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Symptoms and Cures for Gilberts Disease

Gilbert's disease, also known as Gilbert's syndrome, is a genetic disorder found in around 5 percent of the population. It is seen as relatively harmless, usually not requiring immediate treatment. There are very few symptoms, though those that do exist are relatively easy to spot and diagnose.

  1. Symptoms

    • Because Gilbert's disease is an inherited condition, it is present from birth. As such, there are often no shown symptoms; it is simply a present yet dormant and harmless condition.

      If a symptom shows up, however, it will almost certainly be a mild jaundice. This will show through a yellowing of the eyes and discoloring of the skin caused by increased bilirubin in the blood. This harmless condition is the only visible symptom of Gilbert's disease that might occur. Although jaundice might not appear in all cases of Gilbert's disease, it can be intensified by illness, dehydration or overexertion.

      A more complex and less often seen or detected symptom of Gilbert's disease is an adverse reaction to certain prescription drugs. Because Gilbert's affects the liver's ability to detoxify certain drugs, some patients on a specific set of prescriptions might experience diarrhea or neutropenia. Because the chances of someone with Gilbert's disease also being on the prescriptions in question is extremely slim, this symptom is extremely uncommon.

    Cures

    • There is no full treatment or cure for Gilbert's disease. Because it is a genetically inherited condition, it is not preventable or treatable. However, it is also harmless.

      Aside from the coloring of the skin caused by jaundice, there are no noticeable effects of Gilbert's disease and no risks involved with having it. Jaundice will disappear on its own without treatment. The only method of dealing with Gilbert's disease that could be considered a cure involves drugs to help speed up the disappearance of jaundice. The medication phenobarbital can help reduce the levels of bilirubin that lead to jaundice if the discoloration becomes too severe. However, the medicine has many potential side effects, and it's often thought that the risks of the medication far outweigh the benefits because jaundice and Gilbert's alone are harmless.

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