16/01/2026
๐๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ in elderly people often signals serious issues like bile duct obstruction (stones or tumors, especially cancer), gallstones, hepatitis, or liver cirrhosis, due to age-related liver changes and common conditions like diabetes or heart failure.
Medications (polypharmacy) and increased red blood cell breakdown also contribute, with symptoms including yellow skin/eyes, itching, dark urine, pale stools, weakness, and appetite loss, requiring prompt medical evaluation for diagnosis and treatment.
The most common causes of ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ are:
โค Hepatitis
โค Alcohol-related liver disease
โค A blockage of a bile duct by a gallstone (usually) or tumor
โค A toxic reaction to a drug, medication, or medicinal herb
As people age the body function used to face declines similar to that the function of the liver naturally declines.
It may be due to a reduction in the size of the liver, blood flow, and count of functioning liver cells.
When the size of the count of cells reduces the elimination of bilirubin is also going to get reduced leading to the accumulation of bilirubin content in the blood and initiating the ๐๐ฎ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ.
Elderly individuals are also at higher risk of dehydration and malnutrition which may increase liver dysfunction and also jaundice.
Through proper hydration and taking nutrient-rich foods, it is possible to manage jaundice.
The best way to manage the jaundice is through addressing the underlying reasons and monitoring the function of the liver properly which could help in early diagnosis that makes the recovery easy.
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