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Neonatal phototherapy
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Neonatal phototherapy is a light treatment for newborn jaundice. Jaundice is the yellow tint a baby's skin and eyes take on when there's too much bilirubin, a substance that circulates in the blood.
The idea is to use light as a tool. The baby is placed under lamps that give off a blue-looking light, which shines directly on the baby's bare skin. Think of a colored T-shirt left out on the clothesline in the sun for a long time: the light acts on the substance that gives the fabric its color and changes it. Something similar happens here, but with a very precise kind of light, what's called a specific wavelength, which is what makes one color of light different from another. That light can break bilirubin down, meaning it turns it into a form the body can get rid of in urine and stool.
During phototherapy, the baby wears nothing or just a diaper, and the eyes are covered. It isn't permanent: treatment ends once the bilirubin level in the baby's blood has dropped enough.
In brief
Neonatal phototherapy is light therapy used to treat newborn jaundice, a yellowing of the skin and eyes caused by too much bilirubin in the blood.
The lights, which look blue, shine on the baby's bare skin. A specific wavelength of light can break bilirubin down into a form the body can get rid of in urine and stool.
During treatment, the baby wears nothing or just a diaper, and the eyes are covered. Treatment ends once the bilirubin level in the blood has dropped enough.
Sources (1)
- MedlinePlus, National Library of Medicine (A.D.A.M. Medical Encyclopedia)Bili lights, MedlinePlus Medical EncyclopediaPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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