Patient's question:
A colleague recently had a baby. Then they noticed that the baby's sclera was yellow. They're not sure if they should reduce the salt intake. So they want to ask if it's important for a newborn's jaundice to have yellow sclera?Doctor's answer:
Generally speaking, neonatal jaundice is divided into physiological jaundice and pathological jaundice. If jaundice is observed with the naked eye, there is a rough judgment standard. For example, if there is jaundice on the baby's face, the jaundice value is approximately 5 mg/dL. If the trunk is jaundiced, including the whites of the eyes turning yellow, it is about 10 mL. If the limbs, palms, soles of the feet, or eyes are particularly yellow, the jaundice value may exceed 15 mL, which means further examination is needed. Jaundice is generally measured through the skin, but the gold index is determined through a blood test for jaundice levels. This is the best objective standard. Therefore, for children with yellow eyes or yellow palms, it is necessary to determine whether the baby has physiological jaundice or pathological jaundice based on the baby's gestational age and birth day. Then, it should be combined with the bilirubin levels in the blood.