Jaundice is a yellow color in the skin, mucus membranes, or eyes. The yellow color comes from bilirubin, a byproduct of old red blood cells. Jaundice is a sign of other diseases.

This article discusses the possible causes of jaundice in children and adults. For information on jaundice in very young infants, see: Newborn jaundice

Causes of jaundice

Common causes of jaundice in older children and adults include:

• Viral infection of the liver (hepatitis A, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, hepatitis D, and hepatitis E)
• Parasite infection of the liver
• Gallstones
• Cancer of the pancreas

Other causes of jaundice include:

• Cancer of the pancreas
• Disorders present since birth that makes it hard for the body to breakdown bilirubin (such as Gilbert syndrome, Dubin-Johnson syndrome, Rotor syndrome, or Crigler-Najjar syndrome)
• Eating poisonous mushrooms or other poisons
• Immune disorder that mistakenly attacks healthy liver tissue (autoimmune hepatitis)
• Liver damage caused by reduced oxygen or blood flow to the liver
• The body destroys too many blood cells and the liver cannot handle them (hemolytic anemia)
• Use of certain drugs, including an overdose of acetaminophen

Gallbladder and bile duct disorders that can cause jaundice include:

• Blocked or narrowed bile ducts (by infection, tumor, stricture, or gallstones)
• Primary biliary cirrhosis
• Bile build up in the gallbladder because of pressure in the belly area during pregnancy (jaundice of pregnancy)

See also:

• Drug-induced cholestasis
• Drug-induced hepatitis

Lidofsky SD. Jaundice. In: Feldman M, Friedman LS, Brandt LJ, eds. Sleisenger and Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2010:chap 20.