Jaundice: Should the Drugs be Used ?

Jaundice is a symptom of a liver disease wherein the level of a yellow colored pigment called bilirubin increases in blood. The cause of jaundice may be infectious, pathological, obstructive or therapeutic. However, the most prevalent cause of jaundice is due to viral infection. Till 1940 this disease was considered catarrhal (catarrhal jaundice), due to catarrh of bile passages responsible for transporting bile from the liver to the intestine. It was during World War-II (1939-1945), the attending physicians discovered that the disease is due to some infection; and it was labeled as 'infectious hepatitis'. Many soldiers died due to infectious hepatitis during the World War-II. It was also observed during the period of war that there are two viruses infecting the soldiers with relatively shorter and longer incubation periods.

Now, these hepatitis viruses are called hepatitis virus-A and hepatitis virus-B. We can accurately diagnose the cause of jaundice and classify the causative virus. Hepatitis-B is severer of the two. Disease is transmitted not only through transfusion of infected blood or blood products but also through saliva, tears, breast milk, and seminal fluid and rarely by feces and urine of the patient.

Fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, joint and muscle pains, cough, coryza and headache may precede for one to two weeks preceding the onset of jaundice. Dark colored urine and light colored stools are other visible signs in addition to yellow coloration of eyes. There may be pain in the upper right quadrant of tummy along with discomfort in the tummy. Progress of recovery is very encouraging in cases of Hepatitis-A.


The medical management in cases of viral hepatitis/jaundice is just symptomatic and maintenance of nutrition is taken care of in these patients. There is no specific treatment for viral hepatitis/jaundice. Restriction of physical activity is advisable. A high calorie diet is generally recommended but special care is required in diabetics. Drugs should be avoided to avoid adverse effect on the liver. Patient should be isolated to a room (and a bathroom too) and routine hygiene measures should be observed. Serious patients should be hospitalized.

Inimical Interaction of Tobacco with Drugs

Consumption of tobacco in any form is bad as it has inimical interaction with a majority of drugs/medicines in addition to its other bad effects and health hazards. There are thousands of chemical substances in the tobacco and the smoke of its products like cigarette and bidi. Nicotine, tar and carbon monoxide are three most damaging chemical substances present in the smoke of cigarette and bidi. Smoking and chewing of tobacco would affect your metabolism and physiology. Like cocaine and morphine; nicotine causes addiction to tobacco. Cigarette smoking speeds up your heart beat and increases blood pressure. It is major cause of emphysema (chronic obstructive lung disease leading to damage of alveoli), chronic bronchitis, coronary heart disease (CHD) and lung cancer. Carbon monoxide along with nicotine increases the prevalence of heart attack in smokers.

The tar present in the smoke of cigarette or bidi damages the delicate epithelial lining of lungs. The brown and sticky deposit produced by the tar is a cause of lung cancer in smokers. The nicotine content per cigarette has been estimated to 20-30 mg. The carbon monoxide remains in the blood of a smoker for 5-6 hours after he finishes a cigarette and keeps interacting with body metabolites and drugs. The tobacco that is chewed, kept in the mouth or snuffed has equally bad effects. The consumption of tobacco is like ‘slow motion suicide’ due to its bad effects and inimical interaction with large number of drugs taken for various health ailments:


Tobacco has been found to reduce the effectiveness of pain killers (analgesics), anti-asthma drugs, anti-coagulants and drugs used to treat heart ailments. The risk of cardiovascular diseases increases in women taking oral contraceptives.