Phototherapy

It is one of the treatment that is included in NICU to treat neonatal jaundice in newborn where they are exposed to blue light treatment to eliminate the amount of excess bilirubin contents from blood. Here the light therapy helps babies with hyperbilirubinemia where it gets deposited in dermal and subcutaneous tissue. This therapy involves usage of blue light that penetrates in baby’s skin allowing disintegration of bilirubin contents by liver function and eliminates it from blood.

Infant are placed under a light that is adjusted with their incubator by closing their eyes with mask and they are exposed for some duration so that mother can feed their baby intermittently. During these treatment babies’ vitals are monitored to confirm optimal body temperature. In some exceptional cases intravenous fluid are needed when the sigh of dehydration comes up during treatment. The therapy is stopped when the bilirubin level comes to normal and all activities are stabilized post treatment.