Jaundice: Check Your Symptoms and Signs With the Symptom Checker by MedicineNet.com

Jaundice Symptoms

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Terms related to Jaundice:

Icterus
Yellow Staining of Skin and Eyes

Jaundice, also referred to as icterus, is the yellow staining of the skin and sclerae (the whites of the eyes) by abnormally high blood levels of the bile pigment, bilirubin. The yellowing extends to other tissues and body fluids and also may turn the urine dark. Yellowing of only the skin also can be caused by eating too many carrots or drinking too much carrot juice.

The bile pigment, bilirubin, comes from red blood cells. When old red blood cells are destroyed by the body (a normal process), the oxygen-carrying molecule within the cells, hemoglobin, is released into the blood. The hemoglobin is rapidly converted to bilirubin in the blood. The bilirubin is removed from the blood by the liver, modified, and excreted into the bile. The bile flows into the intestine so that the bilirubin is eliminated in the stool. (It is bilirubin that gives stool its brown color.) Jaundice can occur whenever this normal process of destruction of red blood cells and elimination of bilirubin is interrupted. This occurs when there is abnormally increased destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis), liver disease that reduces the ability of the liver to remove and modify bilirubin, or obstruction to the flow of bile into the intestine.

Main Articles on Jaundice

Causes of Jaundice

Alcoholism Alcoholism is a disease that includes alcohol craving and continued drinking despite repeated alcohol-related problems, such as...learn more »
Cirrhosis (Liver) Cirrhosis of the liver refers to a disease in which normal liver cells are replaced by scar tissue caused by alcohol and viral...learn more »
Gallstones Gallstones are stones that form when substances in the bile harden. Gallstones (formed in the gallbladder) can be as small as a...learn more »
Gilbert Syndrome Gilbert syndrome is a benign genetic condition that causes abnormal breakdown of bilirubin, a compound that is formed when...learn more »
Hepatitis B The hepatitis B virus is a unique, coated DNA virus belonging to the Hepadnaviridae family of viruses. The course of the virus is...learn more »
Hepatitis C Hepatitis C is an inflammation of the liver due to the hepatitis C virus (HCV), which is usually spread by blood transfusion,...learn more »
Human Immunodeficiency Virus HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is the cause of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). HIV is a type of virus called a...learn more »
Kernicterus (Newborn Jaundice) Jaundice in infants occur when the baby's liver may not be developed enough to efficiently rid the body of bilirubin. Symptoms of...learn more »
Leptospirosis Leptospirosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. The illness progresses in two phases. Symptoms in the first phase...learn more »
Liver Cancer Liver cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the world and the majority of patients with liver cancer will die within one year...learn more »
Liver Disease Liver disease can be cause by a variety of things including infection (hepatitis), diseases such as gallstones, high cholesterol...learn more »
Malaria Malaria is an infectious disease transmitted by the bite of an infected Anopheles mosquito. Symptoms of malaria include chills,...learn more »
Pancreatic Cancer Pancreatic cancer is a malignant tumor of the pancreas. Pancreatic cancer has been called a "silent" disease because early...learn more »
Pancreatitis Pancreatitis is a rare disease in which the pancreas becomes inflamed, occurring when digestive enzymes are activated and begin...learn more »
Primary Biliary Cirrhosis Primary Biliary Cirrhosis is a chronic disease characterized by progressive inflammation and destruction of small bile ducts...learn more »
Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis (PSC) Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is a chronic, progressive disease of the bile ducts that channel bile from the liver into...learn more »
Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia) Sickle cell anemia (sickle cell disease), a blood disease which shortens life expectancy, is cause by an inherited abnormal...learn more »
Viral Hepatitis Hepatitis is most often viral, due to infection with one of the hepatitis viruses (A, B, C, D, E, F (not confirmed), and G) or...learn more »

Other Causes of Jaundice