Overview
Neonatal jaundice — yellowing of a newborn's skin and eyes — is common and often harmless, but severe untreated jaundice can permanently damage a baby's brain (kernicterus), a tragedy still seen in Nigeria. Yellowness appearing in the first day of life, or spreading down the body, needs urgent hospital assessment. Exposing the baby to sunlight is NOT adequate treatment for significant jaundice.
Symptoms
- Yellow colour of the skin, starting at the face
- Yellowing of the whites of the eyes
- Yellowness spreading to the chest, abdomen, palms or soles (more severe)
- Poor sucking or feeding
- Unusual sleepiness or floppiness (danger sign)
- High-pitched cry or arching backwards (danger sign)
Causes & risk factors
- Normal immaturity of the newborn liver
- Blood-group incompatibility between mother and baby
- G6PD deficiency — common in Nigeria, triggered by camphor (mothballs), certain dusting powders and some drugs
- Infection
- Prematurity and poor feeding
Treatment & self-care
Significant jaundice is treated in hospital with phototherapy (special blue light); severe cases need exchange blood transfusion — both are time-critical. Feed the baby frequently, avoid camphor balls and unprescribed remedies around newborns, and have any visible yellowness checked the same day with a bilirubin test. Do not rely on glucose water, herbal mixtures or sunlight.
See a doctor urgently if
- Yellowness in the first 24 hours of life — emergency
- Yellow colour spreading to the abdomen, palms or soles
- Poor feeding, unusual sleepiness or floppiness
- High-pitched cry, fever or arching of the body
- Jaundice lasting beyond two weeks
This condition can be an emergency. If any of the signs above are severe or getting worse, go to the nearest emergency room now or call 112 or 199 — do not wait for an online consultation.