High bilirubin in the blood in adults: causes and treatment

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Bilirubin is a component of blood. This substance occurs due to the breakdown of red blood cells. It is constantly present in the human body.

The indirect fraction of this component is not soluble in water. Because of this, the substance cannot be eliminated from the body naturally. Indirect bilirubin enters the liver, where under the influence of chemical processes it becomes direct. This substance can dissolve in any liquid, which allows it to be quickly eliminated from the body.

When the level of total bilirubin is elevated, the nervous system suffers. In addition, this condition causes serious harm to the brain.

Why might bilirubin increase? What is more dangerous: hepatitis or Gilbert's syndrome

A high level of bilirubin may indicate serious diseases such as hepatitis, cancer of the gallbladder and its ducts, pancreatic cancer, and cirrhosis of the liver. In all these cases, indirect bilirubin increases. The most obvious external manifestation is a jaundiced coloration of the skin and sclera, darkening of the color of urine, and lightening of the stool. With such symptoms, a person goes to the doctor and immediately ends up in the hospital. There is no point in discussing how to use natural remedies.

In severe forms of anemia, direct bilirubin is increased - pronounced hemolysis of red blood cells occurs. Here, poor health is so obvious that there is no need to worry that you will overlook such a condition. A doctor can easily identify it.

How to reduce enzyme levels

When the doctor establishes the main cause that caused the pathological level of the enzyme in the blood or urine and directs efforts to treat the disease, the concentration of the substance gradually decreases. However, the toxic effects of the pigment can be reduced by detoxification methods by administering protein, glucose solutions and hemodez to the patient.

Traditional medicine knows many ways to cleanse the liver, gall bladder and kidneys. To improve the outflow of bile, you can use choleretic and diuretic herbs with mild effects, which will facilitate the rapid removal of the direct enzyme from the body.

Motherwort, a tincture of which can be purchased at a pharmacy, copes well with the problem. Or it is possible to use a self-brewed composition: for 250 ml of boiling water you will need 2 pinches of herb. This tea is brewed for 30 minutes and taken 100 ml before meals.

You can also brew St. John's wort, which perfectly cleanses the blood and improves immunity. For 200 ml of boiling water, you need to take two tablespoons of dried St. John's wort, pour in and leave for 20 minutes, take 100 ml twice a day.

Another folk recipe is an infusion of corn silk. It is a little more difficult to prepare than regular tea, but it is very effective. The composition of such panicles includes components that directly affect the reduction of enzyme levels. Preparation involves infusing 50 g of stigmas with 200 ml of boiling water in a water bath for half an hour. Then the finished composition is filtered, topped up with boiled water to the original amount, and drunk in small portions throughout the day.

Gilbert's syndrome. What's happened? What to do?

But 90% of cases when there is concern about a high level of pigment in the blood and when natural remedies for supporting the liver can be very useful are the so-called. Gilbert's syndrome is a moderate increase in indirect bilirubin throughout almost the entire life. It does not reach the part of the liver cell where it should be inactivated and remains unbound. And since the pigment does not dissolve in water, it cannot be neutralized by the kidneys, so it circulates in the blood and can easily enter the cells of the nervous tissue, where it damages the phospholipids of the brain. Of course, this process is very slow and inactive, but it happens every day if nothing is done to protect it.

The nature of Gilbert's syndrome is hereditary. It first appears at a young age, by chance - according to analysis. Occurs in approximately 5% of Europeans. But among Africans in more than 40% of cases.

The hereditary nature of the origin of the disease gives those who have Gilbert's syndrome a misconception about its safety. As a rule, during a consultation I am faced with the fact that the diagnosis has been established, but the doctor has not advised anything. As if this is not required. But that's not true. We said that an abnormal level of pigment is always a disease. Therefore, over time, a person becomes increasingly concerned about changes in skin color and chronic fatigue occurs.

Diagnostics

Increased bilirubin in the blood of a newborn requires constant medical supervision, as the disease can be fraught with bad consequences. In newborns born prematurely, the indicators are checked every day throughout the week. The first time this is done right at birth (blood is taken from the umbilical cord).

Subsequent times, blood is taken for analysis from a finger, heel or a vein on the head (where it is easier to access the vessels).

If no visible abnormalities are detected in the newborn, a bloodless test is performed. The readings are measured with a special device, bringing it to the baby’s forehead or chest. This is an absolutely painless method, but it allows you to determine only the level of total bilirubin without specifying the indicators.

Bile pigment is toxic to newborns. If values ​​remain elevated for too long, it will be bad for your overall health in the future.

Antibiotics increase bilirubin

It is clear that when you weaken the antitoxic function of the liver by using any substance that is not beneficial for it, you increase the risk that the liver cells will not have enough strength to neutralize all toxins.

Therefore, in principle, any medications can increase bilirubin, but it has been noticed that antibiotics are the most effective. This is because the inflammatory response produces many damaged cells, which the body must get rid of over time. But when taking antibiotics, endotoxins from the microbes they kill also enter the bloodstream en masse. In addition, the metabolites of antibiotics themselves are unsafe for the liver cells through which they are excreted. Therefore, the more active and prolonged the antibacterial therapy, the more carefully the liver needs to be protected. In this case, blood purification is prohibited, since Zosterin Ultra will reduce the effect of antibiotics. But Liver 48 can and should be used for a month, directly in parallel with antibiotics. This will give the doctor the opportunity to carry out the course he wants, and you will be able to survive it without compromising your general condition.

In addition, you can simultaneously eliminate the risk of hepatocyte damage from toxins absorbed from the intestines. Antibiotics always cause dysbiosis, which means increased intoxication and load on the liver. Probiotics are now always prescribed along with antibiotics. So use those that really work - Unibacter and also for a month, and not as a decorative weekly course.

More about the program

This way you will prevent the liver from being weakened by antibiotics and therefore the likelihood that bilirubin will not increase due to antibiotics is much higher.

Alternative medicine

With minor hyperbilirubinemia, people often resort to folk remedies that can gently and effectively reduce the load on the liver and reduce the concentration of bile pigment in the blood. Its content can be normalized quite easily by drinking tea made from medicinal chamomile, mint, corn silk, motherwort and St. John's wort.

To do this, take 2 dessert spoons of the dry mixture and pour a glass of boiling water over them. In order for the tea to brew and infuse, it should be covered and left for an hour. You should drink the resulting medicine no more than one glass a day - half on an empty stomach 20 minutes before breakfast and the rest before bed.

No less effective is a drug infused with birch leaves. Young birch leaves are dried and then crushed. One tablespoon is poured into a glass of boiling water and left for about a day. The product should be used immediately before bedtime.

An extract from the fruits of milk thistle helps to cleanse the liver. The sprouted seeds of this plant are used to treat hepatitis. One tablespoon a day will help to improve the liver and reduce bilirubin levels, which will certainly affect the general condition of the patient.

Recommendations. To reduce bilirubin levels or prevent them from increasing, you should adhere to proper nutrition and also lead a healthy lifestyle with moderate activity. It is necessary to avoid psycho-emotional stress, nervous breakdowns and prolonged stress. Be sure to be attentive to your health and, if you undergo therapy, scrupulously follow all the doctor’s instructions.

Alcohol at elevated levels

About algogol - even simpler. The dose matters. Even if you have Gilbert's syndrome, a glass of dry wine is unlikely to hurt. But if the mass dose of ethyl alcohol that you drink is high - strong drinks, then the dose there should, alas, already be 50 ml. Fortified wines, various liqueurs, liqueurs, champagne, beer with preservatives, tequila, etc. absolutely not suitable. But even in this case: if you regularly take care of your liver, then it will not feel any slight disturbance. Read on to learn how to restore the functioning of hepatocytes. It's simple!

How to suspect that you have bilirubinemia?

The organ responsible for the exchange of bilirubin in the body is the liver. Therefore, it is she who reacts with a symptom peculiar to her - the abundant formation of icteric pigment, indicating a malfunction of the organ.

Appearing jaundice indicates the following disorders:

• Too much bilirubin is produced, which indicates the possibility of anemia due to the excessive breakdown of red blood cells and a high level of unconjugated bilirubin in the blood;
• There is a violation of the outflow of bile for some reason, which causes an increase in the concentration of bilirubin in the body;
• Increased formation of bilirubin in the reticuloendothelial system;
• Metabolic disorder of the hepato-biliary system.

Sometimes the degree of coloration with yellow pigment does not correspond to the analysis indicators.

This occurs due to the individual characteristics of the body - the presence of obesity or severe edema can neutralize high pigmentation, and an ascetic physique enhances it.

The increasing intensity of symptoms of hyperbilirubinemia manifests itself in the following order:

• The sclera of the eyes turn yellow;
• A yellow color appears in the oral mucosa;
• The face, soles, and inside of the hands are painted;
• The entire surface of the body is pigmented;
• With increased bilirubin, the state of health is depressed, performance and general tone are reduced.

It should be borne in mind that yellowness can also appear when:

• Abundant consumption of foods high in carotene (tomatoes, carrots);
• Diabetes mellitus;
• Hypothyroidism.

Unlike hyperbilirubinemia, in these cases the sclera of the eyes remains of a normal color.

What foods lower or increase bilirubin?

There are no products that would allow you to lower or increase the level. Anything that is not good for the liver as a whole is not good for you either. You need to limit meat foods (primarily pork and beef), fatty, smoked, foods with dyes, flavors, preservatives, and spicy foods.

The Sokolinsky System offers a 100% natural approach to supporting the liver and cleansing the blood, protecting nerve cells with high bilirubin

Removing neurotoxic compounds from the blood is not so difficult. For this purpose, a course of taking natural hemosorbent from the pectin of the sea grass zoster Zosterin ultra 60% has been successfully used. It can be used for Gilbert's syndrome in courses of 10 days every quarter. But it is clear that excess bilirubin enters the blood every day, so something is needed that works directly at the site of its improper exchange - affecting hepatocytes.

Such a natural remedy is the natural non-medicinal hepatoprotector Liver 48 (Margali). Which we constantly talk about on the site out of respect for the hundred-year history of this unique herbal formula. If bilirubin is high, it is reasonable to use it 4 times a year for a month. It is enough to drink 1 capsule 2 times a day with food.

You can read in detail about the compositions, explanation of the mechanism of action, detailed patterns of use for Liver 48 and Zosterin Ultra by downloading a booklet about our detoxification system

It remains to support the nervous system so that the membranes of nerve cells do not suffer from excess bilirubin circulating in the blood. In fact, this is not so difficult to do due to the inclusion in the diet of natural substances that stabilize the lipid membranes of cells. For this purpose, the Sokolinsky System produces high-quality omega-3 acids - Megapolyen and a complex of phospholipids - LecithinUM. In this case, there is no need to drink them constantly. You can alternate according to the month/every other month scheme, and moreover, not every day. For example, in one month you add 1 teaspoon of LecithinUM to a salad or fermented milk drink three or four times a week, and in another month you also don’t forget to drink a Megapolien capsule several times a week.

Try to start with cleansing the body, and then stick to this support strategy for 2-3 months and you will see that it is really easier to live this way: digestion is better and emotions are more stable, memory and attention are better, and fatigue is less. For women, much healthier looking skin and better tone will also be important.

DOCTOR consultations online

Patient: Hello, I'm pregnant. My direct bilirubin is 10.3, total bilirubin is 23.8. I have no yellowing of my skin, no heaviness in my stomach, no belching. Please tell me what could be the reason and how dangerous it is for the fetus? Sincerely, Olga Doctor: Hello, Olga What is your gestational age? Blood type? Patient: 4 positive, period - 12-13 weeks Doctor: Blood tests for infections and biochemical tests other than bilirubin are ok or are there any other abnormalities? Patient: finger prick blood test - all indicators are normal, hemoglobin - 137, erythrocytes - 4.2, color index - 0.9, platelets - 206, leukocytes - 8.8, lymphocytes - 25, monocytes - 7, erythrocyte connection rate - 5. there are more tests Doctor: No, a coagulogram is not needed now Biochemical blood test, blood for immunoglobulins for CMV, hepatitis, Epstein-Barr virus Patient: albumin - 49 (normal - 32-48), urea - 2.3 (normal - 3.2-8.2) Doctor: Alat, Asat? Patient: factor - 8, 176.5% (normal 50-150), factor 10 68.3%, everything else is normal, so the doctor did not hand over the tests, she left them in the chart. And those that are not normal - I wrote Doctor: Did you do an ultrasound of the liver? Patient: Asat - I don’t understand what it is..... not yet. Therefore, I am worried about how serious this can be. Doctor: Most likely, this is the result of a restructuring of the body. There are no serious abnormalities that could harm the baby

******************* Patient: Good evening, my bilirubin is elevated 56, the doctor says it’s okay, as soon as it wakes up 100 then we’ll wake up to treat. This bothers me because it has been going on for 15 years. Doctor: Please tell me, is indirect bilirubin increased? Patient: Yes Doctor: Did you do an ultrasound of the liver and gallbladder? Have you found any kinks in the gallbladder or stagnation of bile or stones? Patient: Yes, the indication is liver hapatosis, the cause has not been identified, I have not suffered from hypatitis, alcohol is only on holidays and then a glass of white wine. the gallbladder has a narrowing of the incoming and outgoing channels, but they say this is congenital. Doctor: It is the gallbladder that gives you this increase in bilirubin. It makes sense to take a course of hophytol 2 caps x 3 times a day for 1 month, and then donate blood and see how pronounced the effect will be. Pure fasting for 10 days is very harmful for the rest of the body. So no need Patient: And how to deal with it. One therapist advised 10 days of pure hunger, on water. Thank you, I’ll definitely try, otherwise I don’t want to die from cerosis ************* ******* Patient: Hello, Can you help? Doctor: What happened to you? Patient: Now. I started having pain in my right hypochondrium. Ultrasound results: (06/04/2014): The liver is not enlarged. The lower edge does not protrude from under the costal arch along the midclavicular line. Anterior-posterior size of the right lobe: 132 mm, left lobe: 77 ml. Contours: smooth, clear. Echogenicity: increased, ultrasound attenuation in the deep sections. Structure: diffusely heterogeneous, no focal formations. The vascular pattern is depleted. The intrahepatic ducts are not dilated. The diameter of the portal vein is 10 mm, the diameter of the inferior vena cava is 17 mm. Gallbladder: typically located. The shape is an unfixed bend of the body, a fixed bend at the border of the bottom and the body. Dimensions: length 87 mm, width 24 mm, area up to 20.2 sq.cm. Walls 2.3 mm unchanged. The content is homogeneous. The common bile duct is 4 mm. Pancreas: head: 30 mm. Body: 18 mm. Tail: 26 mm The contours are smooth and clear. Echogenicity is increased. The structure is diffusely heterogeneous. Spleen: length 127 mm. Width: 44 mm. The contours are smooth and clear. Structure: homogeneous. Parenchyma echogenicity: average. S=48 cc. SI-30 Patient: There is also a General blood test (06/06/2014) and a Biochemical blood test (06/06/2014): Bilirubin: Total: 11.7 Direct: 1 Indirect: 10.7 I underwent treatment for half a year. I took tests in October. What could I have? Doctor: These are the September tests? Patient: Yes Doctor: Did they repeat the ultrasound? Patient: No. They said that it would be tedious to repeat once every six months. During the examination, the doctor examines it visually every month. The liver is at rib level or cannot be palpated. The spleen cannot be palpated. Doctor: Have you tested blood for hepatitis? Patient: Yes. Right now. Analysis for hepatitis markers (06/19/2014)……. Antibodies to the hepatitis C virus - negative reaction Doctor: Have you been vaccinated against hepatitis B? Patient: Yes The attending physician said that the reaction to antibodies is precisely for this reason. I was also diagnosed with Gilbert's syndrome. I'm afraid that the doctor is not telling me something. Symptoms at the moment: yellow sclera of the eyes, abdominal distension, sometimes nausea in the morning when I go outside, but now less than before. Bitter vomiting happens very rarely. Doctor: What medications are you taking? Or did you accept it? And how old are you? Patient: 1. Corsil 6 months 3 times 2 tablets a day 2. Heptral 10 droppers + 20 tablets 1 time a day 3. Allahol 2 tablets 3 times a day 1 month (I’m currently drinking) 4. Essentiale Forte 2 tablets 3 once a day for 3 months (I drink at the moment) 5. Holosas half an hour before meals, I drink constantly 6. Creon 10,000, Mezim, Pancreatin I drink constantly alternately after meals 3 times a day I am 29 years old Doctor: Basically, and tests, and the treatment performed is completely consistent with your diagnosis. Age is also appropriate - Gilbert's syndrome usually affects young men. Doctor: I don’t think the doctor is leaving anything out. Hepatitis is negative, there is no evidence of oncology. Diffuse changes are far from cirrhosis Patient: I’m just afraid to do an ultrasound. Or do I have nothing to fear? Doctor: Absolutely nothing. And ultrasound is safe to do. I don’t think there will be anything terrible there. Patient: What exactly could an ultrasound of the liver mean, in the sense that it is heterogeneous and has increased echogenicity. The doctor does not make a diagnosis about this, other than biliary dyskinesia, although the ultrasound told me that I have a pre-cirrhotic condition. They were very scared. Doctor: These are signs of Gilbert's syndrome. Never listen to what ultrasound, x-ray, etc. doctors say - their specialization is too narrow to make diagnoses. Patient: Thank you for your help. I also took tests for PCR of hepatitis to rule out hepatitis, I will take blood tests in November and in December I will go for an ultrasound of the abdominal cavity.

************* Patient: Hello, I’m pregnant and my blood bilirubin is elevated, normal is up to 20.5, but mine is already 29.0, is this very scary? Doctor: Not very scary, that's for sure. Tell me, please, what are your direct bilirubin numbers? Patient: 7.4 Doctor: Do you have any chronic diseases? Patient: no Doctor: What is the gestational age? Patient: 19th week Doctor: Perhaps the changes are related to the course of pregnancy. Be sure to repeat the analysis in a couple of weeks and do an ultrasound of the liver and gallbladder Patient: Thank you very much, Nadezhda.

**************** Patient: Hello! If direct bilirubin is 5.9... there is an inactive form of hepatitis C in the medical history. PCR is negative, ELISA is positive. This is a very unfavorable indicator - the upper limit of the norm, Thank you! Doctor: Hello. It is too early to talk about an unfavorable prognosis. It is necessary to control bilirubin every 2 weeks Patient: Thank you!

*************** Patient: Hello, my wife has bilirubin 40 - what could it be? Which doctor should I contact? Doctor: Hello First, please clarify, is 40 total bilirubin or indirect? Patient: 40 general Doctor: Is there a direct analysis? Patient: Direct 16 and not direct 25 Doctor: It is necessary to do an ultrasound of the liver and gallbladder, take a general blood test and blood tests for hepatitis. Patient: This is from a general analysis, leukocytes are normal, wife says Doctor: Good. Patient: We'll do an ultrasound on Friday and we'll see. thank you very much, I hope nothing terrible...

***************** Patient: Hello, please tell me what the ultrasound result means: hepatosis of the liver, increased echostructure, vascular pattern, I went for an ultrasound because bilirubin was increased - 20.59, and AST and ALT is below 30, I suffer from chronic constipation, nausea, bitterness in the mouth, heaviness in the stomach, bloating, drowsiness, fatigue from time to time periodically appear... two months ago I stopped taking Diane 35, took it for 3 months for an antiandrogenic effect, maybe because OK, did your bilirubin increase? or is it a consequence of chronic constipation? I tested for hepatitis and the results are negative. Doctor: Hello. Hepatosis is a non-inflammatory liver disease in which its function is impaired. Constipation and other unpleasant phenomena are not a cause, but a consequence of hepatosis. Observation by a gastroenterologist is required, adherence to a diet (treatment table &5), a course of taking Essentiale is desirable *****************

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Increased bilirubin in a child

After birth, the baby’s blood cells are renewed, due to the fact that during the first breath he encounters such an amount of oxygen for the first time and a fundamentally different type of breathing starts than in the mother’s stomach. The body must get rid of old cells. And the liver helps with this. If it works like a clock for a baby, then the so-called. Physiological jaundice goes away on its own within a few days. If not, bilirubin is elevated and you will not be discharged from the hospital for a long time.

The Sokolinsky Center does not provide treatment and, moreover, we do not have natural remedies for babies. This example is given solely to draw your attention to the close relationship between the need to support the liver and the level of toxic pigments in the blood. If jaundice does not go away for a long time in the baby, it means that your liver was not ready for pregnancy.

Don't make the mistake of "doing nothing" again - as soon as your baby reaches one year old, take care of your liver with cleansing using the method described above. If for some reason you stopped feeding earlier, support the hepatocytes immediately after that. If you are breastfeeding and the baby is less than a year old, then you cannot clean the liver at this moment. But LecithinUM and Megapolien are quite correct to take. In addition to supporting your liver, this will have a positive effect on the growth and development of the baby.

Of course, if possible, always consult a specialist.

Treatment

If a child has increased bilirubin, immediate measures must be taken to reduce intoxication. Due to the fact that in most cases it is almost impossible to establish the cause of the disease, symptoms are treated.

The best treatment for a newborn is sunlight and breast milk. But in difficult situations, medical assistance will be needed.

Medicines

Treatment with medications in an infant differs in the severity of its well-being. The doctor usually prescribes:

• sorbents (to remove toxins);
• hepatoprotectors (to protect the liver);
• intravenous administration of drugs to restore water balance after irradiation.

Phototherapy

Phototherapy treatment is prescribed if the analysis reveals more than 359 µmol/l bilirubin in the blood.

Non-pathological jaundice in children should go away when the child is 3-4 weeks old. If this does not happen, you should consult a pediatrician.

A decrease in the indicator in newborns occurs after a long stay under lamps with blue irradiation of a certain frequency. Babies will have to spend several hours a day there. The baby's eyes must be covered with a bandage or diaper. Within a few days, bilirubin levels will drop. But staying under the lamp for a long time has its drawbacks: the skin becomes dry, so it will need to be lubricated with baby moisturizer.

Children born in the warm season are luckier. Mothers can simply carry their newborns into the sun. Keep your face and arms open. But you can do this in the morning before 10 o’clock or in the evening after 17 o’clock. The duration of such baths should initially be no more than 10 minutes.

Exchange blood transfusion

If the amount of pigment in a newborn increases due to hemolytic disease, exchange transfusion is used for treatment (when a little blood is first taken from the child and then the same volume of donor material is infused). Hemolytic disease is a conflict between the blood of the mother and the child, in which the baby’s red blood cells die. An overestimated indicator in this case is one of the symptoms of the disease. The indicators will constantly increase, so action must be taken immediately. Thanks to this procedure, the newborn's blood is cleared of maternal antibodies and excess bilirubin.

Exchange transfusion is considered necessary if the amount of the substance exceeds 428 µmol/l.

Bilirubin varies. Depending on the type, the degree of danger varies

It can be reflected in the analysis in three categories:

— total – total volume of bilirubin in blood plasma (direct + indirect);

- indirect - one that does not dissolve in water and can be removed from the body only after “neutralization” in the liver. In this case, the level of indirect bilirubin is not determined separately, but is calculated as the difference between total and direct.

- direct - one that is soluble in water and has already been processed in the liver.

Bilirubin is formed in the cells of the spleen, then enters the liver, where it is transformed from indirect to direct (water-soluble form) and is excreted from the body along with bile and urine. It is what gives our stool its typical brown color.

It is measured to show the level of bilirubin in mmol per liter. For adults, the following indicators are considered the norm:

Total bilirubin – from 5.1 – 17

Direct bilirubin – from 1.7 – 5.1

Indirect – 3.4 – 15.

Low bilirubin levels are uncommon and may be an indicator of coronary heart disease, but high bilirubin levels are a more common situation and should make you more aware of your body.

Why does bilirubin increase in the blood?

A high level of the described substance can be determined during a biochemical blood test, the biomaterial for which is taken depending on the age and characteristics of the human body. In adults, blood is drawn from the cubital vein, and in newborn babies from the heel or venous vessels located on the head.

If, when deciphering the analysis, an increased content of bilirubin was discovered, that is, an indicator of the total amount of the substance is more than 20.5 µmol/l, then further study of the direct and indirect fractions is carried out. As a rule, an increase in coefficients in an adult indicates the presence of pathology, while in newborns the reasons for the increase in bilirubin in the blood are often physiological.

Increased indicators in some cases do not have pronounced signs of deviation, which is why they are detected only during routine examinations. But in the vast majority of situations, high bilirubin causes the following symptoms:

Why is there increased urobilinogen in a child’s urine?

• yellowness and itching of the skin and mucous membranes;
• urine is dark in color and stool is light in color;
• pain in the abdominal cavity on the right;
• excessive fatigue, weakness, drowsiness;
• nausea, vomiting, belching, bitter taste in the mouth, heaviness in the stomach;
• increased body temperature (with further development of pathology);
• spider veins, expansion of the venous network on the abdomen, etc.

Most of the diseases in which the bilirubin level is elevated are acquired during life. Therefore, after finding out the reason for its growth, it is possible to save a person from negative symptoms, as well as from the dangers that threaten an increase in the toxic fraction of the substance.

It should be remembered that some diseases in which bilirubin tends to increase are contagious, as a result of which they can be transmitted from sick people to healthy people through contact. These include hepatitis B, infectious mononucleosis, etc.

Normal bilirubin levels

Other diseases that increase the concentration of bilirubin, on the contrary, do not pose a danger to others (jaundice of newborns, oncological processes, cirrhosis of the liver, hepatitis (medicinal and alcoholic)). Some diseases can accompany a person throughout his life and, therefore, be the cause of high bilirubin.

The most common of these is a genetic pathology - Gilbert's syndrome. It disrupts enzyme processes in the liver, which is why bilirubin does not go through all the required stages of its transformation. Gilbert's disease is not a severe pathology and does not affect the patient's quality of life.

Unfortunately, another genetically determined disease, Crigler-Najjar syndrome, causes the patient a lot of suffering. This is a malignant form of hyperbilirubinemia (increased levels of bilirubin in the blood), which sometimes even requires a donor liver transplant to the patient. This pathology is most often detected during the neonatal period. Without the necessary medical care, there is a high probability of the child dying from complications of the disease.

Reference! All the reasons due to which bilirubin increases can be divided into three groups: problems with the outflow of bile, accelerated destruction of red blood cells and impaired processing of the substance in the liver itself.

Sometimes there is an increase in bilirubin in women during pregnancy. As a rule, this is noted in the third trimester, and in most cases, after childbirth, the woman’s condition returns to normal. The pathology is called intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy and appears due to genetically determined high sensitivity to estrogen.

An increase in indirect bilirubin is a reason to urgently consult a specialist

Indirect bilirubin is a toxic, water-insoluble substance that the body cannot excrete itself, but can only accumulate. If the level of indirect bilirubin is increased, then we are talking about increased breakdown of red blood cells, which indicates a serious blood disease, or the liver simply cannot process it into a soluble form. A high level of direct bilirubin is a reason to immediately consult a doctor. And here you cannot avoid the symptom; you need to look for the disease itself and treat it.

Where does bilirubin come from?

The transport iron-containing protein of the blood - hemoglobin, being an integral part of red blood cells, binds to oxygen and ensures its delivery to all organs and tissues of the body.

Since the blood is constantly renewed by replacing old, damaged red blood cells and other blood elements with new ones, this process is accompanied by the formation of a huge number of by-products.

In a high and not very high degree of danger to the body.

Bilirubin is one of these elements of the breakdown of used red blood cells and is a hemoglobinogenic pigment.

A high percentage of bilirubin is produced by decaying red blood cells - 85%, the remaining 15% is formed during the utilization of myoglobin and cytochromes.

In the human body, the spleen, bone marrow and the main detoxification laboratory of our body, the liver, are responsible for the renewal of blood elements.

It is in the liver that the synthesis of proteins, including hemoglobin, occurs, accompanied by the largest formation of wastes and toxins, which are bound by liver enzymes and, neutralized, are eliminated from the body naturally.

The decay process occurs continuously - within a day, approximately one hundredth of all red blood cells are destroyed, forming in adults about 300 mg of bilirubin, which we detect in the blood during tests.

If its content is too high, this indicates various disorders of hemoglobin synthesis or excretion.

The main symptom of such disorders is:

• The appearance of a icteric color of the eye sclera;
• Yellowness of the skin.

Correct diagnosis of bilirubin metabolism disorders does not present any difficulties, since modern science has studied and described them in sufficient detail.