A malfunctioning liver is the primary cause of jaundice. However, this is not necessarily the only cause of jaundice. Jaundice, or the disease wherein the skin and whites of the eyes get stained yellow, could actually be symptomatic of something else. It is especially common in newborns. For most part, newborns get this disease if they are even slightly premature, or if they have been bruised during delivery, or if they have some sort of infection handed down by the mother. But this usually clears up within a week or so. Jaundice that lasts beyond the second week of a baby's life may be caused due to enzyme deficiencies or a continued infection about which nothing can be done unless it is diagnosed accurately.
If you are talking about jaundice in an adult and not an infant, it is important to note that jaundice may be a symptom of something more severe. It could be an indicator of something as easily treatable as malaria or as complicated as pancreatic cancer. In order to determine why you have this symptom, it is essential to get a detailed medical examination done as soon as possible. Only this can reveal the exact nature of the problem that is causing jaundice, especially when your liver is showing no signs of anything wrong with it.
answered by G R