What Are the Different Home Remedies for Jaundice?

There are many different types of home remedies for jaundice, which is a condition marked by yellowed skin and eyes. Many of them involve the consumption of some type of food, often with the goal of producing more bowel movements that help remove bilirubin, a substance that builds up in the blood and causes the yellowing, from the body. Fruits and vegetables, for example, are said to help increase the liver's production of bile and support its ability to process wastes, which is critical in preventing and treating jaundice. Sometimes, however, replacing a nutrient the body lacks may help.

For babies, extra food consumption can help treat jaundice. A parent may provide a child with extra bottle or breast feedings to stimulate the baby to pass more stools. As stools are passed, bilirubin leaves the body as well, and the baby’s jaundice symptoms may improve. For instance, allowing a breastfed baby to nurse up to a dozen times each day may help with this condition, and feeding a bottle-fed infant a small amount of formula every couple of hours can prove helpful.

Sometimes home remedies for jaundice in non-infant children and adults also involve increasing the affected person’s bowel movements. For example, one home remedy involves crushing radish leaves and drinking their juice. Consuming a significant amount of this juice is said to help boost a person's appetite. Often, natural health enthusiasts recommend drinking about one liter (about a quarter of a gallon) of the juice daily. If it works as expected, a person will eat more and have more bowel movements, which removes bilirubin from the body.

Often, fruits are used as home remedies for this condition. Many natural health websites recommend drinking lime juice or eating mashed bananas mixed with honey for this purpose. Some natural health enthusiasts also assert that drinking lemon juice mixed with the juice of sugarcane will help as well. Some practitioners also report reduced yellowing of the skin and eyes from eating fresh prunes.

A person might also decide to try vegetables for treating this condition. Bitter gourd and carrots are among those commonly recommended as home remedies for jaundice. Usually, however, a person won’t just eat these vegetables when hoping for successful treatment. Most people make a juice out of the vegetable instead. Even beet juice, when consumed along with the juice of a lemon, can serve as a jaundice treatment.

Food treatments can also help when a case of jaundice develops in relation to anemia. In such a case, a home remedy will likely focus on replacing what is missing in the affected person’s body. When anemia is the problem, taking an iron supplement or eating more foods that are rich in iron may help. For instance, a person may boost the iron in his body by consuming red meat, beans, and turkey.

If a person thinks he has jaundice, he may do well to seek the advice of a medical doctor. Sometimes, jaundice appears as a sign of a serious medical problem, such as liver disease or blocked bile ducts, and medical treatment is necessary. In such a case, a person may use home remedies for jaundice as supplements to the treatments his doctor provides.