What are the other causes of being jaundice?!

What are the other causes of being jaundice?

aside from manifestation of jaundice for those who have liver disease... i had a hepatitis profile and the results shows that i am negative the same as the ultrasound in my liver and gallbladder shows that it is normal and negative in inflammation and obstruction. but still i have an icteric sclera and yellowish skin (i have this manifestaion since 1st yr. highschool and cant remember that i have this one during childhood days). what do you think is my illness? and what kind of field in the medicine should i have a consultation? i really really need a help and im desperate!!.. thanks!

Let me first explain what causes jaundice:

The red blood cells die in the body. When this
happens, the iron on the red blood cells is
released. This iron is what carries the oxygen
throughout the body on the red blood cell.
The liver and spleen are known to clean the
blood of these dead red blood cells and
release this iron, which is then processed
into a substance known as bilirubin. The liver
receives this bilirubin in the blood and
converts it and adds it to a substance known
as bile which flows from the liver through tube
like structures to the intestine and is used
to help digest fats that we eat.

Bilirubin is what causes the appearance of jaundice which is the yellowing of the white
of the eyes and the skin. Knowing this...you may be able to realize what can go wrong:

If this tubing, that goes from the liver to the
intestines is blocked, becomes mal formed,
or has inflammation, cancer,or stones...it can cause the bile to back up into the liver which will causes the bilirubin to go out into the blood
causing jaundice.

If the liver has a disease where the cells die,
then it also cannot process this bilirubin and
it stays in the blood.

If there is a problem with the enzymes not
being there, or too low, in the liver...it also
will not be processed properly.

If the body "produces" too many red blood cells,
it can cause an overabundance of bilirubin
being made when they die off and cause this.

OR if the body red blood cells die off faster than normal without overabundance of them..
which may be anemia.

There may also be a defect in the making of
the red blood cells causing them to have too
much iron.

This may be a problem with the liver, the
enzymes of the liver, a blood condition...
or even eatting too much carotene which comes
from carrots.

There are a number of considerations. Just
having an ultrasound may not be enough.
Usually, to check for liver disease, the doctor
performs blood tests and look for elevations
in the liver enzymes and liver functions. They
also see the amount, size, and conditions of
the Red Blood cells this way. They
then may do an ultrasound or CT scan. One
thing a patient has to realize, is that these tests
are not 100% accurate. How accurate they
are depends on the person doing the tests and
the knowledge of the person giving the results
of the tests...there is alot of room for error.
Therefore, doctors don't rule anything out until
they do a certain number of tests.
The best test to be sure of a liver problem is
the liver biopsy since they look directly at
a specimen and not just pictures of it.

The next thing is, that there is many different
causes of liver disease: alcohol abuse, drug
abuse, being exposed to chemicals, biliary
problems, viral diseases, etc. So unless
a patient is upfront in telling the doctor their
life style and what they do...it makes it
more difficult to diagnosed. People taking
tylenol, which is an over the counter drug,
may be taking too much of it cause it is a
drug that is combined with a number of
other drugs they are taking and it is becoming
toxic in their body and can cause liver damage. So this means the patient needs to
let the doctor know what herbs, over the
counter items, foods, and medications they
are taking and how much.
If you think that it is a liver problem...the
best doctor is a Hepatologist.
If you think that it may be a blood problem...
then a Hemotologist is the best doctor.

Please remember that Jaundice is just a
symptom and not a disease.

Jaundice does show up in babies and also
pregnancy...but the cause of the jaundice
in babies is because the baby is born when
the liver isn't completely functioning as yet...
this usually clears up over time.

Try to consider other symptoms you may
have because of this: like the urine being
darker in color, or the stool being lighter or
darker in color. Bilirubin causes,many times
the urine to appear a darker yellow, orange,
or deep brown color and it causes a pale
color stool if the bile isn't flowing through
the bile tubes to the intestines appropriately.
It can also cause very itchy skin. Be sure
to let the doctor know if you experience this.

I hope this is of some help to you. I also
hope you find out the cause.