Sage-Tips

Why is UV light used for neonatal jaundice?

Phototherapy. Phototherapy is treatment with a special type of light (not sunlight). It’s sometimes used to treat newborn jaundice by lowering the bilirubin levels in your baby’s blood through a process called photo-oxidation. Photo-oxidation adds oxygen to the bilirubin so it dissolves easily in water.

Why babies are kept in UV light?

Phototherapy helps your baby’s body to get rid of the accumulated excess bilirubin (yellow substance) by making it water-soluble. This process makes it easier for your baby’s liver to break down and remove the bilirubin from their blood through urine and stools.

How does blue light treat jaundice?

Phototherapy involves shining fluorescent light from the bili lights on bare skin. A specific wavelength of light can break down bilirubin into a form that the body can get rid of through the urine and stools. The light looks blue. The newborn is placed under the lights without clothes or just wearing a diaper.

Why does exposure to sunlight help jaundice?

Sunlight obviously can treat hyperbilirubinemia, as this is how the treatment of phototherapy was discovered, and the sun emits blue–green light in the spectrum needed to most effectively convert bilirubin to its water‐soluble isomers for excretion.

How do you control jaundice in newborns?

How Is Jaundice Treated?

1. fluids. A loss of fluids (dehydration) will cause bilirubin levels to rise.
2. phototherapy. Babies lie under lights with little clothing so their skin is exposed.
3. exchange blood transfusion.
4. intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg).

Do LED lights help jaundice?

More important, LED lamps can help treat jaundice faster than conventional phototherapy lighting—a critical difference for a condition in which every hour counts.

What light is best for jaundice?

What light is used in phototherapy for jaundice?

• Halogen lamps: Halogen lamps produce a warm white/yellow light.
• Fluorescent tubes: Special blue fluorescent tubes produce light in the blue-green spectrum which is highly effective in penetrating the skin and is well absorbed by bilirubin.

How long do jaundice babies stay under light?

Your baby will need to be under the light for about 1 to 2 days. He may also lie on a blanket of light, called a bili-blanket. He will stay under the bili-light as much as possible. During this time, his eyes will be covered with patches because the light can damage them.

What happens when bilirubin is exposed to light?

Bilirubin is a substance absorbing light within the visible spectrum, and it is well recognized to undergo both isomerization and oxidation in serum exposed to visible light, resulting in decreased measured bilirubin values [10–14].

Is phototherapy a UV light?

Phototherapy uses a man-made source of UV light. UV light also comes from the sun. When combined with a medication called psoralen, the procedure is known as psoralen UVA (PUVA). UV light shuts down immune system cells in the skin.

Is sunlight good for neonatal jaundice?

Sunlight has been shown to break down the bilirubin most effectively; in fact, one hour of sunlight equals 6 hours under the special bilirubin lights at the hospital. To sunbathe the baby, put him in a bassinet or on a blanket near a window with sun or indirect light (even on a cloudy day).

How does sunlight cure jaundice?

Babies with jaundice are often treated with phototherapy lamps, which emit blue-green light that alters the bilirubin (yellow substance found naturally in the baby’s blood) so that it can be more easily excreted. Sunlight emits light in a similar spectrum.

Is filtered sunlight safe for newborn jaundice?

Filtered sunlight a safe, low-tech treatment for newborn jaundice. If too much bilirubin builds up in the blood, the skin and eyes acquire the hallmark yellow tinge of jaundice. Worse, high bilirubin levels can cause lasting brain damage or infant death.

How is phototherapy used to treat neonatal jaundice?

Fundamentals of phototherapy for neonatal jaundice Phototherapy is the use of visible light for the treatment of hyperbilirubinemia in the newborn. This relatively common therapy lowers the serum bilirubin level by transforming bilirubin into water-soluble isomers that can be eliminated without conjugation in the liver.

Can uvuv light cure jaundice in neonates?

UV light cures are never used to cure jaundice since they are deep penetrating into the neonate’s skin. LED rays of mild nature are used to cure jaundice in the possible speedy manner. This will definitely serve your purpose.

What causes jaundice in newborns?

Jaundice is extremely common in newborns, whose bodies need a few days after birth to develop the enzymes that enable excretion of bilirubin, a compound released during the normal breakdown of red blood cells. If too much bilirubin builds up in the blood, the skin and eyes acquire the hallmark yellow tinge of jaundice.