If someone has been an alcoholic for 28 years, and their eyes are pale yellow, could this be jaundice?

A friend of mine drinks at least an 18 pack of beer a day, Lite Beer. He will not see a doctor. His eyes are a pale yellow in the whites of them. Could this be jaundice from the alcohol poisoning his liver? Does it really matter if you drink lite beer when you drink that much? Or at that point is it the same as drinking regular beer?

He has puffy bags under his eyes all the time and sometimes his eyelids are full of fluid too. He refuses to see a doctor.

Just before responding, I saw Randi's answer. She said what I was going to say, but in far more detail. I encourage everyone interested in this to read Randi's excellent and very comprehensive answer.

yes it is prob his liver rotting
no the lite part is just calories it doesnt influence the toxicity to the body

HELL YEAH he can have jaundice! He is poisoning his liver no matter what kind of beer it is! Tell them to see a freakin doctor and take a visit to AA.

Not a doctor but you friend needs to see a doctor sounds like his liver is failing to me

That is a sign of Gilbert's Disease. Which is not a big deal.
It affects one in ten people.

that's definitely liver issues...probably getting to the point where they're going to stop working...he might want to see a doc if he doesn't want to die...sorry to come across so harsh, but that's where he's headed.

it could be yes
and many more illness like liver problems.ect ect
no drinking at all.and see a doctor asap

Lite beer has the same alcohol as regular beer. Yellow eyes are not normal even for a heavy drinker. If he doesn't want help you are wasting your time.

-Sober 21 years

Yep, his liver is messed up.

Here's about Jaundice:

Jaundice is: Yellowish discoloration of the whites of the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes caused by deposition of bile salts in these tissues. It occurs as a symptom of various diseases, such as hepatitis, that affect the processing of bile. Also called icterus .

What causes jaundice?

Bilirubin comes from red blood cells. When red blood cells get old, they are destroyed. Hemoglobin, the iron-containing chemical in red blood cells that carries oxygen, is released from the destroyed red blood cells after the iron it contains is removed. The chemical that remains in the blood after the iron is removed becomes bilirubin.

The liver has many functions. One of the liver's functions is to produce and secrete bile into the intestines to help digest dietary fat. Another is to remove toxic chemicals or waste products from the blood, and bilirubin is a waste product. The liver removes bilirubin from the blood. After the bilirubin has entered the liver cells, the cells conjugate (attaching other chemicals, primarily glucuronic acid) to the bilirubin, and then secrete the bilirubin/glucuronic acid complex into bile. The complex that is secreted in bile is called conjugated bilirubin. The conjugated bilirubin is eliminated in the feces. (Bilirubin is what gives feces its brown color.) Conjugated bilirubin is distinguished from the bilirubin that is released from the red blood cells and not yet removed from the blood which is termed unconjugated bilirubin.

Jaundice occurs when there is 1) too much bilirubin being produced for the liver to remove from the blood. (For example, patients with hemolytic anemia have an abnormally rapid rate of destruction of their red blood cells that releases large amounts of bilirubin into the blood), 2) a defect in the liver that prevents bilirubin from being removed from the blood, converted to bilirubin/glucuronic acid (conjugated) or secreted in bile, or 3) blockage of the bile ducts that decreases the flow of bile and bilirubin from the liver into the intestines. (For example, the bile ducts can be blocked by cancers, gallstones, or inflammation of the bile ducts). The decreased conjugation, secretion, or flow of bile that can result in jaundice is referred to as cholestasis: however, cholestasis does not always result in jaundice.


But who knows exactly, it could be cirrhosis of the liver.

Here's about cirrhosis of the liver:

Cirrhosis has many causes. In the United States, chronic alcoholism and hepatitis C are the most common ones.

Alcoholic liver disease. To many people, cirrhosis of the liver is synonymous with chronic alcoholism, but in fact, alcoholism is only one of the causes. Alcoholic cirrhosis usually develops after more than a decade of heavy drinking. The amount of alcohol that can injure the liver varies greatly from person to person. In women, as few as two to three drinks per day have been linked with cirrhosis and in men, as few as three to four drinks per day. Alcohol seems to injure the liver by blocking the normal metabolism of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.

Many people with cirrhosis have no symptoms in the early stages of the disease. However, as scar tissue replaces healthy cells, liver function starts to fail and a person may experience the following symptoms:

* exhaustion

* fatigue

* loss of appetite

* nausea

* weakness

* weight loss

* abdominal pain

* spider-like blood vessels (spider angiomas) that develop on the skin

As the disease progresses, complications may develop. In some people, these may be the first signs of the disease.

More likely a sign of cirrhosis of the liver, which will certainly shut him down eventually. Jaundice would be the least of his problems.

He should get a liver function test...

lite beer doesn't mean there is less alcohol in it, the alch. is what damages the liver. Probably definitely not a good healthy sign, yellowish eyes. Look for dark bags under eyes also. Nothing you can really do unless the person is willing to go to doctor.

at this point, he's thoroughly pickled. even going to the doctor now probably wouldn't help much... but you can try. yes, it could be jaundice, but it could be other factors too, like nicotine or any other type of substance abuse, or simply living in a city can cause the yellowing of the eyes too from the pollution. tell your friend that you're really worried about them... the worst part, is it's up to him... unfortunately, you can't make him get better... he has to.

good luck!!

He might be suffering from cirrhosis, hepatitis or jaundice. Yellow in the eyes indicates some type of liver disorder he needs to see a doctor right away.
I'm not sure but I would think that much beer is damaging regardless the type.
Please encourage him to seek medical attention this type of condition will not go away on its own.

alcohol causes the liver to breakdown and then the eyes turn yellow....alcohol is alcohol lite or otherwise

Yes. Get off the sauce.

It absolutely could be jaundice and probably is. If he's this far along his chance of survival is poor. It doesn't matter what he's drinking anymore, he's pretty much managed to kill himself. Sorry.

Alcohol is alcohol, it doesn't matter if it is lite beer or not.
Yes the yellow in his eyes is jaundice and most likely an indication of cirrosis, hepatitis, or even liver cancer. Dark urine and yellowing of the skin is also an indication of jaundice. Jaundice is usually a sign that there is a block in the bile ducts from the liver or a disease.
Your friends best bet is to obviously see a doctor, but if that is not going to happen, try an intervention to help him/her sober up and get help.
Sadly, your friend has a disease which is alcoholism, that leads to other diseases. If left un-treated, your friend will not have long.
Good luck!

Your friend is on a downhill spiral.. At most a year or two... He has kidney and liver problems....

YES, 18 beers a day! Poor guy.

The yellow discoloration of the "white of the eyes" is a sign of jaundice. It does not matter if it is Lite Beer or not, they still have the same alcohol content. Does he have a " bloated " abdomen ( stomach) ? This would be suggestive of Ascites ( a swelling of the abdominal cavity, in which there is a fluid build up in the " peritoneal cavity" ( known as abdominal dropsy). If he refuses to see a Doc, there really isn't a way to force him. He needs to realize on his own that he needs a medical evaluation. He may be scared and that is why he may be refusing. At least, try to convince him to get blood tests done. But, unless a Doc evaluates him first, then he/she will probably not, order any blood work to be done. A tough situation !!! I wish that I had better words of wisdom but, he has to be the one who decides.Is there anyone that can talk him into seeking a medical evaluation?? I hope that this helped some.

He most likely has alcoholic hepatitis. He most definitely has problems with his liver. Yellowing of the eyes is called Jaundice. In it's mild form it will show in the whites of the eyes. As it progress the eyes will become more yellow and his skin will start to yellow. This is caused by the Livers inability to process bilirubin which is how your body gets rid of dead blood cells. When this doesn't happen the billirubin stay in circulation and cause the eyes and skin to turn yellow.

If he continues to drink, his problems will become worse and irreversable and will lead to cirrhosis if he doesn't have it already. He will become fatigued, will start to itch all over, may have tiny red dots on his arms and upper torso. He may develop ascite, which is swelling of the abdomen. This is just to name a few.

If the asictes develops it leaves a very poor prognosis.