Question
The baby just turned a month old and still has a slightly yellowish complexion. After a hospital check-up for jaundice, liver function tests showed low albumin levels, elevated alanine aminotransferase and bilirubin levels, and the baby’s appetite is normal with some foamy stools.
Answer
Neonatal jaundice is a disease characterized by the yellowing of the entire body, eyes, and urine in newborns, known as fetal jaundice in traditional Chinese medicine. If jaundice appears within 24 hours of birth and persists for 2-3 weeks without subsiding, or even worsens or recurs after fading, or if it appears within one week to several weeks after birth, these are all signs of pathological jaundice. Neonatal jaundice can be true or false. True jaundice refers to pathological jaundice, such as neonatal hemolytic disease, neonatal sepsis, neonatal hepatitis, congenital bile duct obstruction, etc. False jaundice specifically refers to physiological jaundice in infants, which does not require treatment. If a newborn shows signs of jaundice after 24 hours of birth and the condition can naturally resolve within 14 days without other symptoms, it is considered physiological jaundice.