Jaundiced eyes ?

[Fhcucchcj]

Do my eyes look jaundiced ?

I have gilbert's syndrome

[AyrshireK]

It wouldn't be unusual for you to have a yellow tint to your eyes if you have elevated bilirubin due to Gilbert's syndrome - have you had recent bloods taken?

It is actually against forum rules to post photographs for comment as none of us are qualified to offer comment PLUS photos reproduce really poorly on screen.

See your doctor for tests if you are concerned about your blood levels.

Katie

[Fhcucchcj in reply to AyrshireK]

The thing is this yellowness bothers me a lot in my lifeI can't sleep well because I am thinking abt it 24/7

My studies are also affected

I keep cheking my eyes in the mirror and get depressed

What can I do to accept this situation?

[AyrshireK in reply to Fhcucchcj]

Has anyone else actually said your eyes are yellowed or is it just your own perception? From the photo it's impossible to say.

You need to find some way of stopping obsessing about your eyes and just get on with your life.

[Fhcucchcj in reply to AyrshireK]

Yes people tell me which makes me depressed and lose my self esteemThat sucks

I developed a phobia of looking at people or standing in a well lit room

[AyrshireK in reply to Fhcucchcj]

I just found this on a forum regarding 'minimizing the look of jaundice' which might have some useful tips for you.

This may seem like a trivial topic compared to a lot of them here, but over the last four years with this disease, I have learned a lot about how to minimize my side effects and how to hide the effects of my disease and treatment. Vanity may be seen as a character flaw, but on the days that I look my best, I feel better too. I’d like to pass along some of the things I have learned, mostly by trial and error. If this post is well received, I’ll try to write others.

I’m going to start with something that I am currently dealing with daily, I want to share my experience with how to minimize the look of jaundice. My T-bili averages around 15, but is stable. I’ve gotten as high as 22. I’m naturally very fair with red undertones in my complexion. On my good days, I look like I have kind of a yellowish tan and people don’t notice. On my worst days, I looked like I glowed like a tennis ball or highlighter marker. Obviously, it’s going to be harder to cover the yellow look on bad days, but what I am going to tell you will help minimize it no matter what. A lot of what I am going to say will be for those who are inclined to wear makeup, but there are some other things that will help anyone. Certain things will be friends and enemies to everyone.

Stay hydrated

I mean really hydrated. I’m sure you have a regimen with your doctor of medication etc, but you also need to drink lots of water. When I am dehydrated, I notice that I look more yellow. Keep a bottle of water with you all the time and by your bed. If you wake up in the morning and you look more yellow, start drinking. It will help flush some of that bilirubin out of your blood.

Light

Certain lights will make you look more yellow and/or glowy. For me, direct sunlight and fluorescent lights are the worst. Some days it will even be bad during cloud cover. It varies. There are a few things you can do to minimize this, the first being hats with brims over your face. They will cover your forehead, which will minimize the amount of your yellowish skin exposed and keep light from directly hitting your face. Lots of stores, including department stores, Charming Charlie’s, Francesca’s, etc. have great hates and they are in style! For women, try fedoras, floppy hats, newsboys, buckets, etc. Most men’s hats other than beanies have some sort of brim. The second are glasses. Obviously sunglasses will cover your eyes, but even clear lenses will reflect some of the light and minimize the yellow in your sclera. I used to wear contacts, but now I almost exclusively wear my glasses (sometimes I’ll wear contacts if I’m going out at night). Get yourself a pair or two that you really like. Check out Warby Parker for some fairly inexpensive retro looking glasses. I’m a big fan and they are in style. Don’t feel bad about getting glasses with non-prescription lenses. Do what you need to do. Another tip is that if you are out to eat somewhere with lots of windows and it is sunny, try to sit with your back to the windows. That way the light won’t be shining right into your eyes.

Makeup

The first thing I want you to remember that shine is your enemy. Get rid of anything in your current regimen that promises to increase glow, luminosity, or whatever marketing word they are using. The bilirubin in your skin will make you plenty glowly. You need matte everything! Find a moisturizer for combination or oily skin because it will add moisture without adding a bunch of shine. I like Neutrogena Oil-free Combination Skin moisturizer. Next, find a matte primer. I have been using Rimmel Fix and Perfect Primer. Primers are important because they smooth out imperfections and help keep your makeup on. Foundation is tricky. I am still in the process of finding the perfect foundation and it will probably take some trial and error on your part. I have tried Kat Von D’s Lock it, L’Oreal Paris Infallible Pro-Matte, Dermablend, and CoverFX. They all have good coverage but are very thick. I just bought some Rimmel Stay Matte Liquid Foundation. So far so good. It spreads nicely and stays on for a good amount of time. I keep a compact of CoverFX pressed matte foundation in my purse for touch ups. For powder, I love CoverFX Matte Setting Powder. Get a big fluffy brush for that. For color selection, you may be tempted to choose a color that is the same as your natural skin color. This is a mistake. You are going to need to go a bit more yellow or your will look unnaturally pale. When applying all of these products, make sure you cover your ears, neck, and whatever part of your chest is exposed. If you are wearing your hair up, make sure to put makeup there too. Full coverage foundations may make you break out more than normal. Make sure you wash it off before bed. I’m not 100% sure how to approach this if you have very dark skin, but I overheard a doctor telling residents that it’s difficult to see jaundice in these folks, so it may not be a big problem for you. Make sure you use a blush so you look more natural and healthy.

Purple!!

Purple is definitely your friend. It is the opposite color from yellow on the color wheel, so it will help offset it. I wear purple shirts and I use purple eye shadow. One thing you may want to consider is using a lavender complexion color corrector under your foundation. There was nothing on the market when I first started trying this, so I had to buy what was basically purple clown makeup. It was not ideal. Now for some reason there are a bunch of options available, which is great for us! You can try a lavender primer like ELF or NYX. I don’t think these do a lot though and they add shine. I really like the Sephora brand color corrector, but sometimes it makes my skin feel a little greasy. Color FX has one, but it’s more like a lipstick consistency and I find it difficult to spread over my whole face. There are others out there. Try a few products and see what happens. Don’t go overboard with the purple makeup because it can make you look greyish, which is not a healthy look. Lastly, if you have dark hair, try asking your stylist to add more of purple undertones to your color. I’m not saying you go full crayola here, but you can add some purple undertones and it may help. I dye my hair a dark red with very intense purple undertones because I think it’s fun. You don’t need to go that extreme though.

[MINTVCX]

I have also Gilbert's Syndrome like 5-12% population. Pretty common. Do not worry because it might be that your stress make your eyes look more yellow... see some psychologist if needed.

[Fhcucchcj in reply to MINTVCX]

I try not to worry but I'm obssessing abt it it's really affecting my life

[MINTVCX in reply to Fhcucchcj]

I see but this seems to be rather mental not liver issue in your case. Please consider seeing some psychologist because it seems it is real problem to you.

Not sure if this helps you but my friend when I was child told me once that my eyes looked the same (yellow) as his close relative who had just died... Pretty scary for a child. Before my diagnosis my wife also noted sometimes that my eyes were yellow. You can live with this.

[Kristian]

Hi Fhcucchcj

The picture's pretty rubbish so its not really possible to tell very well and of course Katie has already mentioned the bit about the rules, lol.

I suspect with people making comment about a yellow tinge and you noticing it yourself then there probably is a yellow tinge there. But, to be honest, SO WHAT!

Sorry, thats not intended to be a slur on you. Its more about the fact in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. I found no one really thinks any less of you because you have a yellow tinge to your eyes. If any one makes a comment be proud about it.

Having Gilbert's, or any other liver disease, is nowt to be ashamed of, so it doesn't really matter what others see or think and if anyone does ask, well just wax lyrical about the disease and what it does, lol. Thats what i did anyway. They'll either be fascinated or bored stupid, but hey they'll not be thinking anything less of you because of it that's for sure.

Having liver disease is not a sin. Its not something you should be ashamed of. Its not your fault.

Stuff what other people may think. Thats their problem not yours and to be honest anyone that does make a comment usually does so for no other reason than because they care. So dont take it so much as a negative. It is actually quite positive that they do. Be you own advocate about it, be out and proud. (Yes, I've nicked that from elsewhere, lol, but it seemed appropriate).

I appreciate all that is always easier said than done. But, give it a try and see how you go.

Now the usual disclaimer, if you think that the tinge has got deeper or more widespread then it is worth getting it checked out by your gp, or your own medical team, just to be on the safe side.

Hope thats at least a little helpful. If not, feel free to ignore. Good luck and best wishes.

[Fhcucchcj in reply to Kristian]

Yes I agree with u but the problem is i really can't stop thinking abt it and obssessing over itI fear talking to people standing in a well lit room and if i see myself in the mirror i'll be extremely depressed

It concerns me aestetically

I believe that no one would love or like a jaundiced person like me whose eyes look like if he has an illness or something

[Kristian in reply to Fhcucchcj]

I can understand your fear but just look at the posts on this very forum. Look how many come from partners of those who have liver disease. All come from a point of view of love and care for their partner. It hasn't put them off.

The right person for you wont care about a slight yellow tinge in your eye. They won't care if you have a disease you can do nothing about. If they did then they're not for you anyway. So its probably doing you a favour, separating the wheat from the chaff, lol.

[Positive001 in reply to Fhcucchcj]

Wear some trendy coloured sunglasses? make them the talking point? My husband was yellow from head to toe including his eyes, the colour of custard, so much more noticeable than yours, which to be honest l don't even see. He had cirrhosis, an illness which he couldn't hide so got out and did as much as his broken body would allow and stuff what anyone thinks. That was 15 years ago when disfigurements, abnormalities and scars were much more hidden and not talked about so openly. These days anything goes and everything is accepted and talked about. I agree with the others, you need to talk to a professional about your anxiety around something which really is comparatively trivial.

Good luck.

[Fhcucchcj in reply to Positive001]

Thank u for your responseWell the yellow color doesn't appear in this picture but irl it's obvious

When i look at the mirror i get a panic attack

When i stand in a well rit room or under fluorescent lights i appear yellow af

This kills my self confidence and i begin having sort of depression because of it

[AyrshireK in reply to Fhcucchcj]

The article I posted has all sorts of suggestions with how to reduce appearance of jaundiced eyes incuding as Laura has said what about tinted glasses - even if you don't need glasses you can get tinted glasses that can neutralize the appearance of any yellowing.

My hubby has far worse physical issues due to his liver issues - i.e. no front teeth top and bottom, no libido or function, big dilated veins on his tummy and more - he still found love. You just have to find a coping mechanism to ignore what you perceive as imperfections - none of us are perfect.

Katie

[Positive001 in reply to Fhcucchcj]

The fact that any yellowing doesn't show in your photo is exactly why the trust do not allow photos to be displayed for others to offer opinion so in line with forum rules you should remove it. You are clearly suffering more from anxiety than your liver condition. So rather than trying to justify having panic attacks and no confidence, put your energy into getting treatment for your anxiety. I'm sorry but no one here can solve that for you.

[Hidden]

As members has already kindly said, we do not allow photographs to be commented on, no one is medically trained to safely assess you.

Please see your own doctor for assessment. Here is the NHS page on jaundice for info

nhs.uk/conditions/jaundice/

[evelyn1]

I think they look fine. When I was jaundiced I had a lovely all over"tan" not just yellow eyes. People would ask if I had been on holiday. You should book to see your GP for medical advise & maybe get some bloods done if it's causing you upset.