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What Causes The Sclera Of The Eyes To Become Yellow Intermittently?
Question: My sons eyes, the white part have been yellow off and on since he was younger he is 25 now and it still gets like that he has no other symptoms what could be wrong? He only drinks occasionally so its not alcoholism because its been like that since he was younger?
Brief Answer:
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
There are a number of causes for people to have yellow appearing scleras.
In people who are very dark skinned, the whites can appear somewhat yellowed and this is not a problem.
Otherwise, the most common causes are problems with build up of bilirubin, or not breaking down bilirubin adequately, which is a liver pigment. This can happen from excessive breakdown of red blood cells or inflammation of the liver or blockage of the liver/gall bladder. As you haven't described any health problems, such as jaundiced skin, fatigue, abdominal pain, pale stools or dark urine, and it seems to be a recurring problem, it may be Gilbert's syndrome. This is an inheritable/genetic problem where the body doesn't break down bilirubin well enough - usually intermittently during times of physiological stress. In general, Gilbert's doesn't cause significant problems but the person who has it should be mindful of the things they know that trip it, such as staying up late, etc.
It would be a good idea for your son to go in to have his liver enzymes and bilirubin tested during a time that he has this yellow eye symptom to have an idea of what he is dealing with.
Information
Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,
There are a number of causes for people to have yellow appearing scleras.
In people who are very dark skinned, the whites can appear somewhat yellowed and this is not a problem.
Otherwise, the most common causes are problems with build up of bilirubin, or not breaking down bilirubin adequately, which is a liver pigment. This can happen from excessive breakdown of red blood cells or inflammation of the liver or blockage of the liver/gall bladder. As you haven't described any health problems, such as jaundiced skin, fatigue, abdominal pain, pale stools or dark urine, and it seems to be a recurring problem, it may be Gilbert's syndrome. This is an inheritable/genetic problem where the body doesn't break down bilirubin well enough - usually intermittently during times of physiological stress. In general, Gilbert's doesn't cause significant problems but the person who has it should be mindful of the things they know that trip it, such as staying up late, etc.
It would be a good idea for your son to go in to have his liver enzymes and bilirubin tested during a time that he has this yellow eye symptom to have an idea of what he is dealing with.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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