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Category Archive : Eating Disorder

inpatient eating disorder treatment

Overview of inpatient eating disorder treatment

Some many myths, rumors, and problems surround eating disorders. One of it is affecting oral health. Eating disorder may cause complication such as early tooth loss. You may want to try digital dental implants to replace missing tooth caused by an eating disorder. An eating disorder is a mental illness that affects people all over the world. An eating disorder can affect men and women of any age. Eating disorders are one of the most deadly mental disorders as it kills approximately 1 out of every 7 people who have this mental illness.

Having an eating disorder is classified by a person having a distorted view of their body and an inability to feed themselves properly. Eating disorders include actions where the affected person restricts food, such as in the case of anorexia nervosa, as well as the case where the affected person will binge eat a lot of food and throw it up later on, such as in the case of bulimia.

Both of these eating disorders have physical health-related issues associated with them as a side effect. Such side effects include bone density loss, liver failure, the inability to think, heart problems, hair loss, muscle loss, and many more harmful issues. A common way to heal an eating disorder is by undergoing inpatient treatment at a hospital or rehabilitation center.

When undergoing an inpatient eating disorder treatment, the affected person will be admitted to a specialized course in a hospital or a specialized rehabilitation center. Each patient will be given their room.

During the mornings, a nurse will come in and, after the patient goes to the washroom, will check the patient’s vitals which includes weight, blood pressure, oxygen level, temperature, and heart rate while the patient is wearing a hospital gown. If the patient is in a very low rate weight wise, then he or she will be restricted to bed rest on their first few days of treatment.

After this, physical activity will still be under restriction. Meals will slowly increase in size. These increases will be decided upon by the dietician based on the daily weight gain of each patient separately. Meals will often be the same for a week and given to each patient at the same time. A supervisor will watch each patient consume each meal, mostly in a group setting, making sure that not a crumb is left on their plate. Often, there is a time restriction during eating meals as well.

inpatient eating disorder treatment

Vitamins and laxatives might be given during meals as well. If a patient is unable to eat a meal, they will be forced to drink a nutritional drink of equal calories instead. Most inpatient eating disorder treatments have stages where patients can upgrade to with each stage having more benefits such as the last. Also, therapy will be scheduled for each patients’ program duration. This will be done through artistic projects or discussions. When the therapist and the doctor sees fit, the patient will be discharged and will begin outpatient treatment.

anorexia nervosa complications

Anorexia Nervosa Complications

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that is characterized by abnormally low body weight, a fear of gaining weight, and a distorted body image. People with anorexia may eat very little, exercise excessively, and use other means such as purging or using laxatives in an effort to lose weight. Anorexia causes many complications related to starvation and, if untreated, may be fatal. Visit this site to read more information about anorexia. 

Heart problems 

People with anorexia become so thin that their muscles waste away. As the muscles of the body thin and weaken, the muscle of the heart also becomes weak, the chambers enlarge, and the heart becomes unable to pump properly. Because of the enlargement of the chambers, the valves may not close properly. The heart rate slows as the heart does not have the energy to pump faster. Heart failure or cardiac arrest is often the cause of death in anorexia patients.    

Osteoporosis and fractures 

Because people with anorexia become severely malnourished, they have low levels of essential nutrients in their body. One of these is calcium. As the body tries desperately to increase its available calcium, it starts to break down the bones in an effort to free up more of this important mineral. This decreases bone density and can lead to severe osteoporosis. Because of this, patients with anorexia are prone to broken bones, even with only minor injuries and mishaps.    

Infertility 

Both males and females use body fat in order to create sex hormones such as estrogen and testosterone. Women with anorexia may stop ovulating and menstruating due to deficiencies of the major sex hormones, and men may equally become infertile. Both men and women with anorexia may also experience sexual dysfunction.    

Kidney problems 

People with anorexia may suffer from kidney damage. The causes are multiple: a reduced protein intake, abnormalities in blood levels of electrolytes, increased risk of kidney stones and decreased blood pressure due to heart problems all contribute to kidney damage which may be lifelong.    

Anemia 

Anemia is a common complication in anorexia. People with anorexia often consume diets deficient in iron, leaving their bodies unable to make enough healthy red blood cells to circulate oxygen to the tissues. Anemia may stress an already damaged heart, cause skin rashes, and brittle nails, and may lead to breathlessness and fatigue in advanced cases, sometimes even requiring a blood transfusion.    

anorexia nervosa complications

Anorexia is an eating disorder that can lead to multiple severe complications affecting all the body systems. Some of these complications can cause lifelong illness or disability, even when the anorexia has been treated, and some may result in death. If you think that you, or a loved one, maybe suffering from anorexia nervosa, contact a doctor to get on the path to recovery and prevent any permanent damage.

anorexia in children

Anorexia in Children

Anorexia is an eating disorder which causes those affected by the condition to develop an all-consuming obsession with weight and body image. Behavioral patterns revolve predominantly around the overarching goal of weight loss and can result in the subordination of previous interests. With the obsession to lose weight, they only eat or try to avoid a certain type of foods and drinks such as consuming too many sugary drinks to achieve the weight they desire. Although in some cases anorexia in children can prove fatal, early intervention has been shown to reduce the severity of symptoms.     

Types of Anorexia    

There are two types of anorexia.     

  • Bulimia Type    

Patients binge on food before purging with laxatives or through self-induced vomiting.      

  • Restrictor Type 

Patients place excessive limits on the quantity of food that they consume.     

Causes    

Anorexia’s etiology remains unclear. However, it’s generally accepted that the condition typically starts out as normal dieting and slowly progresses into anorexia. Factors which are thought to influence the condition’s development include;     

  • Societal expectations
  • Genetic predisposition
  • Brain chemical imbalances
  • Developmental issues    

Family influences also play a key role. To the extent that a child with a family background of weight problems, physical illness, and mental health issues is at an increased risk of becoming anorexic. Moreover, in cases where families are intransigent and demanding, or interfering and overprotective, the probability of anorexia also rises.         

Who is most at risk?    

Anorexia was a condition which was primarily observed in girls. While girls still comprse the majority of those affected, the gender picture is continually changing. Nowadays an increasing minority of anorexia patients are boys. A similar trend is observable in terms of socioeconomic class. Where once anorexia was exclusively associated with the upper and middle classes, it now affects a broad cross-section of society at large.     

Symptoms    

Symptoms vary from child to child, but can include;    

anorexia in children
  • Excessively low body weight
  • Body dysmorphia
  • Overexercising
  • Highly ritualized eating behaviors
  • An unhealthy obsession with bodyweight
  • Depression    

The physical symptoms associated with anorexia closely resemble those of starvation and malnourishment. They can include;    

  • Overly dry skin
  • Extreme lethargy
  • Constipation
  • Discolored skin
  • Increased sensitivity to low temperatures 

Complications     

Anorexia can potentially lead to a multitude of further health complications. For example, the functioning of the heart and kidneys may be compromised, mild anemia or leukopenia may develop, menstrual periods may stop altogether, or growth hormone levels may drop.     

Treatment    

The precise nature of the treatment that a child will receive depends on a number of factors. Factors which are taken into consideration include;    

  • The range of symptoms the child exhibits
  • General health
  • Overall severity of the condition
  • Age    

Typically, however, the treatment of anorexia in children involves a multidisciplinary approach which involves individual therapy and family therapy overlapping with nutritional rehabilitation and with the targeted use of medications.

selective eating disorder

Selective Eating Disorder

Have you encountered someone who only eats a certain food? You may immediately jump to the conclusion that they are simply fussy eaters and dismiss them casually. However, this condition called Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (AFRID) may well be associated, in some cases, to Autism and Anxiety disorder. At the rhinoplastyperthcost page you can read more about anxiety disorder and its treatment options.

Many of us have heard of Anorexia or Bulimia, and possibly Binge Eating Disorder. However, there are many disorders that fall below the diagnostic threshold for Anorexia and Bulimia. These are known as Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). Previously this was known as Selective eating disorder (SED). People with ARFID will only eat foods that they find acceptable. This may be based on perceived safety, taste, texture, color, or a memory of some previous bad experience connected with the food.

Although people with ARFID may exclude a whole range of food types, they usually maintain a typical bodyweight. If encouraged to eat foods in the group connected with their ARFID, they may become distressed.

What are the causes of ARFID?    

Often there is some sort of Trauma at the root of the condition. They may have choked on a particular food in the past or have seen something that made them see the food as dangerous.

Distressing events in childhood, such as parents divorcing or a house move may trigger a mechanism where selective eating is associated with taking back control.   

Treatment of ARFID  

Adults     

ARFID symptoms can, in some cases gradually reduce and disappear without intervention. However, most cases will be treated by Cognitive Behavior Therapy. There are also ARFID support groups.

Children

selective eating disorder

Children may undergo a program based on Systematic Desensitization. The four-stage program are 

  1. Record: Children keep a log of eating behaviors
  2. Reward: Children make a list of foods they might like to try someday. 
  3. Relax: Children learn to reduce anxiety and relax. 
  4. Review: It is important to review any progress that is made.
anorexia weight loss

What is anorexia weight loss?

Anorexia is an extreme loss of body weight due to an exhausting diet on the basis of a mental disorder. The term “anorexia nervosa” first appeared in the scientific literature in 1988, although the roots of this eating disorder go back to early Middle Ages. In those distant times, the culture of asceticism was living in the minds of the people.  

But the epidemic level was reached by anorexia just at the beginning of the XXI century when people keeping diets and obsessed with the idea of weight loss. Being afraid to become thick again, they cannot stop. This extreme loss of weight could affect your facial features and other parts of your body which can result to complete physical exhaustion.

How does the disease develop? 

Anorexia weight loss doesn’t happen suddenly. This disorder most often lasts for months or even years. Usually, it starts with an unlimited desire to lose some extra pounds, but the danger of the disease is that patients are always unhappy looking at the result.

How to recognize a disease? 

The anorexia has the following signs: 

anorexia weight loss
  • A slim girl is always dissatisfied with her look; she spends a lot of time in front of a mirror and constantly insists that she is fat; 
  • During strict diets, she dramatically loses weight, but does not stop there, continuing to torment herself with fasting; 
  • She is trying to feed a dog with her lunch, hides food, and then throws it away or imperceptibly transfers it to other people’s plates; 
  • The constant use of laxatives, the use of enemas; frequent vomiting should also alert; 
  • The amenorrhea (absence of menstruation), which occurs due to a sharp decrease in weight. 

Treatment 

Treatment of patients with anorexia weight loss begins with their urgent hospitalization. After visual inspection of the patient, Home Doctors Melbourne first of all try to return the patient’s normal weight. For this, therapeutic nutrition is prescribed. It helps to increase calorie food content. At the same time, it is extremely important for a person with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, to be surrounded by the love and care of native people, without which, the treatment won’t be effective.