Jaundice is not a disease.
By DoctorDidi
@DoctorDidi (7018)
India
August 15, 2012 11:55am CST
Yesterday a close friend of mine from Delhi informed me over the telephone that her maternal uncle has been suffering from jaundice and as he is now very busy with office work due to the ongoing audit there, it is not possible for him to consult with a doctor at present. So he seeks my help if I can give any advice over the phone for recovery. I realized that like any other lay man he too believes that jaundice is a disease. I took time to make him understand that jaundice itself is not a disease; rather, it is a clinical manifestation of a disease, it is a symptom as well as a sign at the same time. So a thorough clinical examination of the patient is necessary for making a provisional diagnosis and then some other investigations have to be undertaken for confirmation of the diagnosis with its severity as well as to rule out some other diseases which may fall under the ‘Differential diagnosis’. Then only the actual treatment can be chalked out.
5 responses
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
17 Aug 12
You are right, jaundice is a symptom of a potential disease, but having jaundice in and of itself is not the disease that you have. Typically jaundice will show up in older individuals that have liver failure or that suffer from hepatitis. In babies, a little bit of jaundice is very common because the liver has not started to function yet.
Another thing that many people think of as being a disease is pain, but once again, pain is a symptom of some medical disorder or injury.
@louievill (28846)
• Philippines
16 Aug 12
Agree, jaundice is not a disease but a symptom of some underlying condition that prevents the liver from getting rid of billirubin, could be a block or could come from massive destruction of red blood cells.
@savypat (20216)
• United States
15 Aug 12
I think this is a pretty common misconception. However like you say all it means is the liver is in trouble and there can be many causes of that. One thing is good to know, the liver is the one organ that can totally repair it's self once the cause of the trouble is corrected. I hope what he has is something simple and he will soon be fit again. Blessings
@Autumnrose2008 (1478)
• United States
15 Aug 12
Jaundice is the yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes caused by a failing liver. Newborns also have a bit of Jaundice that happens when they are born but a little sun light usually gets rid of that. I would be concerned that your friend is in need of major medical help if he is experiencing jaundice. Its never a good sign when you have it usually means bad things are happening.
