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Nervous Anorexia - How it works? Signs and Symptoms

Updated on February 22, 2010

How it works Nervous Anorexia

The Nervous Anorexia is classified as a psychiatric illness, the group of eating disorders. People affected by it are refusing to submit a weight considered normal for their age and height. People with anorexia have a very great fear of gaining weight and have an altered vision of their body image. There is little data on the frequency of the disease in the population. It is more common in women. Approximately 1% of adolescents or young women have anorexia, but since this may be underestimated. Although less frequent, can also occur in adolescent boys.

 

Possible causes of Nervous Anorexia

The exact cause of Nervous Anorexia is unknown, but social attitudes regarding corporal appearance seem to have an important role. Contribute to the disease genetic factors, constitutional, psychological, personal trauma, family structure, social and cultural factors. Most cases involve displays of more than one factor.

The anorexia is a disease of the Western world more frequent in women working as models, dancers or other professions that require maintenance of weight. The puberty, death in the family and other stressful events are factors that can trigger the disease. Another important point is the pressure at work or family to lose weight. Moreover, usually those who suffer from Nervous Anorexia gives attention to the comments of others about your weight.

The Nervous Anorexia usually occurs in adolescence or at the stage of young adults. The white women of high school who are at greater risk of the disease. Some theories show a strong correlation between a pattern of behavior of parents who are very demanding in relation to children and the risk of the disease. Children of authoritarian parents, rather than turn away, choose to look for areas where they have control, such as in relation to dietary habits.

Nervous Anorexia

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When you suspect that someone close to you have Nervous Anorexia?

If your daughter starts to restrict the intake of foods with meals, how much physical activity, and to worry too much with the weight, you should stay alert with regard to anorexia and seek medical help if necessary. Early diagnosis at the beginning of weight loss can reduce the severity of the disease and improve the prognosis. When someone with diagnosed or suspected of Nervous Anorexia present fainting, irregular pulse or seizures, should be sent to the emergency room because there is a risk of severe complications and death.

 

There is how to prevent Nervous Anorexia?

It is very difficult to prevent Nervous Anorexia. It is very important, within the very heart family, encourage a positive and realistic attitude in relation to diet and physical activity. Already in the case of a person with excessive preoccupation with its own weight, with a qualified professional advice early can prevent the disease.

Symptoms of Nervous Anorexia Most people with Nervous Anorexia refuses to acknowledge that the disease presents. The most frequent symptoms of Nervous Anorexia include:

  • Weight at least 15% lower than expected, but often even lower (higher percentage reductions);

  • Excessive use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics and vomiting caused;

  • Self-imposition of food shortages that are hidden from the rest of the family - the patient invents rules on the amount of food you should eat and the amount of physical activity that must be done to counteract the ingestion of food;

  • Menstrual changes;

  • Atrophy of skeletal muscles;

  • Loss of body fat;

  • Very low blood pressure;

  • Dental erosion due to self-induced vomiting; the acidity of vomiting erodes the enamel of the teeth;

  • Yellow skin;

  • Depression.

Other symptoms include feelings of empachamento (glass) after very small meals, loss of interest in hanging out with friends, fatigue, feeling cold, constipation and stomach pain (dyspepsia). Some patients also develop other diseases such as bulimia which is another type of eating disorder that may be linked to anorexia. The Nervous Anorexia can be manifested in two ways. In the first of them the person loses weight and has a distorted view of the body. In this case the person, although if you think too fat, does not exercise and abuse of laxatives, diuretics and other drugs. In the second type, and virtually no food is, the person still practicing physical activity in order and makes exaggerated use of drugs.

 

Symptoms of Nervous Anorexia

Most people with Nervous Anorexia refuses to acknowledge that the disease presents. The most frequent symptoms of Nervous Anorexia include:

  • Weight at least 15% lower than expected, but often even lower (higher percentage reductions);
  • Excessive use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics and vomiting caused;
  • Self-imposition of food shortages that are hidden from the rest of the family - the patient invents rules on the amount of food you should eat and the amount of physical activity that must be done to counteract the ingestion of food;
  • Menstrual changes;
  • Atrophy of skeletal muscles;
  • Loss of body fat;
  • Very low blood pressure;
  • Dental erosion due to self-induced vomiting; the acidity of vomiting erodes the enamel of the teeth;
  • Yellow skin;
  • Depression.

Other symptoms of Nervous Anorexia may include:

  • loss of interest in hanging out with friends;
  • fatigue;
  • feeling cold;
  • stomach pain (dyspepsia).

Some patients also develop other diseases such as bulimia which is another type of eating disorder that may be linked to anorexia.

The Nervous Anorexia can be manifested in two ways:

  1. The person loses weight and has a distorted view of the body. In this case the person, although if you think too fat, does not exercise and abuse of laxatives, diuretics and other drugs.
  2. Virtually no food is, the person still practicing physical activity in order to lose weight and makes exaggerated use of drugs.

 

Diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of Nervous Anorexia

The Diagnosis of Nervous Anorexia is excluded, that is, it is done after other causes of weight loss were excluded. You may need to ask for blood tests, such as hormonal dosages to search for hyperthyroidism, the adrenal diseases and menstrual changes.

The Treatment of Nervous Anorexia is the biggest challenge. The treatment of Nervous Anorexia is to recognize the person she presents a change of eating habits and it is a disease. The patient with Nervous Anorexia denies the disease. The recognition of the disease can happen only in very advanced stages of the disease, in which the health risks are very high. The main goal of treatment of Nervous Anorexia is to make the person to eat normally again, with consequent weight gain. This requires support of psychotherapy, use of antidepressant drugs, behavioral therapy and family therapy.

In more severe cases may need to be hospitalized with prescription of parenteral nutrition by injecting the patient to weight gain. There are associations of patients with anorexia that can help in the treatment of patients with the nervous anorexia disease.

People diagnosed with anorexia and have succeeded in overcoming the disease can be an important stimulus for those who have not yet succeeded.

The prognosis of Nervous Anorexia is bad in serious cases, with a mortality rate of 10%. Even in cases that respond positively to treatment is the common occurrence of relapses.

Younger women have the best prognosis. Treatment should be maintained in the long term to prevent recurrences of the disease even if the person has recovered part of the weight. In serious cases, weight loss is very large (over 15%) with a duration of the disease longer - for several years without improvement, abuse of vomiting, laxatives, exercise and physical appearance of some complications like infections and demaios .

The death happens for infections. Another frequent cause of death are arrhythmias. The induced vomiting decrease the potassio. A low potassium level can cause arrhythmias.

 

Complications resulting from anorexia nervosa

The most frequent complications include:

  • Severe dehydration that can develop into hypovolemic shock (inability to maintain blood pressure by the lack of intake of liquids);
  • Change of hydro-electrolyte balance: the hydro-electrolyte balance of the human body depends on several ions like sodium, potassium and chloride; in anorexia nervosa, caused the vomiting, use of laxatives and lack of intake of liquids can lead to major changes these ions that can cause seizures and cardiac arrhythmias;
  • Cardiac arrhythmias;
  • Severe malnutrition and its consequences such as increased risk of generalized infection;
  • Changes in thyroid function: many patients with the disease can make use of thyroid hormone as a way to lose weight;
  • Appearance of fluff similar to that in babies;
  • Swelling (edema);
  • Reduction of leukocytes (white blood cells) with risk of emergence of infections;
  • Renal disorders with onset of Calculus and infections of the urinary tract by insufficient intake of fluids;
  • Osteoporosis;
  • Increased frequency of suicide.

 

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