In the article, we will consider what infantile anorexia is, its causes, varieties, and also methods of struggle. The phenomenon is not so rare, it is now found constantly. Treatment must be approached with great seriousness. This is due to the fact that the child’s body suffers from anorexia much more seriously than an adult.
What is anorexia?
Symptoms of the problem will be discussed later in the article. First you need to understand what constitutes a disease. This disorder is neurotic in nature. It is manifested by a decrease in appetite and is associated with a violation of the child’s eating behavior . Unfortunately, at the moment the disease is more common not even among professional fashionistas, but in most ordinary children. Schoolchildren are more affected than teenagers.
How to recognize a problem?
Each person, including the child, during the day several times experiences a feeling of hunger. This is a signal that it is time to make another meal. When someone feels an appetite, he associates with products on a subconscious level. Everyone imagines what pleasure the eaten porridge or dessert will bring.
However, there are problems associated with eating behavior. One child can constantly feel hungry, so he needs to chew something around the clock, someone refuses all products except his beloved. And there are those children who have no desire to eat, they have no appetite. It is such a disorder that leads to the occurrence of childhood anorexia.
The problem manifests itself in different ways for each baby. Some simply cry and do not want to sit down at the table, others - begin to hysteria and spit out food. Third, the problem is a little more serious - after eating, nausea and vomiting begin. However, in any case, this behavior is a serious deviation, so you need to deal with it. Forcing a child to eat is not the best way to solve the problem.
Types of Anorexia
Pediatric anorexia is of several types. The first is somatogenic. This problem is associated with the development of any diseases in the body. It can be infections, problems with the digestive tract, diseases of the oral cavity. Violations of the respiratory functions and blood circulation also lead to the development of anorexia. The reasons should also include chronic intoxication, allergies and worms. Therefore, if the child abruptly stops eating, then he urgently needs to be examined to identify the problem. All signs and symptoms of anorexia should disappear when the underlying disease is completely eliminated.
The second type of problem is neurotic. The reasons in this case are stress, improper sleep and the day as a whole. However, the diagnosis can only be made after a thorough examination.
Causes of Anorexia Nervosa
Factors that can provoke neurotic anorexia include problems with parents, constant threats from them, especially if they are associated with eating. Excessive spoiling of the baby, or rather, his incorrect upbringing, can lead to the problem. Negative events in a child’s life especially affect his appetite. If parents constantly swear in the kitchen, or are forced to take food too rudely, then over time the baby will lose appetite on a subconscious level. Severe stress can also lead to anorexia in children. Depending on how the parents react to the problem, anorexia may pass in a week, and may last several years. When it comes to severe stress, we mean the loss of loved ones, separation from parents or severe fear during eating.
Symptomatology
Two main manifestations that allow us to talk about the development of anorexia are weight loss due to a lack of appetite.
However, other symptoms may occur. Pediatric anorexia can be manifested by nausea and vomiting before / after eating, problems with sleep, teeth and gums, lethargy, behavior unusual for a child during a meal (turning plates, tantrum). Irritability and moods are also symptoms.
It is necessary to pay attention to how many times the child refused to eat and whether the symptoms recur. Sometimes children try to attract attention in this way, so often this behavior ends after three to four days. You can seek medical help a week later if the symptoms do not go away. You must rush to a specialist immediately if the child does not eat anything at all for several days and rapidly loses weight.
Treatment
Given all the symptoms of childhood anorexia, treatment may be completely unexpected. Each child will be treated differently by a doctor, since therapy depends on the primary problem.
First of all, it is necessary to eliminate all the reasons that led to the development of the problem. Moreover, parents play an important role in therapy, since their task is to create the most favorable conditions for the child in the family. The baby should develop a good attitude towards eating, he should have the right habits associated with food. Be sure to take into account all the previous mistakes, so as not to repeat them and not make the situation even worse.
Psychotherapy at home
Parents must ensure their baby has a correct and clear feeding schedule. Deviation can be no more than half an hour. In between meals, the baby is forbidden to give any sweets so as not to interrupt the appetite. In order for the desire to eat to increase, it is better for the child to offer a rest half an hour before the meal. This will allow him to tune in to a meal.
Given that the child is easily distracted, during the meal you need to turn off the TV, remove phones and tablets, toys, goodies, books. It is advisable to arrange the dish in a playful way so that it is more interesting for the baby to eat. To ensure that the serving size does not seem too large, you need to use huge plates.
If the child refuses to eat, do not shout at him. In no case do you need to apply punishment. So the condition of the baby does not improve. You need to agree with the child and wait for the next meal. If there is a problem with swallowing, you can drink food with water. However, the throats should not be large so that the appetite is not lost.
Medication treatment
When the first signs and symptoms of anorexia appear, treatment should be started urgently. In some cases, medications are prescribed. In advanced situations, babies can be put in a hospital.
Prescribed drugs that help saturate the body with vitamins, iron. Ascorbic acid, tinctures of mint, wormwood, and valerian are prescribed. Sometimes hydrochloric acid, which is mixed with pepsin, and various enzymes are used.
It must be remembered that anorexia is an insidious disease. The older the child, the easier it will be to bear the problem. This is especially due to the fact that babies need a lot of substances and minerals for the proper development of the body.
Anorexia in newborns (up to 1 year)
In young children, anorexia is most difficult to determine because newborns can cry and refuse to eat for a variety of reasons.
The reasons for the development of a similar problem for them should include the incorrectly selected mixture, congenital diseases, incorrectly introduced first feeding, as well as breast milk with insufficient fat content. These are reasons of a psychogenic nature. By somatogenic is a longer list. The causes of anorexia include birth injuries, prematurity, problems with the central nervous system, encephalopathy associated with the quantitative composition of bilirubin in the body. In most cases, anorexia is caused by congenital diseases of the oral cavity and the body as a whole, as well as hereditary problems.
Symptoms of anorexia in newborns
The causes of infantile anorexia in babies have already been elucidated, but how is it manifested? Given that a child’s failure can be the result of various diseases, and not specifically anorexia, parents should pay attention to other factors.
If the baby cries or spins while eating, constantly spits up without any diseases from the digestive system, does not take the breast, grabs the nipple eagerly and spits it out, you need to urgently consult a pediatrician.
Anorexia treatment in newborns
Treatment of infantile anorexia in newborns should be carried out only after a diagnosis has been made. If the cause was some kind of background disease, then it should be urgently eliminated. In the event that anorexia develops due to improper feeding, then you will have to change the food.
In newborns, this problem needs to be eliminated as quickly as possible, since it is in the first year of life that the child’s internal organs and systems are formed, and with anorexia, there is a 98% chance that complications will arise.
Anorexia in babies from 1 to 3 years
A child at 1-3 years old begins to enter gradually into society, he learns to speak and walk. At this age, anorexia rarely appears due to congenital problems, as they usually appear after childbirth. Psychological factors also do not play a special role here, since at this age children are not particularly aware of the death of relatives or the divorce of their parents.
Therefore, in most cases, the cause of anorexia in the child becomes the wrong mechanism for feeding the child. When parents try to force the child to eat and constantly give lectures on how it is useful, in raised tones, then the baby has an aversion. In the most advanced cases, vomiting can begin only at the sight of soup or porridge.
Symptoms of anorexia in babies from 1 to 3 years
The article contains photos of anorexia in children. It can manifest itself through active refusal of food or passive. The first method of a child to detect unwillingness to eat can be manifested by fights, dropping plates on the floor, lips tightening, which does not allow you to stick a spoon with food in your mouth. Passive rejection is manifested by strange actions on the part of the child. He can refuse adult food, but at the same time collect water in his mouth or eat lemons constantly.
Anorexia treatment in babies from 1 to 3 years
As a rule, at this age, the child develops wrong eating habits that can only be corrected by painstaking work. Medications are rarely used at this age, as the reason for the child’s protest is the desire to show parents that they are somehow wrong. Therefore, with therapy you need to be patient.
Anorexia in preschoolers (4 to 7 years old)
In children, the psyche is formed quite quickly, and they are able to assess the environment as soon as they are 5 years old. Symptoms of childhood anorexia and treatment will be severe, since often the problem is due to some pathological process that develops against the background of another problem. The cause of nutrition problems can be any stress experienced. It can be conflicts at home, in kindergarten, on the street, strong fear, parents' divorce, dare a loved one, physical or sexual violence, fear of school.
Together with the main symptoms (weight loss and refusal of food), the child may have insomnia, lethargy, dizziness, autism, constipation, skin problems and urinary incontinence.
Anorexia treatment in preschoolers
Treatment, as a rule, requires only psychotherapeutic techniques. You can drink soothing teas, infusions of mint, lemon balm, lavender. The latter should be weak, otherwise side effects may begin. Your doctor may prescribe Glycine, Citral, Persen, and other drugs.
If the child has severe problems with eating, then they can prescribe tranquilizers. They should be taken only under the supervision of a physician.
Psychotherapists are often invited to treat pediatric anorexia. In Moscow and other cities there are many good specialists who will help solve the problem. A preschooler should feel that parents love and cherish them.
Anorexia in children from 8 to 10 years
Anorexia in a child of a similar age category, the problem may have a borderline character. And if at a young age both boys and girls came to the doctor in equal proportions, then by the age of 8-10, more and more women are suffering from the described problem.
The reasons may be related to socialization. If we are talking about girls, then early menstruation can also be provoking factors. The babies have a desire to be as beautiful and slim as her aunt or mother. The meaning of diets does not reach them yet, however, they catch the logic: to become the same, you need to either eat a little or completely refuse to eat. The second most popular cause is stress.
Anorexia at this age will not be as pronounced as in babies. Children will shrug off meals due to lessons or other activities. Therefore, the main task of parents is to identify the problem in time and solve it quickly.
A photo of childhood anorexia is terrifying to every person. To get rid of the problem, you will have to turn to psychologists, since at this age the child is aware of everything, and it will not work quickly and simply to fix the situation.