Patient's question:
You hit enter a few times, my baby is 11 days old today. When she was born, she felt a little yellow on her face, but I didn't pay attention to it. However, today I suddenly noticed a small yellow patch on her face and another on her nose bridge, with no other issues. She has been having a lot of eye discharge. What could be the reason for this? What should I do?Doctor's answer:
Neonatal jaundice is caused by red blood cell destruction due to factors such as changes in the external environment after birth, leading to an increase in bilirubin production. Jaundice is divided into pathological jaundice and physiological jaundice. Physiological jaundice occurs because the oxygen content in the external environment is higher than that in the body, leading to red blood cell destruction. Simple physiological jaundice generally does not require treatment and will not cause any consequences. If there are additional factors such as infection or skin breakdown that cause a significant increase in bilirubin production, and the bilirubin level in the blood falls below the safe range, active treatment is necessary. Otherwise, it may lead to kernicterus.