Jaundice

Bilirubin is the chemical that remains in the blood after the iron has been removed from the hemoglobin (the blood chemical in red blood cells that contains iron, and carries oxygen) in the blood. High levels of bilirubin causes jaundice. When jaundice is mild, the skin and white of the eyes take on a yellow color. If the level of bilirubin is extremely high, the skin and white of the eyes can even turn brown. Jaundice is not a disease, but it can be a sign of a disease.

One of the liver’s functions is to remove waste from the blood, and bilirubin is a waste product. The liver removes bilirubin from the blood.

Babies often have jaundice, because their livers are immature and do not work fast enough, or efficiently enough, to remove the bilirubin from the blood.

Jaundice occurs when so much bilirubin is being produced that the liver can’t remove it all. Hemolytic Anemia causes too much bilirubin for the liver to remove. Jaundice can occur when a defect in the liver prevents bilirubin from being removed from the blood, the bile ducts become blocked (by things such as inflammation, due to an infectious disease such as Malaria or Infectious Hepatitis, cancer, or gallstones) and the flow of bile and bilirubin from the liver into the intestines is decreased.

Home Remedies For Jaundice:

Turmeric Powder:

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder mixed in a glass of hot water, taken two or three times a day.

Papaya Leaves:

Make a paste of tender papaya leaves, mix one part papaya leaves, to two parts honey, and take 1 ½ teaspoons a day.

Lemon Leaves:

Bring one cup of water to a boil, add eight to ten lemon leaves. Cover and allow to steep for four or five minutes; drink this as often as you can for four or five days. Honey can be used to sweeten it.

Lime Juice:

Consume lots of lime juice. Drinking large amounts of strong limeade, taking it by the tablespoon, or mixing it with honey, and taking it by the tablespoon will work to treat jaundice.

Ginger, Mint, And Lime:

Combine ½ teaspoon of ginger juice, mint juice, lime juice, and take as often as possible.

Radish Leaf Juice:

Drink a cup of radish leaf juice twice a day to cure jaundice.

Tomato Juice:

Drink one glass of fresh tomato juice with a pinch of salt and pepper, every morning.

Especially in jaundiced babies, real or artificial sunlight helps the body produce Vitamin D, which increases liver function, and helps process bilirubin to cure jaundice.