By: Christopher Jacoby
Before discussing yellow skin treatments, it is important to
understand that if your skin is turning yellow it could be indicative of
something serious going on inside your body which would demand immediate attention
by a physician. The reason for this is that most often yellow skin points to
one of many diseases affecting the liver and is usually the first sign that
something is going on that needs to be checked out.
The clinical term for yellow skin is jaundice and the most
common causes are hepatitis, cirrhosis, blocked bile ducts, cancer of the
pancreas, liver disease, malaria, hypothyroidism and believe it or not, too
much beta carotene. Some of those conditions could be life threatening which is
why they demand prompt medical attention while others may be easily remedied.
It is especially important to see your doctor if the whites of your eyes have
also turned yellow. The first step is to get an accurate diagnosis.
Things a Doctor Will Look At
There are a number of diagnostic tests your doctor will
probably order such as blood serum bilirubin levels, prothrombin time, liver
function tests, CBC (complete blood count), cholesterol levels, abdominal
ultrasound and perhaps even a liver biopsy. Bilirubin is a substance that is a
result of the breakdown of hemoglobin and prothrombin time measures how long it
takes blood plasma to clot.
There may be other diagnostic blood, urine or fecal tests
the doctor may order in order to rule out the most serious conditions which
could be causing a yellow skin discoloration. You will be asked if you are a
heavy drinker or smoker and if you are taking any medications (prescription or
street drugs) which could be affecting your liver. Drug induced hepatitis is an
extremely common condition and one that may be easily remedied if the liver
isn’t irreparably damaged.
Once a Diagnosis Is Made
After having consulted with your doctor, if he or she has
found no underlying liver disease or conditions that should be causing this
discoloration, there are several steps you can take to remedy the situation at
home. The first thing you should consider is making some lifestyle changes.
Some things that affect the liver and consequently the color of your skin would
be caffeine, sugar, food additives, alcohol (that’s a no brainer!) and omega 6
yellow cooking oils.
Unfortunately, those are only a few of the culprits that tax
the liver but would be a great place to start when making lifestyle changes for
a healthy liver. Other things to consider would be smoking which of course
causes skin on the face and hands to turn yellow and certain skin care products
containing chemical additives would cause discoloration either on the surface
or by adversely affecting the liver.
Liver Detox and Naturopathic Remedies
In the absence of any serious liver disease, there are a
number of remedies for yellow skin. The first place to start would be with a
good liver detox program. There are a number of products on the market that are
100% natural and formulated to counteract toxins that have built up over time
in the liver and bile ducts. Most often these products contain herbal
ingredients such as milk thistle seed, dandelion root, gentian root, fennel,
garlic and wormwood leaf. Many other herbal ingredients are known to cleanse
and detoxify the liver among which are a whole host of antioxidants.
Then there are foods that are effective as cleansing agents
such as apples, cruciferous vegetables, beets, red onions, garlic, brown rice,
spinach, eggs, grapefruit, and dandelion greens. Also, any foods high in
antioxidants are a must, such as dark red or purple berries, apricots, legumes
(beans), nuts, seeds, whole grains (oats, millet, barley) and certain spices
such as oregano, cloves and cinnamon. Although not a common household staple,
drinking aloe vera juice cleanses not only the liver, but helps to promote a
cleansed and healthy digestive tract as well. There are several aloe vera juice
products sold at health food stores around the country but may also be ordered
online as well.
Yellow skin treatments will always focus on eliminating
unhealthy lifestyle choices that affect the liver as well as natural methods of
detoxifying the body of toxins causing the problem. However, it is important to
rule out any underlying serious or life threatening diseases so a physician
should always be consulted first. Only after you have been through a proper
series of diagnostic tests should you even consider detoxifying the liver or
making any radical changes in your lifestyle other than kicking the nicotine or
caffeine habits.
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