What causes Jaundice?
When red blood cells are removed from the bloodstream, hemoglobin, the molecule in red cells that carries oxygen, is broken down into bilirubin. The bilirubin is carried to the liver and excreted into the intestine as a component of bile.
Jaundice can designate liver or gallbladder disease. When the excretion of bilirubin is delayed, surplus bilirubin passes into the blood, ensuing in jaundice. Inflammation or other abnormalities of liver cells delay the flow of bilirubin into bile. Or the bile ducts outside the liver may be blocked by a gallstone or a tumor. Jaundice can also result from the too much breakdown of red blood cells (a process called hemolysis) and too much bilirubin is released into the bloodstream. This occurs naturally in the hemolytic anemias. Jaundice is common in newborns because there is some hemolysis during labor and delivery and the newborn’s liver is immature and may not be fully up to the task of handling the bilirubin for a few days.

Treatment for Jaundice:
Jaundice should be treated as soon as possible otherwise it can worsen and affect other parts of the body. The treatment of jaundice usually requires a diagnosis of the specific of the jaundice and treatment directed at the specific cause e.g. removal of a gallstone blocking the bile duct. Natural treatment for jaundice is more preferred to cure. The patient should take complete rest, in breakfast they should have juicy fruit like apple, papaya, mango, grapes or berries and in mid morning one orange juice. Butter, cream and oils should be strictly avoided. Drink lots of water with lemon juice to protect damaged liver cells. Hot and cold compresses should be applied alternately to the abdomen. Yoga is equally beneficial.

Pathophysiology of Jaundice
The bilirubin level becomes greater than 2.5 to 3 mg per dL. Bilirubin metabolism takes place in three phases prehepatic, intrahepatic and posthepatic. Dysfunction in any of these phases may lead to jaundice.

PREHEPATIC PHASE
The human body produces about 4 mg of bilirubin per day from the metabolism of heme. That bilirubin is transported from the plasma to the liver for conjugation and excretion.

INTRAHEPATIC PHASE
Unconjugated bilirubin is insoluble in water but soluble in fats. Therefore, it can easily cross the blood-brain barrier or enter the placenta. In the hepatocyte, the unconjugated bilirubin is conjugated with a sugar via the enzyme glucuronosyltransferase and is then soluble in the aqueous bile.

POSTHEPATIC PHASE
Once soluble in bile, bilirubin is transported through the biliary and cystic ducts to enter the gallbladder, where it is stored, or it passes through Vater’s ampulla to enter the duodenum. Inside the intestines, some bilirubin is excreted in the stool, while the rest is metabolized by the gut flora into urobilinogens and then reabsorbed. The majority of the urobilinogens are filtered from the blood by the kidney and excreted in the urine. A small percentage of the urobilinogens are reabsorbed in the intestines and re-excreted into the bile.