Anorexia is an eating disorder and, most importantly, a mental disorder, expressed in a higher attention to food, as well as their own weight. A person who suffers from anorexia is very afraid of getting fat. In some cases, such people can literally starve themselves.
In most cases, anorexia affects young girls. Their weight can be 15% below normal. It doesn’t matter how thin they become, how bad they feel. Such girls may feel even on the verge of death, but they will still consider themselves fat and follow their diet.
Anorexia - Causes
The main causes of anorexia can be considered diseases that are directly related to loss of appetite. This may include gastritis, hepatitis and other ailments associated directly with a loss of appetite in humans. The cause can also be diseases of the genitourinary system, for example, renal failure. All kinds of oncological diseases, diseases of the teeth, as well as the oral cavity, constant anxiety, depression, increased body temperature after various diseases - all this can cause anorexia.
In addition, cause the disease to even take certain potent medications (abuse). Particular attention should be paid to drugs that affect the central nervous system. In some cases, the cause of anorexia can be the uniformity and irregularity of nutrition. The constant use of alcohol, in turn, leads to depletion of the body, and subsequently to anorexia.
Anorexia - Symptoms
First of all, an anorexia patient is distinguished by a great desire not to maintain weight, which corresponds to his design, height and age. Usually the patient feels an unrelenting fear that he will gain excess weight. Moreover, this fear completely covers any other feelings and emotions. A person who has anorexia infection believes that his weight and body parameters are related to his personal status and self-awareness. Such people always deny the seriousness of their condition, while they can not objectively evaluate their own weight. Symptoms include the fact that one third of menstruation disappears in women.
Anorexia - Diagnosis
The appearance of an anorexia patient is characterized by yellowish and dry skin, emaciation of the body, sunken cheeks, and eye sockets. A more detailed examination by a doctor shows very low blood pressure with body temperature. Often, the heart rate can drop somewhere to 30-40 beats per minute. The patient can feel cold even in a fairly warm room. Hair growth stops on the body.
The second step in diagnosing a disease such as anorexia is to measure the weight of the patient. Already at the very beginning of the disease, weight loss can reach about 15% of normal body weight.
Anorexia - treatment
Typically, the treatment of such a disease can reach more than five years. This is a very complex process, requiring the patient a great desire to defeat his illness. According to statistics, 60% of patients who started a course of treatment eventually return to normal. And about 20% is completely cured, however, in order to avoid relapses, it is necessary to undergo regular examinations, as well as additional courses of therapy. So, at the first stage of treatment, the patient's physical health is restored. When his condition stabilizes, an addiction to a normal diet begins. Next begins the course of psychotherapy. In this case, the patient and the doctor are looking for the causes of the disease, as well as ways to overcome it. In some cases, antidepressants are attributed to the patient, which help to cope with anxiety and other problems.
