Tag: Mild Jaundice

What You need To Know About Gilbert’s Disease

There are quite a number in the American population that had been affected since their time of birth by this condition, Gilberts disease affects about two to five percent of the population in the United States alone. To better understand what it is and how it affects the people ridden with the condition, here are some of the frequently asked questions about Gilberts disease.

1. What is Gilberts disease? Gilberts disease is known to be one of the causes of mild jaundice once in a while. It is typically not dangerous and has no need for treatment. It is due to a condensed amount of a compounds in the liver, which processes a breakdown result of blood cells called bilirubin. Gilberts disease is a condition wherein the liver has a problem in breaking down the bilirubin completely.

2. Where did the name Gilberts disease came from? In 1901, a French gastroenterologist named Augustin Nicolas Gilbert and his co-workers described the differences in the symptoms of Gilberts disease and the other liver diseases. He also provided additional information on how to acquire it and its further transmission.

3. What is bilirubin and what happens to a person with Gilberts disease? Bilirubin is continuously made inside our bodies, it is a form of end product. It is the waste product of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a compound that is found in every persons red blood cells and it is responsible for carrying oxygen to the other cells in the body. Many of the red blood cells that we have and the hemoglobin break down each day and as a result bilirubin needs constant disposal. Bilirubin get carried to the bloodstream and into the liver where it is taken in by liver cells. The liver breaks down the bilirubin further into the gut and to bile. An enzyme or a chemical compound that can be found in liver cells called urodine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) aides the liver cells to break down the bilirubin. People with Gilberts syndrome have a reduced level of UGT and so bilirubin can build up in the bloodstream. High levels of bilirubin in the blood causes jaundice.

4. Who gets Gilberts disease? Gilberts syndrome is a very common hereditary condition that means there is no way to prevent or to treat the condition was it has been passed on to the next generation. About 1 in 20 people have this syndrome – but most will not be aware of it. It is more common in men than women. It is often first diagnosed in the late teens or early twenties.

5. What are the symptoms of Gilberts disease? More often than not, none. Unfortunately, the specific symptoms related to Gilberts disease is not as easy to spot and monitor like in other diseases. Gilberts disease can be very dormant in terms of symptoms that it can manifest in a person for several years with them knowing it.

6. How different is it from jaundice? Jaundice is caused by the excessive levels of bilirubin in the body, more specifically the blood. Because people with Gilberts disease have fluctuating levels of UGT or urodine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase, the build up and the manifestation of Jaundice cant really be used to gauge the severity of a person with Gilberts diseases condition. Aside from the discomfort and stomach pains most of the other signs of having Gilberts disease can be associated with other conditions.

What Sets Gilberts Disease Apart From Jaundice

There are a lot of diseases that can be identified with the liver and its functions, one of those diseases is called Gilberts disease. There had been reports and studies that tried to connect Jaundice and Gilberts disease with each other. Some experts would like to have a broad grasp on this issue and have yet to close their books on it and accept the fact that the two are connected.

One of the reasons why there are still experts that stand their ground when it comes to the supposed connection is because of the lack of negative effects on the body of Gilberts disease. Gilberts disease can cause jaundice and fatigue and thats the most of it. Some experts are still trying to find out if there are still other effects.

What exactly can Gilberts syndrome do to the body? Gilberts disease produces an elevated level of unconjugated bilirubin in the bloodstream but normally has no serious or damaging consequence. Mild jaundice may appear under conditions of exertion, stress, fasting, and infections, but the condition is otherwise asymptomatic.

It has been reported that GS may contribute to an accelerated onset of neonatal jaundice. Here are some signs and symptoms as well as other means of prevention or treatment that are still debated until now:

1. Diffuse symptoms. Some people report diffuse symptoms related to Gilberts disease , but no clear adverse symptoms related to Gilberts disease in adults have been found in scientific studies. This has led some to dispute whether Gilberts disease should classify as a disease.

2. Prevention. The unfortunate thing about Gilberts disease is that there has been no known prevention method, and because there had been no known way to prevent the condition getting it is inevitable. Another reasons for inevitability on its victims health is the fact that it is hereditary.

3. Support groups. Many of our relatives and friends who are sick are need of people around them that can make them feel that everything is going to be all right. It is what we call a support group. A support group can have members who are also afflicted by the disease, family members, doctors and other people that can give kind words and supportive comments to people who feel like it is the end of the world for them.

4. Treatment. Because of the nature of Gilberts disease and the least harmful effects it has on a patients body the treatment for Gilberts disease does not really exist. But when a person is afflicted by Gilberts disease the treatment focuses on the underlying conditions that develop the jaundice and other treatments focus on the liver itself. More and more people also take in dietary supplements to help make their livers more stable and healthy despite the affliction of Gilberts disease.

Though it is not something that can be cured, Gilberts disease is still a serious matter that people should take into account. More and more people are suffering from it and it is causing some people great discomfort. Although Gilberts disease does not have adverse effects on the patients body there is still a little window of sadness and suffering that they go through. The best cure for this condition is not really the expensive treatments, the medications or the dietary supplements. The best help and relief that we can give to patients suffering from Gilberts disease are the support and understanding that we have for them.