I’m sorry that you didn’t find any useful information here. Many others have complained about the difficulty of using the phototherapy blankets, so I’m sure I’m not alone in my experience.

You cannot be serious…An imbecile could figure these out…I’d move to a smarter area.

For neonatal use, full spectrum lights (and sunlight) are avoided because of the possibility of sunburn and other issues, which shouldn’t be as much of a concern in your case. Also, I did read a bunch of literature that said that green was the most effective color for treating jaundice, but that people didn’t like the “sickly look” that green light causes, so they use blue instead. Go figure.

I’m actually looking into a phototherapy system for veterinary purposes. A bit unconventional, but it may be helpful reducing bilirubin levels in small animals with liver abnormalities.

If you don’t have health insurance and your baby needs phototherapy, I would recommend reading this article: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120711884/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0

Especially the part that says: “Conclusion: Data revealed that sunlight is almost 6.5 times more effective than a phototherapy unit when operating at the ward geometry after taking isomerization efficiency and area of exposure into consideration. Moreover, sunlight is still more effective during the winter season, when its intensity is lower. Thus, sunlight may be considered an alternative phototherapy source for the treatment of neonatal jaundice, particularly in areas where conventional phototherapy units are unavailable.”

So first we tried safety pins – pretty effective but tough to put on and off so we tried changing and feeding with it on. Let’s just say it didn’t work. After a day I thought to cut a slit in a cheap onesie from the armpit to the waist the width of the light panel. Slide it through and let the onesie do most of the work for you!

The four-foot python cord and the crappy light panel on the end of are enough to drive a worried parent mad. Sure, it’s just the right size to wrap around the baby – if you can sit there and hold the ends together all day other than feeding and changing. And yes, its better to wrap it because you are exposing 3x the amount of skin to the light than just having your baby lay on it. Anyway it stinks. Make the panel clippable from one end to the other. And make the covers washable. Come on. Good luck everyone.

High billirubin levels are a serious condition, and we know this. But, the doctors at the hospital was telling us that our son had “borderline moderate” levels, and that they were sending us home with the Billi blanket as a “safety measure” to make sure that his levels go down as expected. And, at the same we were getting the conflicting advice of “24/7 no matter what don’t remove the blanket” from the people at Apria. Given a choice, I’m going to believe my doctors, not the delivery person from Apria.

Secondly, I want to respond to the “dinner with friends”. Clearly, you don’t know the situation here, and that was frankly none of your business to comment about, but I’ll clarify here anyway. Some friends had graciously brought us a pre-cooked meal for the day we got home with our newborn son, so we spent 10 minutes wolfing down some lasagne. Remember the advice to take care of yourself first? Anyway, enough of this.

What I’m most frustrated about is that no one gave us proper instructions on how to use this thing, and no one (not even our new pediatrician at the time) would tell us exactly what we should be doing. How do we wrap him? What if he won’t sleep with it on? What if he won’t eat with it on? Should it be on 24/7, or is it better to have him outside in diffuse light during the day? There are a million questions, and, like you said, this can be a serious illness, and should be treated as such.

If I had to guess, I think that the hospital didn’t put him under the “big lights” because his billirubin levels were “boderline”. I think the doctors weren’t communicating with us that the situation was serious because it probably wasn’t that serious in our case. Additionally, I think they know how quickly (or slowly) the billirubin levels rise, and we were going in for blood tests on a daily basis.

So, in summary: Treat high billirubin levels seriously. Find a good doctor. Find a good hospital. Get advice from every medical professional you can, and if you’re still not comfortable with the situation, then keep asking. Your child’s health is nothing to take seriously.

Our son (mentioned in this story) is now 2.5 years old, is happy, healthy, and growing up more quickly than we had ever imagined. His 6-month old sister had a very mild case of jaundice, which was not enough to warrant the use of a billi blanket. Both kids are beautiful and wonderful additions to our lives.

Now some clinical questions. If your baby needed phototherapy – and you were stuck at the hospital for so long waiting discharge – why was the baby not under phototherapy lights? Did you ask? The Apria we used in West Palm Beach FL gave us a parents guide and a video. I just looked online and Respironics (although a manufacturer) has learning materials as well as a phone number for parents. The tech even explained to us that we needed to make sure the baby was hydrated – and to expect some funky looking stools – since this is the way the body eliminates bilirubin. You seem to be taking your frustrations out on the manufacturer. It is sad you were not educated appropriately. But then again, you may have been but were too concerned about dinner with friends. Good luck as a parent.