A 4-year-old girl had yellowish hands.

(Provided by Children's General Hospital)

[Reporter Ou Sumei/Taichung Report] A 4-year-old girl surnamed Chen has recently turned yellow in complexion, especially her face and palms. Parents noticed that they rushed to a nearby clinic for medical examination and found that the alkaline phosphatase index (Alkaline phosphatase) increased. They were worried about the girl’s liver problems. , I was further taken to Tong Tong General Hospital Pediatric Gastroenterology Physician Hu Shuwei for outpatient treatment. It turned out that the supplementation of lutein was too much. The doctor judged that the skin had accumulated pigment and suffered from "caroteneemia". There was no problem with the liver, as long as the supplementation of lutein was stopped element, it will recover on its own.

The girl surnamed Chen grew up without any ailments, and her mental vitality was also very good, but her complexion was yellowish. Hu Shuwei performed an abdominal ultrasound examination and found no obvious abnormalities. After further interrogation and physical examination, it was found that the sclera of the girl’s eyes had not changed. Huang asked the parents if the girl usually eats yellow-orange foods such as carrots or multivitamins, and the father of the girl remembered that her daughter supplemented lutein every day.

Please read on...

Hu Shuwei judged that the girl should have accumulated pigment on the skin and suffered from "caroteneemia". There is no major problem with the liver. As long as the supplementation of lutein is stopped, it will recover on its own after a while. Parents feel more at ease after hearing this.

Hu Shuwei said that 3C products have been popular in recent years, because the blue light generated by 3C screens can damage the macula, and there are many related health foods on the market, especially lutein and zeaxanthin are carotenoids, which are good for the macula of the eye. Many parents buy it for their children to take care of their children's eye health.

However, lutein and zeaxanthin are fat-soluble nutrients, which are easy to accumulate in the human body. Because spinach, sweet potato leaves, pumpkin, broccoli, carrots, etc. are also rich in lutein. Excessive lutein, it is easy to accumulate in the skin, resulting in carotenemia.

Hu Shuwei pointed out that the biggest difference between caroteneemia and jaundice is that caroteneemia will only accumulate in the skin, not in the sclera of the eyes, so the sclera will not turn yellow; and alkaline phosphatase in the liver, It exists in large quantities in the bones, small intestine, and placenta. It is often used clinically as an assessment of liver or bone diseases. However, because it is also present in the bones, it is often found that alkaline phosphatase rises in the blood of growing children. The highest It can even reach 2 to 3 times the normal value of adults, so it is not necessarily caused by liver disease.

Hu Shuwei said that the total acceptable daily intake of lutein in the European Food Safety Authority is 1 mg per kilogram of body weight; the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare recommends a daily supplement of 6-10 mg of lutein.

In the literature, there is no obvious harm of excessive lutein. However, yellowing of the skin is still a relatively common problem, and it is recommended to take it in moderation.

When a child has a yellowish complexion or abnormal liver-related indexes, it is recommended to consult a pediatric gastroenterologist for evaluation and examination, so as to give correct advice and treatment.

According to Hu Shuwei, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Children's General Hospital, the skin of a 4-year-old girl is yellowish.

(Photo by reporter Ou Sumei)

☆Health news will never be missed, click like to follow the fan page.


☆For more important medical news, please go to Liberty Health.com.

keywords

  • liver

  • Lutein

  • yellowish complexion

  • Carotenemia

related news