Usually jaundice occurs in infants, but sometimes the disease manifests itself in adulthood. Its cause is a variety of abnormalities in the liver, pancreas and gallbladder. The signs of jaundice in an adult are already apparent at the initial stage of the disease.
How does jaundice occur in adults?
To begin with, in many ways jaundice is not an independent disease, but only indicates serious violations of the work of certain internal organs, for example, the liver. Therefore, the symptoms of jaundice in adults, depending on the type of disease, may be slightly different. There are such types of disease:
- hemolytic jaundice;
- parenchematous (hepatic) jaundice;
- subhepatic (mechanical) jaundice;
- false jaundice.
False jaundice manifests as yellowing of the skin and mucosa, but it is not a disease, as this process is due to an overabundance of carotene in the blood. Usually this happens when you abuse carrot and citrus juices.
Hepatic jaundice often develops in patients with cirrhosis , hepatitis, liver cancer. It is manifested by an increase in the level of bilirubin in the blood as a result of the decay of liver cells. Here are the first signs of jaundice of this type in adults:
- acute pain in the right hypochondrium;
- blushing of the skin of the face and body, sometimes with a slight yellowish tinge;
- yellowing of the sclera of the eyes and some areas of the mucosa;
- temperature increase;
- severe nausea, dizziness.
With mechanical jaundice, vomiting involving bile, heartburn and sharp pain in the abdominal region can also begin. It is possible to increase the liver and spleen, which is seen with an ultrasound examination.
How else can jaundice appear in adults?
In addition to the listed symptoms, there may be joint aches and some symptoms of toxic poisoning - diarrhea, vomiting with blood and bile. In this case, immediately consult a doctor. Since the disease is not contagious, the incubation period does not have jaundice in adults, but often the disease is quite sluggish for several weeks.
It should also take into account the fact that as a secondary symptom of jaundice can occur with certain diseases of the genitourinary system and gallbladder:
- cholecystitis ;
- pancreatitis;
- stones in the bile;
- kidney stones;
- hepatic and renal insufficiency;
- some viral infections and inflammations of the internal organs.