Bilirubin is a bile pigment, one of the breakdown products of hemoglobin, which provides the blood with a characteristic red color. Its percentage in the blood is the most important indicator, on the basis of which you can determine a number of diseases. What is the norm of bilirubin in the blood of women? To begin with, we learn about how it is formed and what types it happens.
How does bilirubin form?
Red blood cells (red blood cells) contain the substance hemoglobin, due to which oxygen from the lungs is transferred to all tissues of the body. In special cells of the spleen, bone marrow, liver, damaged red blood cells are destroyed. After which there is a release of hemoglobin, which, as a result of certain reactions, is converted into bilirubin.
The norm of bilirubin in the blood of women
Bilirubin can be direct and indirect. The combination of these two types makes up total bilirubin. As a result of laboratory analysis, this value is the key. The rate of bilirubin in the blood of women is lower than the same indicator in men.
The newly formed bilirubin (indirect) is very dangerous for the central nervous system and the whole organism. In the liver, it binds to other substances and turns into direct bilirubin. In the blood, the norm of its content should not exceed 4.2 μmol / L. Associated (direct) bilirubin is one of the components of bile, which is secreted by the liver and excreted from the body along with feces. The amount of indirect bilirubin should not exceed 17 μmol / L. The norm of total bilirubin in the blood should be a minimum of 8.5, a maximum of 20.4 μmol / L.
The norm of bilirubin in the blood of women: what can cause an increase in this indicator?
The following factors can provoke an increase in bilirubin in the blood:
increased decay of red blood cells;
liver diseases: cirrhosis, toxic hepatitis, cancer;
weak tone of the gallbladder, dyskinesia or obstruction of the biliary tract and other liver diseases that prevent the removal of bilirubin from the body;
insufficient vitamin B12 in the body.
Also, an increased content of this indicator can be diagnosed in newborns in the first weeks of life. The reason for this condition is the physiological destruction of red blood cells. Pharmacological correction in this case is not required.
Symptoms of Elevated Bilirubin
Symptoms of this condition may be as follows:
icteric shade of the skin and mucous membranes of the body;
discomfort in the left hypochondrium;
fever;
dark color of urine;
a feeling of increased fatigue;
headache;
palpitations.
How to reduce the amount of bilirubin in the blood?
To normalize the level of bilirubin in the blood, medication is used, which should only be prescribed by a doctor. In addition, for the treatment of this condition, it is necessary to follow certain principles of nutrition, which are:
complete exclusion from the diet of fatty, fried, spicy, salty foods, alcohol;
limiting salt, tea, and coffee;
increased use of cereals: oatmeal, buckwheat, rice;
a significant increase in daily fluid intake: water, fruit drinks, compotes, juices, with the exception of cranberry drinks.
After reading this article, you found out what the norm of bilirubin in the blood of women, as well as about the causes, symptoms of its increase and the principles of treatment.