Yellow eyes indicate that a person is developing jaundice. This term is understood as a pathological condition that accompanies diseases of the liver, blood, pancreas, bile ducts. All these disorders lead to blockage of the bile ducts and an increase in the level of bilirubin in the blood.
With jaundice, not only the sclera of the eyes turn yellow, the patient’s skin begins to itch, the body temperature rises, pain occurs in the right hypochondrium, and a bitter taste appears in the mouth. Additional symptoms of jaundice are: nausea and vomiting, insomnia, liver enlargement.
What is the white of the eye?
The white of the eye is its sclera. This is the largest part of the organ of vision. The sclera should normally be white. This is the reason why it is called a protein. The sclera consists mainly of connective tissue, due to which it has a white color.
Causes of yellowing eyes
The eyes turn yellow due to the fact that the level of bilirubin in the blood rises. Bilirubin is a bile pigment that is yellow in color. It appears in the blood as a result of the breakdown of hemoglobin, myoglobin and cytochromes. However, such bilirubin is called indirect, as it is toxic to the body. The faster you manage to neutralize it, the less harm it will do to health.
Indirect bilirubin is neutralized in the liver. It is this organ that binds its molecules to glucuronic acid, due to which they are transformed into molecules of direct bilirubin. He, through the hepatic ducts, enters the bile and is excreted from the body. Some of it can be reabsorbed into the blood. Therefore, the level of total bilirubin consists of direct and indirect bilirubin. The share of the latter should not exceed 25%.
Normally, the level of total bilirubin in the blood is 8,5-20,5 µmol/l. If these values step over the mark of 30-35 µmol / l, then the patient develops jaundice, in which the whites of the eyes and skin turn yellow. Excess bilirubin penetrates into their structure and gives them the appropriate color.
The causes of yellowing of the sclera of the eyes can be identified as follows:
Diseases of the liver.
Diseases of the blood.
Diseases of the biliary tract.
Violations of metabolic processes in the body.
Pancreatitis of acute or chronic course.
Each of these reasons should be considered in more detail.
Yellow eyes in liver disease
It is the liver that neutralizes indirect bilirubin. If, due to a particular disease, she does not cope with her duties, then the concentration of this substance in the blood increases. A person can visually assess this by the yellowed sclera of the eyes.
Diseases of the liver, in which the eyes turn yellow:
Hepatitis. It develops when liver cells are damaged by bacteria, viruses, parasites and toxins. In this case, the body ceases to cope with its duties to the full, which leads to a characteristic change in the color of the eyes and skin.
Syndrome Zive. This is a rare disorder that develops in people suffering from alcoholism. The liver increases in size, the eyes and skin turn yellow, and the concentration of lipids in the blood increases. In the future, patients develop fatty hepatosis, which can lead to death.
Cirrhosis of the liver. With cirrhosis of the liver, its normal tissues are replaced by pathological connective tissue cells. Over time, an increasing number of hepatocytes die, which will certainly affect the work of the organ. The causes of cirrhosis are very diverse: alcoholism, viral hepatitis, sclerosing cholangitis, drug poisoning, or their long-term use, Wilson-Konovalov’s disease.
Liver cancer. This pathology is called hepatocellular carcinoma. The tumor is formed from abnormal liver cells. Occupational hazards can provoke its occurrence, for example, frequent human contact with pesticides, as well as poisoning of the body with salts of heavy metals. The tumor grows and develops rapidly, crowding out normal liver cells. As a result, a person’s eye sclera and skin turn yellow.
Echinococcosis. In this disease, the liver will be affected by parasites. Echinococci are tapeworms that enter the human body by eating food or water contaminated with their eggs. Possible infection through contact with animals. The carriers of the infection are dogs, horses, pigs, cows, etc. In the liver, the helminth transforms into a cyst, which will contain many echinococcus embryos. If echinococcosis is not treated, the cyst will grow, squeezing the tissues of the organ. At some point, it will reach a very large size, and the liver will lose the ability to bind indirect bilirubin. As a result, not only the whites of the eyes turn yellow, but also the skin.
Sarcoidosis. This is a chronic disease in which granulomas form in organs, including the liver. Granulomas are foci with a high concentration of lymphocytes, macrophages and epithelial cells. Past viral infections and intoxication of the body can provoke sarcoidosis. The genetic predisposition to the disease matters. As the granulomas grow and increase in size, the functioning of the organs is disrupted. In a patient with sarcoidosis of the liver, the level of bilirubin in the blood rises, the eyes and skin turn yellow.
Amoebiasis of the liver. In this disease, the body is affected by small parasites – amoeba. First, they cause inflammation of the liver tissue. If the immune system does not respond properly and the person does not receive treatment, then multiple abscesses (areas filled with pus) appear inside the organ. Violation of the liver leads to an increase in the level of bilirubin in the blood and yellowing of the white of the eye.
Video: The first signs of liver disease: