Jaundice is a yellow tinge of the skin. Your blood contains too much bilirubin—a yellow pigment found in bile, which is a fluid secreted by the liver.

Other symptoms that occur with jaundice are dark urine, light-colored bowel movements (BMs), fatigue, fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, and vomiting.

Jaundice usually comes from a liver disorder, such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, or a disease of the gallbladder or pancreas. Sometimes jaundice results from taking a drug that damages the liver.

Although hepatitis is considered contagious, you do not need to stay in your home. To help prevent the spread of hepatitis:

1. Do not prepare or handle food for others until cleared by your healthcare provider.
2. Wash your hands well after using the toilet and changing diapers.
3. If you have hepatitis A or B, avoid intimate sexual contact until cleared by your healthcare provider.
4. Hepatitis A and B can be killed by cleaning household surfaces with a solution of 1:10 dilution of bleach to water.
5. If you have hepatitis B or C, do not share razors, toothbrushes, and other personal items.
6. Do not share glucose testing equipment.
7. Do not share injection equipment.
8. Cover open cuts and scratches.
9. Never donate blood, organs, or sperm after a hepatitis B or C infection.
10. Your family and your sexual partners need evaluation for hepatitis A or hepatitis B vaccinations.

Treatment for jaundice includes the following:

1. Use good hygiene techniques with bathing, using the bathroom, and handwashing.
2. Apply anti-itch lotions, such as calamine.
3. Rest.
4. Make a list of all of the medications, over-the-counter medications, and herbal products you are taking so that you and your healthcare provider can see if any of them are causing the jaundice.
5. A procedure may need to be done to crush a gallstone blocking the bile duct, causing jaundice.
6. If you have hepatitis B and C, you will be referred to a specialist.
7. The public health department will be notified by your healthcare provider for acute hepatitis.
8. Your healthcare specialist may discuss the need for a liver biopsy.
9. Your healthcare specialist may discuss treatment to help treat the hepatitis virus.
10. Avoid alcohol. Alcohol is associated with an increase of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Activity: Plan rest periods throughout the day. Avoid strenuous exercise. Gradually resume activities and mild exercise during this time.

Diet: Eat small, frequent, low-fat, high-calorie meals. You may be instructed to limit protein during acute phases of some types of hepatitis. Sit down to eat to decrease pressure on your liver. Drink eight to 10 glasses of liquids a day.

Medications:

You Have Been Prescribed: __________________________________________________________________________

You Need to Take: _____________________________________________________________________________________

You Have Been Prescribed: ____________________________________________________________________________

You Need to Take: _____________________________________________________________________________________

You Need to Notify the Office If You Have:

1. Mild confusion.
2. Personality changes.
3. Worsening symptoms.
4. Tremors.
5. Other:______________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone: ___________________________________________________

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/hepatitis

Hepatitis B information is available from the Hepatitis B Foundation: www.hepb.org

Hepatitis C information is available from the American Liver Foundation: https://liverfoundation.org/for-patients/about-the-liver/diseases-of-the-liver/hepatitis-c.