What makes bilirubin

Eat these 11 foods for optimal liver…. Lifestyle changes can help reduce your risk for fatty liver disease and damage. Learn what 10 foods you should eat and what 6 foods to avoid. Fatty liver disease is best managed with lifestyle changes. Some of the best methods include weight loss, limiting sugar, and drinking coffee.

Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Causes High Bilirubin? Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M. Symptoms Causes Warning signs Takeaway What is bilirubin? What are the symptoms of high bilirubin? What causes high bilirubin? Should I be concerned? The bottom line. Liver Function Tests. Understanding Newborn Jaundice. Alcohol-Related Liver Disease. Read this next. Medically reviewed by Graham Rogers, M. Medically reviewed by Judith Marcin, M. Medically reviewed by Natalie Olsen, R.

Ascites Causes and Risk Factors. The approximate normal range of bilirubin in the blood serum is:. Any person who experiences yellowing of the skin or eyes should see their doctor.

It may be a sign of a serious condition. High bilirubin levels can cause jaundice. Jaundice makes the skin and the whites of the eyes appear yellow, due to the brown and yellow bilirubin in the blood. The breakdown of red blood cells RBCs in the body produces bilirubin. The bilirubin travels to the liver and is stored in the bile duct.

The body ultimately expels bilirubin in stools. The RBCs have a lifespan of around days and renew continually. RBCs contain hemoglobin, which helps transport oxygen around the body, and it is this that gets broken down into bilirubin and other substances. The bilirubin is carried to the liver by albumin, a simple protein.

Unconjugated bilirubin is toxic, but conjugated bilirubin is usually not, because it can be removed from the body, as long as nothing is interfering with its removal. Hemolytic anemia occurs when too many red blood cells are broken down before the end of their natural life cycle. If the liver is not working properly, it may be unable to make bilirubin water-soluble. This may result in too much bilirubin building up in the liver.

Once the bilirubin has left the liver, levels may be high because the bilirubin is unable to leave the body. This may be a result of blockage in one of the other organs that assist excretion, such as gallstones in the gallbladder. This is called the post-hepatic phase. Blood tests can measure bilirubin levels.

While there is a urine test for bilirubin, it is less accurate and often falsely positive. If a routine urine test detects bilirubin, a doctor will look at blood serum tests to confirm the results and identify any damage to the liver. Treatment depends on the underlying cause of the high bilirubin. If the cause is known, bilirubin might be removed through treatment or lifestyle changes, such as avoiding alcohol.

The levels go up and down because the process of removing it from the body is slowed down. For newborns with breastfeeding jaundice, mothers should breastfeed the baby more often. If the baby is not getting enough breast milk, the doctor may suggest supplementing with formula. Call the doctor if your baby has jaundice that isn't going away. Babies with jaundice for longer than 2 weeks need more testing to check for other things that cause jaundice. These include infections, and problems with the liver or bile system, metabolism, or genes.

Reviewed by: Mary L. Gavin, MD. Larger text size Large text size Regular text size. What Is Jaundice? Most types of jaundice go away on their own.

Others need treatment to lower bilirubin levels. Call the doctor if your baby: starts to look or act sick is not feeding well is sleepier than usual has jaundice that gets worse What Causes Jaundice in Newborns? A baby is more likely to get jaundice when he or she: is born premature. Premature babies are even less ready to remove bilirubin. They also can have problems at lower bilirubin levels than babies born later. Doctors treat them sooner. This often happens in the first few days of life, because a mother's milk isn't in yet or the baby is having trouble breastfeeding.

If a baby has this type of jaundice called breastfeeding jaundice , it's best to feed more often. A breastfeeding lactation consultant can help. Breast milk prevents the liver from quickly removing bilirubin. This is called breast milk jaundice and happens after the first week of life.