Should i worry about high bilirubin

Damage to the liver from excessive drinking can lead to ARLD. Years of alcohol abuse cause the liver to become inflamed and swollen. If you have ascites, you have fluid in the space between the abdominal lining and the organs.

An alkaline phosphatase level test can help identify health concerns in your liver, gallbladder, and more. The liver is a powerhouse organ, performing a variety of tasks that are essential to maintaining good health. Eat these 11 foods for optimal liver…. Lifestyle changes can help reduce your risk for fatty liver disease and damage. Learn what 10 foods you should eat and what 6 foods to avoid.

Fatty liver disease is best managed with lifestyle changes. Some of the best methods include weight loss, limiting sugar, and drinking coffee. Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. What Causes High Bilirubin? Medically reviewed by Karen Gill, M. Symptoms Causes Warning signs Takeaway What is bilirubin? What are the symptoms of high bilirubin? What causes high bilirubin? Some people also report other problems during episodes of jaundice, including:. But these problems are not necessarily thought to be directly related to increased bilirubin levels, and could indicate a condition other than Gilbert's syndrome.

Around 1 in 3 people with Gilbert's syndrome do not experience any symptoms at all. You may not realise you have the syndrome until tests for an unrelated problem are carried out. The jaundice of Gilbert's syndrome is usually mild, but jaundice can be associated with more serious liver problems, such as cirrhosis or hepatitis C.

It's important to seek immediate medical advice from a GP if you have jaundice. If you have been diagnosed with Gilbert's syndrome, you do not usually need to seek medical advice during an episode of jaundice, unless you have additional or unusual symptoms.

People with the syndrome have a faulty gene, which causes the liver to have problems removing bilirubin from the blood. Normally, when red blood cells reach the end of their life after about days , haemoglobin, the red pigment that carries oxygen in the blood, breaks down into bilirubin. The liver converts bilirubin into a water-soluble form, which passes into bile a fluid produced by the liver to help with digestion and is eventually removed from the body in pee or poo.

In Gilbert's syndrome, the faulty gene means bilirubin is not passed into bile at the normal rate. Other issues could include blood group incompatibility, infection in the bloodstream, certain viral infections, abnormalities of certain enzymes or the red cell membrane. Though these problems are not common, the most common among them is biliary atresia , a disorder that leads to blockage in the bile ducts, which are the tubes that drain bile from the liver to the intestine.

But before you worry, know that this is uncommon. Placing the baby under light, called phototherapy, is the most common treatment to lower bilirubin levels — if the pediatrician considers it high enough to be treated. Phototherapy often requires hospitalization and a premature baby may need a more aggressive treatment than a full-term baby. This requires close monitoring and needs to be done in a neonatal intensive care unit.

A study of 1. Exercise may help increase bilirubin levels [ 23 ]. In a study of sedentary postmenopausal women, high dose but not low dose intensity training increased bilirubin levels [ 23 ]. Causes shown below are commonly associated with high bilirubin levels. Work with your doctor or another health care professional to get an accurate diagnosis. Your doctor will interpret your results, taking into account your medical history, symptoms, and other tests.

Strenuous exercise increases indirect bilirubin levels. Scientists think that this may be due to the increased breakdown of red blood cells during exercise. Alternatively, it may be an adaptation to training [ 28 ]. Levels increase when the liver function becomes compromised. Therefore, increased direct bilirubin is usually a sign of liver diseases, such as viral or autoimmune hepatitis, or alcoholic liver disease [ 29 , 30 , 31 ]. Indirect bilirubin can increase in conditions such as fatty liver or in liver diseases which are associated with increased red blood cell destruction [ 32 , 33 ].

Gallstones and gallbladder inflammation or tumors can all increase direct bilirubin [ 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. Inflamed pancreas pancreatitis or appendix appendicitis can also cause high bilirubin levels [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Abnormal red blood cell destruction hemolysis increases indirect bilirubin levels [ 41 ]. This can happen in various medical conditions.

Studies suggest that some of the faulty red blood cells that get transfused are destroyed within the first couple of hours, which increases hemoglobin breakdown and bilirubin levels [ 42 ].

Some drugs, such as the antiviral drug atazanavir, can increase indirect bilirubin levels. Atazanavir, in particular, blocks the UGT1A1 enzyme that breaks down bilirubin [ 45 , 46 ]. Other drugs may increase bilirubin levels by causing liver damage e. Bilirubin is usually not toxic for adults, but high levels can signal serious medical conditions that should be treated as soon as possible.