore, mothers should observe their child's skin color daily under natural light or white light to detect early signs of jaundice.

According to Health and Life