Baby Skin Color Changes To Yellow, Can Be Carotenemic Symptoms

Little skin color how come suddenly turned yellow? Don't mistake me for having a jaundice first, huh! Maybe he has carotenemia.

Carotenemia is a condition characterized by skin color that becomes yellowish due to excessive levels of beta-carotene in the blood. This can happen when babies eat too many foods that are high in beta-carotene.

Babies Take Too Much Beta-Carotene

Generally carotenemia occurs because babies eat too many beta-carotene-rich foods, such as carrots, potatoes, pumpkins, corn, and egg yolks. This condition is usually only experienced when the Little One has started consuming complementary foods for breast milk (MPASI), namely fruit and vegetables.

In addition, babies who are breastfeeding can also experience carotenemia, ! This happens if the mother consumes a lot of foods that are high in carotene.

Carotenemia is more easily seen in white babies. While in babies whose skin is dark, discoloration can be more visible on the palms and soles of the feet.
Because excess carotene is released through the sweat glands, the body parts that turn yellowish generally start from areas that often sweat. For example the peak of the nose, palms or feet, and the upper lip, then spread throughout the body.

An easy way for the Mother to distinguish carotenemia from jaundice is to pay attention to the white part of the eye or the little sclera. In jaundice, the sclera will change color to yellow. This does not occur in carotenemia, where the sclera will remain white as usual.

While in adults, carotenemia is more commonly experienced by vegetarians and people taking high carotene supplements. In addition, carotenemia is also known to be associated with several diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, hypothyroidism, kidney disease, liver disease, and anorexia nervosa.

Common Carotenemia Occurs in Infants

Carotenemia is actually a fairly common condition in infants. Mother also does not need to worry too much, because this condition is actually harmless, does not require special treatment or medication

You can consult with your pediatrician to find out what foods are high in carotene and need to be avoided by babies. Not only orange and vegetables, green vegetables like beans and spinach are also high in carotene Bun,

To overcome this, you need to avoid giving foods that are high in carotene to your little one, for about one week. The aim is to reduce the levels of carotene in the baby's body, so that the skin color can return to normal gradually.

Carotenemia is not a condition to worry about. However, if your skin looks yellower than usual, or if the skin is yellow with fever or weakness, you need to take it to the doctor to be examined and given treatment that might be needed.

Label : Health cat_Health