How to observe baby jaundice How to prevent neonatal jaundice

In the outpatient clinic received a lot of brain damage caused by kernicterus, if jaundice is controlled in time, there will be no sequelae, but some parents are negligent, thinking that it is normal for the baby to have jaundice, which delays the treatment time and causes brain damage.After brain injury, it takes several years of rehabilitation, which causes a huge burden on the family, so parents should pay attention to neonatal jaundice.

1. Why is neonatal jaundice a time bomb around us?

Neonatal jaundice is a common symptom of newborns, and it is also often encountered by parents, but parents rarely know what the harm of neonatal jaundice is and why they should intervene. This is because neonatal jaundice can lead to kernicterus if it is not intervened in time, so what kind of disease is kernicterus? Kernicterus is actually severe neonatal jaundice, also called "bilirubin encephalopathy". When the neonatal jaundice reaches a certain level, bilirubin crosses the blood vessel wall and enters the brain tissue to stain the nucleus of central nervous cells yellow, so it is called "kernicterus". After the nerve cells are stained by it, they cannot metabolize energy, so degeneration and necrosis occur, and irreversible damage will be formed.

2. The damage of kernicterus is permanent and will accompany the child for the rest of his life

Kernicterus is prone to sequelae such as mental retardation, athetosis, hearing impairment, and convulsions, and prevention of this disease is the key. The brainstem auditory pathway is very sensitive to the toxic effects of bilirubin and predisposes to deafness and severe auditory neuropathy, which does not necessarily lead to hearing loss and may manifest as difficulty understanding speech in a noisy environment.Athetis is mainly manifested as involuntary, purposeless, uncoordinated movements of the limbs, and aggravation when tense.

3. Kernicterus is a preventable disease and should not be a problem in the 21st century

There is no specific treatment for kernicterus, neonatal jaundice is very common, parents are easy to ignore, many jaundice babies have developed into kernicterus before being brought to the hospital for treatment, but they do not know that it has caused damage to the baby's nervous system, leaving sequelae such as hearing loss and intellectual development disorders, which brings a heavy burden to society and family. Timely hospital treatment is the key to the prevention and treatment of kernicterus, so early screening and early intervention of neonatal jaundice are particularly important.

4. It is not uncommon for kernicterus to occur in China, with at least tens of thousands of cases every year

It should be rare for everyone to have such a serious consequence, but what is the actual situation? In developed countries such as Europe and the United States, the incidence rate is 1.5 per 100,000 people. Due to the fact that China has not yet established a kernicterus registration and reporting system and lacks demography based on flow survey data, in 2009 alone, the Chinese Medical Association organized an epidemic survey of 33 hospitals, and the surveyed hospitals reported a total of 348 cases of neonatal bilirubin encephalopathy, accounting for about 4.8% of the total number of children treated, which can be estimated to reach at least tens of thousands of cases every year in the country. The cost of a month's rehabilitation for the children ranges from a few thousand to tens of thousands, bringing not only financial pressure to the family, but also mental despair.

5. Observe the baby's performance at any time and seek medical attention in time

Kernicterus progresses rapidly within 24 hours and has different clinical manifestations at different stages:

Parents are reminded that newborns must be closely monitored for the progress of jaundice within 4-10 days after birth, and blood bilirubin concentrations should be measured at any time. The newborn baby can be placed in front of the window in natural light every day to observe the jaundice closely, press the forehead, chest, hands and feet with your hands, press for 1-2 seconds, and then let go of your hands to observe the yellowing of the skin. If you find that the white of your eyes are yellow, your diapers are yellow, and your eyes are yellow, you should seek medical attention immediately and intervene as soon as possible. In particular, it should be noted that the baby's jaundice persists, or even deepens, aggravates or recurs after subsidence, so be alert to the possibility of kernicterus. Neonatal jaundice intervention is to prevent severe jaundice and kernicterus, which is the responsibility of parents, doctors and the whole society, and the responsibility of parents is the top priority!