jaundice or Hepatitis Treatment

What can your doctor do?

If you or one of your friends or relatives suspect that you may have jaundice, it's essential that you arrange to see your doctor in order that the underlying cause is identified and any possible treatment initiated as soon as possible.
Treatment will depend upon the diagnosis behind the symptom of jaundice. For example, if the problem is one of gallstones, removal of the gallbladder may be required.






Jaundice in newborns must be treated if it becomes severe as deposits can cause permanent brain damage. In all other cases, it is not the jaundice that needs to be treated but the underlying condition. When/if the condition resolves, then the jaundice will resolve as well. If an obstruction is present, surgery may be necessary.

Mild or moderate forms of jaundice will usually go away without specific treatment after five to seven days, as the baby's liver becomes more mature. In babies with higher levels of bilirubin, close monitoring — and possibly treatment — is needed.


Light therapy, also called phototherapy, is the usual treatment for jaundice. Phototherapy chemically breaks down the bilirubin in your baby's skin to non-toxic forms. During this treatment, your baby is placed under special white or blue light for one to two days. Their eyes will be covered to protect them from the bright lights.


If phototherapy isn't effective, and your baby's bilirubin levels continue to increase, a procedure known as an exchange transfusion may be necessary. During an exchange transfusion, the infant's blood is gradually removed and replaced with donor blood. This procedure removes bilirubin and lowers the bilirubin to safer, non-toxic levels.


What treatments are currently approved for HBV? 


 The good news is that there are sev-eral promising treatment options. Currently, there are seven FDA approved drugs in the U.S. to 

treat chronic HBV: 

•  Intron A (Interferon Alpha), 
• Pegasys (Pegylated Interferon),
•  Epivir HBV (Lamivudine), 
• Hepsera (Adefovir), 
• Baraclude (Entecavir), 
• Tyzeka (Telbivudine),
•  and Viread (Tenofovir).  

You and your doctor will need to discuss the treatment options before deciding which one is best for you.  
For many patients, these medications will decrease or stop hepatitis B virus reproduction. This results in 
patients feeling better within a month or two because liver damage from the virus iis slowed down, or even 
reversed in some cases. Although the FDA has approved these drugs for chronic hepatitis B, they do not 
provide a complete cure at this time. They do, however, significantly decrease the risk of progressive liver 
damage from the hepatitis B virus. To learn more about these approved drugs as well as the experimental 
drugs still being tested

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