The Whites Of Her Eyes Are Yellowish

[mel2surf]

I am worried about my 29 yr. old Thai girlfriend of 2 years.The whites of her eyes are never white,

usually a yellowish tint. I understand that her father died of what sounds like liver cancer. Lek,herself is healthy,slim and

beautiful otherwise,and she is not a big drinker,but likes occasional red wine or a Heineken.My mother died a few years back

of liver cancer as well. Is it pretty much a given that this

is her liver? If so, is there a test which she should have done? Is it painful or traumatic?

Oh,BTW,in my mom's case,it was cancer which had spread from the colon to her liver,bless her soul.

I really hope Lek can avoid a death sentence,as she is still young,lovely and full of life.

Thanks for any advice

mel2surf

[dominique355]

Yellow eyes could be a sign for a liver problem, perhaps hepatitis. Have you had her check her blood at the local hospital? She should do that, if only to calm you, might not be anything serious.

[choppychugger]

I think you will find a lot of Thais suffer from this, and can be caused from not wearing the proper U.V protective glasses, instead opting for those fake crappy ones from the market. This tricks the eye into opening more and causing the yellowish colouration.

[Beardog]

Sounds like Jaundice . either a possible liver problem or if she wears contact lenses & isn't getting enough oxygen to the eyes it would cause that.

I would take her in for a basic blood test. 1st just do a Alt & Ast ...This test will tell the condition of the liver(among other things)

her Alt should be 0-40 & her Ast 0-37 to be in the normal range . If the results are higher don't panic Sprank for the Hep a -b & c test. The a & b are cheaper & the c is the most expensive. If she turns out cool & you can afford the minor expense go for hep a & b shots. Both of you if you haven't done already .

This will help your chances of contracting C

[mel2surf]

Thanks everyone!

I will try to get her to get some tests done.

[haybilly]

Thanks everyone!

I will try to get her to get some tests done.

My ex-wife, here in Thailand, is a Hep-B carrier and from what I can gather this can be passed from parent to child as my daughter had to be jabbed with an anti Hep-B jab within 24 hrs of birth--which the hospital didn't have, btw, but we managed to get one within the time limit from a nearby [250 kms] hospital--the hospital in question, for TV readers benefit, was Bangkok/Phuket and they were informed about the wife's problem at least 6 months before daughter was born-good planning, eh? But, I digres--it's a faint possibility that your GF has same, maybe.

[Sheryl]

Carriers will not have jaundice. It is only with active hepatitis (or other disease) that there will be jaundice (yellowing of the skin & eyes). However active hepatitis can be acute or chronic, and chronic form can be fairly aysmptomatic.

If it is true jaundice, as opposed to the slight effect of sun exposure, the urine will be dark in color and the stools pale(whites of the eye) as well. You may also be able to see yellowing in the frenulum under the tongue (have her roll her tongue up and backwards in the mouth, you'll see a sort of stringlike thing under it in the middle, this may appear yellowish.)

Tests needed are:

bilirubin (total and direct)

ALT

AST

and if these are abnormal, then Hepatitis antigens and antibodies, but as these are epxensive tests do the other 3 (which are fairly cheap) first.

Hepatitis B and C can be sexually transmitted so if she has either you are at risk, There is an effective immunization for hepatitis B which anyone who is sexually active with Thai partners sholuld have.

[Prakanong]

Thanks everyone!

I will try to get her to get some tests done.

My ex-wife, here in Thailand, is a Hep-B carrier and from what I can gather this can be passed from parent to child as my daughter had to be jabbed with an anti Hep-B jab within 24 hrs of birth--which the hospital didn't have, btw, but we managed to get one within the time limit from a nearby [250 kms] hospital--the hospital in question, for TV readers benefit, was Bangkok/Phuket and they were informed about the wife's problem at least 6 months before daughter was born-good planning, eh? But, I digres--it's a faint possibility that your GF has same, maybe.

All children get Hep B immediately at birth in Thailand - ministry of health mandatory vaccination.

This is of course due to the very high levels of Hep B in Thailand

There is no time limit for getting one - your daughter would just not be covered until she got it (and not fully till the second one)

Not all countries vacc for Hep B in children ie UK does not but USA and Belgium for example do.

[Beardog]

Carriers will not have jaundice. It is only with active hepatitis (or other disease) that there will be jaundice (yellowing of the skin & eyes). However active hepatitis can be acute or chronic, and chronic form can be fairly aysmptomatic.

If it is true jaundice, as opposed to the slight effect of sun exposure, the urine will be dark in color and the stools pale(whites of the eye) as well. You may also be able to see yellowing in the frenulum under the tongue (have her roll her tongue up and backwards in the mouth, you'll see a sort of stringlike thing under it in the middle, this may appear yellowish.)

Tests needed are:

bilirubin (total and direct)

ALT

AST

and if these are abnormal, then Hepatitis antigens and antibodies, but as these are epxensive tests do the other 3 (which are fairly cheap) first.

Hepatitis B and C can be sexually transmitted so if she has either you are at risk, There is an effective immunization for hepatitis B which anyone who is sexually active with Thai partners sholuld have.

Thank you Sheryl for the extra info about the urine & stool . I will add that to my Hep data files!

[mel2surf]

Hi again TV'ers !

Now Lek has had frequent stools and sometimes of a yellowish color

for nearly 2 weeks now. About 2 weeks ago,she was having pains in abdomen about

every 10 min. We immediately went to clinic down the street,where the

doc told her it was most likely bacteria from spicy food (papaya bok bok pet pet)

He gave her that famous "shot" they always give for everything,

and some antibiotics.But 2 weeks on,and she goes like 3 times a day and says it is yellowish.

Thanks for any advice,

mel

[britmaveric]

Jaundice or Hep.

[geriatrickid]

Although hepatitis is the a likely scenario, there is a possibility that it is something else. Sheryl advised of the bilirubin test. That is probably the most important diagnostic tool the physician will have and one you must insist upon if the physician does not take one. By determing the form and levels of bilirubin a smart physician is going to be able to identify the source, whether it is in the liver itself (hepatitis) or outside of the liver such as a bile duct blockage. It might be as simple as gall stones or a parasite such as a liver fluke. Considering the fact that liver flukes make the top five human parasites listing every year and are estimated to infect between 20 and 40 million people (depending on who's making the estimates), a parasite bears consideration.

I'm suggesting this because of the yellow stools and the abdominal pains which suggest a bile duct blockage.

Obviously, my comments take a backseat to your attending physician's diagnosis, but keep in mind the possibility in the event that hepatitis and pancreatic cancer is ruled out.

ps: Please get your tests done at a hospital where there are physicians that have seen it all. This is the kind of case where experience matters.

[Sheryl]

Echo the above.

And if you have not had the Hep A and B vaccines, get them . They will check first to see if you have already been exposed to Hep B.

If your g/f is negative for hep a and B antibodies she should also get vaccinated. Not sure how long ago the Hep B vaccination of children started in Thailand but it may well have been after she was born.

However, it is also quite possible that she already has Hep B. Don't delay, take her to a proper hospital and insist they check her alt/ast, bilirubin and hep B/c antigen and both of you for hep A and B antibodies.

[FBN]

With the family history the cause is either genetic or common exposure. The infectious causes must be excluded first; posts #12 and #13 above is sound advice. No need to repeat any of that here.

Gilbert's syndrome is the most common, and benign, genetic condition that results in yellow discoloration of eyes due to an abnormal metabolism of Bilirubin but I have no idea about the incidence in Asian population groups. It is fairly common among Caucasians.